Full on Gothic rock, reminiscent of when guitars were at the forefront of gothic music, but underpinned with an up to date electronic edge.

9 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Goth, METAL/PUNK: Gothic Metal

Show all album songs: Esprit d'Escalier Songs


Details:
The Way of all Flesh proudly present their self-financed debut, 'Esprit d'Escalier'.

ALBUM

The title refers to the belated riposte one might come up with after coming off second-best in an argument, and initially provided the title of track 7. However it also seemed a fitting title for an album whose subject matter revolves mainly around destructive relationships and unresolved conflicts...

The album represents a turning point for the band, drawing a line under their slowly-evolving back catalogue while at the same time looking forward to the next stage, to new songs and new audiences.

TWOAF are currently gigging regularly and look forward to visiting a dark place near you...

HISTORY

The Sheffield-based four-piece can trace their origins back to 1996, but apart from a couple of gigs in early '97, only really got started as a live band early in the new millenium. These early gigs were mostly restricted to the Sheffield area, their one foray outside Yorkshire yielding only eight paying punters. By contrast the band's home gigs had included successful support slots to the likes of the Dream Disciples, Chaos Engine and Sex Gang Children. The band built a loyal local following on the backs of these appearances, and their untitled 2003 demo was also gaining them wider recognition, getting frequent air- and club play in a variety of goth clubs and radio stations in the UK, Europe and Russia.

Work on the debut album began in mid-2004; the DIY approach appeared to be the order of the day and most of the drums, keyboards, bass and guitar tracks were painstakingly laid down in Steve's home studio whenever spare evenings were available. By autumn the band were ready for the next step, booking into Sheffield's Avalon studios for vocal recording and mixing and by January 2005 the album was substantially complete. However the finished article was not to see the light of day until August that year...

In the meantime the band resumed gigging in earnest, and ventured outside Sheffield for the first time in nearly four years. Gigs in Leeds, Bradford, Basingstoke and Edinburgh followed, the latter providing some much-needed exposure in the form of a slot at the Dark City Festival. On the back of this appearance the band secured a one-off support gig with '80s veterans Gene Loves Jezebel in the same city three weeks later. GLJ were impressed enough to offer TWOAF another support slot for the following week - in Sheffield, of all places!

Meanwhile, back at the album pressing plant, a last-minute technical hitch delayed the release of 'Esprit d'escalier' by two crucial days, which saw the band play their much-vaunted album launch gig without a product to sell. Luckily a few boxes of TWOAF Rock were deployed and the baying masses were placated - for a while...