A History of Viewphoria

After the parting of Meltdown in December of 2001 another twist has punctuated our seemingly long and eventful path! In February of 2002 Paul and Andy established a side project titled EvenFlow and recruited a drummer named Dale who had moved to Darlington having played for two bands in the Brighton music scene. Though Evenflow was initially founded as a side project plans to tour and to promote the group arose. After a few months of rehearsals and one recording Evenflow ceased due to personal reasons and lack of time available to commit to the band. In October 2002 it was decided amicably that the group should be folded and the memory of that brief period can be recalled in our recording of one EP, 'The Beach beneath the Paving Stones', which was cut at the Studio in Hartlepool. In October Jon, Paul and Andy met again for a practice and it was acquiesced that it would be a good idea to play as a band again. From the first few practices we started to motion in a different musical direction from that we had taken with Meltdown and it was decided that a new name would be appropriate to recognise this transition. We all agreed to the name Viewphoria after considering various options. Frequent practices have brought together plenty of new material which we all feel is stronger and more refined than the songs we played with Meltdown. In February of 2003 we entered the Studio on two consecutive weekends to cut new EPs titled 'When Angels are Dying' and 'Light of Day'. Track listings and information about our music can be found in the discography section of the website and through Revolution at www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk where samples of our music are available for your delectation! Now that we have made our first recordings we are looking forward to touring and playing shows over this year and establishing ourselves under our new name and identity. Below is the biography of our previous band Meltdown which details our line-up and history up until late in the year 2000. PAUL - Vocals/Guitar ANDY - Bass/Backing Vocals JON - Percussion Prior to founding Meltdown all three members of the band had enjoyed experiences in a range of local bands on the Darlington punk and metal scene. Paul took up the position of vocalist/guitarist alongside Jon on drums in a band named Funghi who covered popular punk & grunge anthems by bands such as Green Day and Nirvana alongside their own compositions. Following the demise of Funghi about a year after their formation, Paul sang and played guitar in a new four-piece alternative rock band called Facelift whom Andy joined after a previous bassist was unable to commit his time to rehearse. Facelift remained together for over a year, recording one self-titled EP and having played two gigs in Darlington before the band's inevitable demise. Though Facelift briefly reformed, there was no incentive for the band's members to do any more than practice and Paul and Andy soon became disillusioned with the band's lack of direction and ambition. Both relinquished their efforts and ambitions with Facelift once again and looked to channel their commitment into another band. After failing to achieve anything significant through efforts with previous groups, Paul and Andy decided that it would be best to pursue ambitions through the formation of another new band that was to become Meltdown. Paul and Andy got in touch with Jon following the split of Facelift and the breaking up of John's previous bands Downfall and Waterbrash. All three members came to the decision that the new band would play live shows and record original material. Paul, Andy and Jon decided unanimously that they should dedicate their exertions to writing their own material rather than following the route taken by so many bands in performing covers. Though Paul, Jon and Andy were all inspired by a wide range of influences, they shared a liking for melodic rock, punk and metal music upon which the original Meltdown sound was coalesced. In late autumn of 1999 Meltdown entered the recording studio for the first time for two days of recording and mixing sessions at the Studio in Hartlepool. The group recorded onto CD a 7 track EP titled 'Take it in' which laid down some of the foundations for the sound of the band today. In late spring of 2000 the group returned to the Studio in Hartlepool to lay down tracks for a second EP, the self-titled album 'Meltdown'. While the first CD revealed a fairly basic combination of punk and grunge rock influences the second recording elaborated upon the rudimentary sound, embracing a wider range of influences and culminating in an album that sounded more focused and far closer to the overall sound that we aspired to create. Since the band's establishment Meltdown's music has been described as fitting of many different genres such as those of punk, grunge, hardcore,emocore and rock though the validity of any of those labels is questionable. In their current setlist, Meltdown's songs range from heavy rock and metal tunes that lean towards the sounds of early 1990s Seattle to melodic punk rock and folk rock. The band have amongst their influences acts such as Alice in Chains, Sleater-Kinney, Husker-Du, The Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins and Soul Asylum.