Beardsley / Shaw - Another Project
- Danny Beardsley
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
I am going to travel back in time to when I joined my first "Serious Band". We were called 'Isolysis'. I look back very fondly on my time spent in that band. We gigged constantly, released an EP and a debut album, and met so many wonderful people along the way. (More discussion on this band at another time.)
It is during this time on the local live scene, my path crossed with Richard Shaw from a band called 'NG26' at the time. Rich was another Paul Reed Smith Guitars user, and his guitar playing skills were bloody awesome! Incredible stage presence and confidence on stage, coupled with blistering lead lines and crushing riffs! We played so many shows together and built a great friendship up until this day!
Way back in 2012, Isolysis reached an end, and I formed a Progressive Hard Rock band with my dear friend, Daniel Hayes. (My fellow podcast host from Pick N Licks!) I can go into a lot more detail at some point, but it was the next chapter for us, and we slowly recruited members to complete the band lineup. Richard had to be on guitar duties alongside myself. (More discussion on this band at another time also.)
Fast forward a few years, and Richard ended up joining 'Cradle of Filth' from 2014 to 2022. He toured the world extensively, and recorded 'Hammer of the Witches', 'Crytoriana - Seductiveness of Decay' and 'Existence if Futile' during his time with the band. Meanwhile, I was busy with 'The Parallax Method' and my solo project.
We remained in contact throughout the years, and always planned to work together again. When the time was right, we started writing a track that embodied some of our collective influences. Imagine 'Alice in Chains' and 'Thin Lizzy' in a bar fight with 'Alter Bridge'.
The first song 'No God of Mine' featured Paul Lourenco and Benny Goodman from the States. Paul played some slamming drums, whilst Benny garnished the track with some Ozzy inspired organ. Rich used his PRS Baritone SE tuned to B standard to accomodate my vocal range, and inherently add some heft to the overall sound. The majority of the guitar tones were from Neural DSP. I believe he played bass on that track too, whilst I added acoustic guitars, vocals, and we both had to add some lead lines for good measure!
The track was premiered on 'Kerrang Radio' by Johnny Doom, on his Kerrang Unleashed show. We couldn't believe it! We never really had a plan to play any shows, but we did have the hunger to continue writing. So we wrote another track called 'Eye of the Storm'.
This time we drafted in Ben Finch and Dave Wright from 'The Parallax Method' for Drum and Bass duties.
We wanted to aim for a 'Tremonti' inspired heavy rock track. If I remember correctly, Rich tuned to an open CGCGCC tuning. (I could be mistaken, it's been a little while now.) I layered with some additional electric and acoustic guitars, then I added the vocals.
I really enjoyed working on these tracks, shifting my main focus onto vocals. I probably managed to push my voice further, both tonally and extended my range a little. I think I developed as a lyricist during this time too. I really leaned into dealing with my mental health challenges. I do this a lot, and it really helps me. Almost like self therapy, which makes thoughts feel more like a story than real life.
What an absolute treat to work alongside Richard again! I am incredibly proud of the work we've done together, and I hope these songs speak to you!
As usual, this music can be streamed from all the usual streaming platforms. Help us spread the word by letting others know it exists.
What do think? Are there other genres you'd like to hear us experiment with? Leave any comments below.
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