Twisted Tower Dire

Biography

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Twisted Tower Dire (1995-present): a Power Metal band from Chantilly, Virginia, USA.

ormed in 1995 TTwisted Tower Dire opened shop under the guise of "resurrecting true heavy metal". Influences were drawn from Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Candlemass, and others. After releasing two demos, several split EPs and contributing to various sampler CD's to acclaim, the band began working with long time fan and Solstice guitarist Rich Walker. He had recently formed a new label called 'The Miskatonic Foundation' and offered to support the recording and distribution of the first Twisted Tower Dire album. That self produced, full-length debut arrived in 1999 after several split and demo releases. Despite a modest budget, The Curse of Twisted Tower featuring the membership of Marc Stauffer (drums), Scott Waldrop (guitars), Dave Boyd (guitars), Jim Murad (bass) and Tony Taylor (R.I.P. 2010; vocals) won over many dedicated fans that appreciated Twisted Tower Dire's traditional yet unique sound.

From 1999 to 2000, the band embarked on a relentless, self-financed world tour in support of the album. This tour included US appearances at the Milwaukee Metal Fest (Wisconsin), March Metal Meltdown (New Jersey), The Powermad Fest (Maryland), Phantasmagoria Metal Fest (Maryland), and The North Carolina Metal Fest. A European stretch of the tour followed with fellow metal heathens Slough Feg and Solstice including several club dates and appearances at the Wacken Open Air Festival (Germany) and the Bradford Metal Inquisition (England).

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In 2001 Twisted Tower Dire released the critically acclaimed Isle of Hydra on 'The Miskatonic Foundation' and 'Hellion Records'. The album featured mature song writing abilities and improved production, but retained a certain underground grit. In support, they played several shows in the Mid Atlantic Region and beyond, including an appearance at the Classic Metal Festival (Michigan) and a second appearance at the Milwaukee Metal Festival (Wisconsin).

In July 2002 Twisted Tower Dire returned to Deutschland to continue their relentless assault on small clubs and festivals abroad with a headlining appearance at The Headbanger's Open Air Festival. In September of that year Twisted Tower Dire signed to Germany's 'Remedy Records'.

After the EP The Secret Demos (2002) and Battle Hymns to the Pantheon compilation (2002), Twisted Tower Dire's third release Crest of the Martyrs was unleashed upon the masses on May 26th, 2003. Along with a slight membership change with Jim Hunter replacing Mike Engel, the song Axes & Honour was released as a limited vinyl single and picture vinyl single. The release was accompanied by a European tour including festival gigs at the Metal Bash Open Air Fest and the Wacken Open Air Fest.

Netherworlds (2007) and Make it Dark (2011) would follow. There would be a forced membership change on the 2011 release when the death of Tony Taylor lass than a year previous forced the band to find a new vocalist in the form of Jonny Aune. After a long break, Wars in the Unknown (2019) followed.

With the release of the follow-up, Crest of the Martyrs Demos (2022), Tony Taylor would be featured on vocals. His appearance would be an interesting choice because he had died back 2010 in a motorcycle accident. His voice courtesy recordings before he left the band back in 2006. The live set, Rippin It Live and Raw at the Pour House followed in 2022.

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