Cloven Hoof (band)

Biography

Cloven Hoof underwent several early line-up changes before settling on a steady configuration for their first recordings. The four members adopted theatrical pseudonyms based on the four elements: David "Water" Potter, Steve "Fire" Rounds, Lee "Air" Payne, and Kevin "Earth" Poutney. This line-up recorded a successful demo tape in 1982, along with The Opening Ritual EP, and the debut album Cloven Hoof in 1984. After the self-titled debut, David Potter left and was replaced by Rob Kendrick, who took the "Water" pseudonym. That line-up recorded the live album Fighting Back (1987) before disbanding, leaving Lee Payne as the sole remaining member.

Payne reactivated the band in 1988, hiring vocalist Russ North and guitarist Andy Wood from Tredegar along with drummer Jon Brown. Dropping the stage names, this new group recorded two albums: Dominator (1988) and A Sultan's Ransom (1989).

In summer 2001, Payne began assembling a new line-up after a telephone conversation with Andy Wood about the contractual issues that had caused the decade-long split. The band performed live at the Keep It True II Festival in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany on 10 April 2004. Eye of the Sun was recorded and released in 2006 with vocalist Matt Moreton, guitarist Andy Shortland, and drummer Lynch Radinsky; Tom Galley produced the album. Work commitments prevented that unit from playing live, so Payne enlisted new personnel. Russ North returned from Spain and rejoined the band, with the line-up completed by Mick Powell and Ben Read on guitars and Jon Brown on drums. A collection of re-recorded songs, The Definitive Part One, was released in early 2008, with a new EP titled Throne of Damnation scheduled for 2010. In 2008, Cloven Hoof co-headlined the Metal Brew Festival in Mill Hill with Pagan Altar, and both bands performed at the British Steel IV Festival at the Camden Underworld in 2009.