Taking their name from a hostile siege device in Games Worksop’s ‘Warhammer’ game, Bolt Thrower formed in Birmingham in 1986. The original line-up was a collaboration of Alan West on vocals, guitarist Barry Thomson, bassist Gavin Ward and drummer Andy Whale, who had the intent of making aggressive rock music inspired by bands such as Sacrilege, Discharge and Slayer. In 1987 Bolt Thrower recorded a demo session, which saw the band reshuffle positions as Ward became a guitarist and Alex Tweedy was brought in as a temporary bassist before Jo-Anne Bench was recruited for their second demo ‘Concession of Pain.’ This caught the ears of Radio 1 DJ John Peel in January 1988 who gave them the opportunity to record a session, which led to the band scoring an album deal with Vinyl Solution Records. With an album deal under their belt, Bolt Thrower brought in the destructive vocals of Karl Willets for their debut album on Vinyl Solution entitled ‘In The Battle There Is No Law’ before switching to Earache for their second record. 1989’s ‘Realm of Chaos: Slave to Darkness’ was a worldwide success for Bolt Thrower, selling more than 50,000 copies around the world. The band continued their warmongering theme and used expansive artwork from Games Workshop to coincide with their unsympathetic music, with titles such as ‘World Eater’ and ‘Eternal War’. This worldwide success and critical acclaim propelled Bolt Thrower towards an international audience on the Grindcrusher tour in 1989 with Morbid Angel, Carcass and Napalm Death, before heading out to Holland in 1990 for the Bloodbrothers Tour. This tour preceded the release of the Cenotaph EP in 1991, leading to a European tour on with Unleashed and Nocturnus, which coincided with the release of the ‘Warmaster’ record. It was clear that Bolt Thrower’s unique image was touching audiences throughout the world, finally reaching the USA on tour in 1991, before the release of ‘The IVth Crusade’ in 1992. This record took the band in a more doom-fuelled direction, as they started out on a tour with Vader and Grave. 1994 saw a further reshuffle of the Bolt Thrower line-up, as ex-Pestilence, Asphyx and Submission vocalist Martin Van Drunen joined, replacing Willets and Martin Kearn was also brought in to play drums before the release of the album ‘For Victory’. Bolt Thrower toured the USA for the second time with their new line-up and in 1995 played around Europe on the ‘No Guts, No Glory Tour’, promoting their own form of war-inspired heavy metal to mass-audiences. In 1997 the band parted company with Earache and signed to Metal Blade Records, which also coincided with the departure of Van Drunen due to illness. The new partnership with Metal Blade propelled the band into the world of European festivals, with the stand-in appearance of Benediction’s Dave Ingram to replace Van Drunen. With one member departing, 1997 also saw the re-joining of Willets ready for the recording of 1998’s album ‘Mercenary,’which once again saw critical acclaim and success, in particular throughout Germany. With such acclaim and the notoriety as an infectiously appealing live-band, Bolt Thrower stormed ahead into 2005 with a new record entitled ‘Those Once Loyal’ on Metal Blade, The band’s popularity was also generated by Earache’s reissue of ‘Realm of Chaos’ which was re-mastered and included new artwork. Bolt Thrower were now firmly established within the world of heavy metal, with a unique and defining image endorsed by their electric live performances, which drove the band into 2006, headlining their own shows alongside Malevolent Creation and Nightrage.