CLOVEN HOOF - Reach For The Sky

1979-1987 Cloven Hoof went through a few early line-up changes, including a brief spell with vocalist Steve Sammon, before settling on a steady line-up that would last their first few recordings. Theatrical from the beginning, the four band members took up pseudonyms after the four elements - David "Water" Potter, Steve "Fire" Rounds, Lee "Air" Payne and Kevin "Earth" Poutney. This line-up recorded the band's successful demo tape from 1982, along with The Opening Ritual EP, and Cloven Hoof. Following the release of their self-titled debut, David Potter left the band to be replaced by Rob Kendrick, who took up the "Water" pseudonym. This line-up only managed to record the live album Fighting Back, before splitting up completely soon after the release of the album. Lee Payne was the only member left, and soldiered on through the years. [edit]1988-1990 Lee Payne started the band again in 1988, hiring vocalist Russ North and guitarist Andy Wood from the split up band Tredegar along with drummer Jon Brown. With a whole new set of musicians in place, the band dropped the stage names and went on to record two more albums - 1988's Dominator and 1989's A Sultan's Ransom. Former member of Tredegar Lee Jones was brought to the band for the role of second guitarist soon after the release of these two albums, but contractual difficulties caused the band to split up in 1990. [edit]2001-2007 In the summer of 2001, Lee Payne began putting a new line-up together for the next reincarnation of Cloven Hoof when Andy Wood had phoned him about the contractual difficulties that had ultimately caused the band to split up for a whole decade. After a few years' work and failure to entice back any previous Hoof members, Eye of the Sun was recorded and released in 2006 with the help of studio musicians Matt Moreton on vocals, Andy Shortland on guitars, and Lynch Radinsky on drums. According to Payne, it was the first Cloven Hoof album to have been produced without any obstacles that plagued them in the 1980s, but even though he was proud of the album's successful production, he still wanted Russ North to provide his own vocals for it instead of Moreton's. Following the successful comeback release, the three hired musicians by Payne left once Russ North returned to the fold after finally taking care of the obstacles that prevented him from rejoining a few years earlier. A brief period of line-up fluctuation could be seen on the band's website over the following few months, with former member Jon Brown briefly listed as being back on board. Eventually the line-up seemed to settle with Mick Powell, a guitarist almost hired by Cloven Hoof in the early '80s. In another unannounced change, Jon Brown rejoined. [edit]2008 A collection of re-recorded songs The Definitive Part One was released in early 2008, with a new album to be called Throne of Damnation scheduled for release in 2009. Mick Powell played guitar and keyboards on The Definitive Part One but had left the band by the time it was released. Cloven Hoof continued for a few months as a four-piece again before Powell briefly rejoined in April 2008 and was eventually replaced by Christian Horton.