User:Rochrocks/sandbox/Dan Rochester

Daniel David Rochester (born 13 February 1991) is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for being the guitarist and/or bassist in Spartan Warrior, Vacivus, Cruciamentum, Starborn, Dan Rochester and Bone Tomb.

Early Life
Rochester was born in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear on 13 February 1991. He began playing guitar on his 11th birthday in 2002, and started playing gigs with a heavy metal covers band in 2005. He studied Music at GCSE level in school from 2005-2007 and then studied Popular Music at New College Durham 2007-2009.

Career
In 2008 Rochester joined death metal band Dawn of Chaos, taking over as main songwriter and gaining recording and touring experience. The band released the split ‘Northern Discomfort’ with Liverpool death metal band Neuroma in 2009 on Grindethic Records, then self-released ‘Feeding on the Unworthy: Live in London’ in 2010, recorded on their 2010 UK tour with Sweden’s Insision. Their debut full length ‘The Need to Feed’ was recorded in 2012 but then shelved in 2013 after the band split up. The album was eventually released via UKEM Records in 2015.

Rochester joined NWOBHM band Spartan Warrior in 2011, initially playing bass before moving to guitar in 2012. From 2012-2017 the band spent their time re-building their name with a new line-up after their initial split in 1985 and reformation in 2009, playing gigs and festivals in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium & Greece. From 2014-2017 Spartan Warrior recorded their 4th album (the first with Rochester), titled ‘Hell to Pay’, which was released via Pure Steel Records in February 2018.

Rochester is one of the founding members of death metal band Vacivus, formed in 2013. The band released 2 EPs – ‘Rite of Ascension’, released in 2015 on cassette via Goatprayer Records and on CD by Hellthrasher Productions & ‘Nuclear Chaos’, released in 2017 on 7” vinyl via Goatprayer Records – before signing to Profound Lore Records to release their debut full length ‘Temple of the Abyss’ in 2017. The band toured the UK, Lithuania & Germany in support of ‘Temple of the Abyss’, and as of February 2019, they are writing for their upcoming 2nd album to be released late 2019.

In 2011, Rochester started writing ideas for a black metal project which would later become Bone Tomb. The ideas were shelved while focusing on other projects but resurrected in 2014 and released as a 3 track demo entitled ‘Tombs of Blood’. The demo was released digitally and on cassette (limited to 50) by Goatprayer Records in 2015. Since 2016 Rochester has been recording the debut full length for Bone Tomb in between commitments with his other bands. The album is planned to be released in late 2019.

2016 saw Rochester join death metal band Cruciamentum and power metal band Starborn, both on bass. Cruciamentum toured Europe and Canada in 2017, and recorded a 7” entitled ‘Paradise Envenomed’ released via Profound Lore Records that same year. Starborn entered the studio in 2018 to record their debut album ‘Savage Peace’, which is planned for release in late 2019. Also in 2016, Rochester started his solo project, which is a departure from metal. The project is entirely instrumental and strictly acoustic. He self-released his debut EP digitally in 2017 and on CD in 2019. Rochester’s full length album will see a late 2019 release.

As of 2019, Rochester is involved with 6 bands alongside numerous function bands and is building a songwriting portfolio in the pop genre.

Discography

 * Spartan Warrior
 * "30 Year Anniversary" (2013)
 * "Hell To Pay" (2018)


 * Cruciamentum
 * "Paradise Envenomed" (2017)


 * Vacivus
 * "Rite of Ascension" (2015)
 * "Nuclear Chaos" (2017)
 * "Temple of the Abyss" (2017)


 * Bone Tomb
 * "Tombs Of Blood" (2015)


 * Dawn Of Chaos
 * "Northern Discomfort" (2009)
 * "Feeding on the Unworthy: Live in London" (2010)
 * "The Need To Feed" (2015)


 * Solo
 * "Dan Rochester [EP]" (2017)


 * Guest appearances
 * Live Burial
 * TBA (2019)