The Beyond

The Beyond were a progressive metal band from Derby, England. The band performed under this name between 1988 and 1993, then under the name Gorilla from 1995 to 1998.
 
The Beyond formed in 1988 as John Whitby (Vocals), Andy Gatford (Guitars), Paul Fallon (Bass) and Neil Cooper (Drums). After releasing a 3-track demo including a version of AC/DC's &Highway to Hell&; in 1990 The Beyond released an EP and a single on the Big Cat Label - 'Manic Sound Panic' and 'No Excuse'; the latter including a live cover of Dead Kennedys' &California Über Alles&. By this time, Fallon had been replaced on bass by Jim Kersey. The band toured heavily.
 
The Beyond were then signed to EMI subsidiary Harvest (best known as Pink Floyd's label throughout the seventies and early eighties). This led to support slots with Soundgarden, Xentrix, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Acid Reign, Claytown Troupe and Living Colour. In 1991, Harvest released the album Crawl which included the singles One Step Too Far (which included covers of Mudhoney's Touch Me I'm Sick and The Doors' Break on Through (To the Other Side)), Empire and The Raging E.P.. Crawl was a diverse album with evident prog, thrash, jazz and alt influences. The following year, Crawl was released in the US on the Continuum label with a revised track listing ('Second Sight' was replaced by former UK b-sides 'Nail' and 'Everybody Wins').
 
In 1993 Music For Nations released Chasm. Chasm was a darker and less jazzy album than Crawl. This time, the album was co-produced by industrial music pioneer J. G. Thirlwell aka Foetus.
 
By 1994, The Beyond had gone into hiatus. Drummer Neil Cooper made up the original line up of noise-rockers Cable, but left in '95 to rejoin Whitby and Gatford on a new project...
 
Gorilla (completed by David Petty on bass and Andy Lingard on violin) released their first Demo which consisted of 3 tracks, 'Dream on', 'Ripe' (although in some versions this track was called 'Urban Pygmy') and 'Ping'. Followed shortly after by their first EP 'Extended Play' in 1995 on the Embryo label followed by 'The Shutdown EP' on the Disinformation label. Again, the band had further streamlined their sound, heavier than before, but with less complexity in the playing, allowing John Whitby's infectious hooks to stand out. In 1997 and 1998, Gorilla released the 'Who Wants to Save the World Anyway?', and 'Outside' singles. These proved to be their last singles. Andy Lingard left the band and Gorilla briefly continued as a four-piece before disbanding.
 
In 2002 Neil Cooper joined established Irish alternative metal band Therapy?.
 
Andy Gatford (under the moniker Leon Black) and Jim Kersey (now James Kersey) formed lo-fi indie band Leon with Keyboardist Lee Horsley and drummer Jeff Davenport in 2004, Gatford providing lead vocals and guitar. Their 2005 debut album, Uppers and Downers had a positive reaction from radio and press; “A goddamn catchy little beggar.” - Garry Mulholland (Q Magazine, Observer Music Monthly) “Leon are a sweet band with a stiletto blade in each hand...good attitude.” – NME “Tuneful pop, so memorable, an achievement.” - Daily Mirror Single of the Week “Slick and scuzzy lo-fi pop rocking thats as cool and crisp as its fuzzy.” - Unpeeled Review. The singles from Uppers and Downers received radio play on XFM (playlist and session), Radio 2 (Jonathan Ross, Janice Long session), BBC6 Music and Kerrang FM. Kersey and Davenport have since been replaced by Paul Whittington (bass) and Frazer M Knight (drums).
 
In late 2008, Leon changed their name to Eskimo Fires and Andy Gatford changed his stage name from Leon Black to Andy Black.