Million Dead
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Million Dead are an English post-hardcore band from London, active between 2000 and 2005 with a reunion planned for 2025.
HistoryEdit
The band was founded in 2000 by Cameron Dean and Julia Ruzicka, after both came to London from Australia.<ref name="Bio on official site">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They were joined by Ben Dawson, who had worked with Dean in a record shop in the city.<ref name="Bio on official site"/> The band's lineup was completed with the addition of vocalist Frank Turner, an old bandmate of Dawson's.<ref name="Bio on official site"/> The name was chosen from a lyric in the song "The Apollo Programme Was a Hoax", by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused.<ref>The exact lyric: ”Suck on my words for a while, choke in the truth of a million dead”</ref> The first Million Dead demo was recorded in September 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The band's touring career began with support sets for Cave In, The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, The Icarus Line and Alec Empire. In late 2002, the band signed to Integrity Records / Xtra Mile Recordings, and released their first single, "Smiling At Strangers On Trains".<ref name="Bio on official site"/> The video for the single, directed by Adam Mason, proved controversial as it featured scenes of a homeless man urinating through a letterbox, as well as on Dean.
The single received support from John Peel, Mike Davies, Mary Anne Hobbs and Steve Lamacq, helping the band secure a support slot with Pitchshifter on their farewell tour.<ref name="Bio on official site"/>
The band entered the studio in April 2003 to record their debut album, A Song to Ruin, released in September, along with the single "Breaking The Back". In December 2003, following a tour with Funeral for a Friend, Million Dead embarked on their first headline tour of the UK in support of the album, supported by Jarcrew and Minus.<ref name="Bio on official site"/>
In 2004, guitarist Cameron Dean announced he was leaving the band and was replaced by Tom Fowler. After a series of festival dates over the summer, the band re-entered the studio to record a new album. Written and recorded in eight weeks, Harmony No Harmony was released in May 2005, followed by another UK headline tour with Engerica and Days of Worth,<ref name="Bio on official site"/> and support dates on Finch's UK tour.
Million Dead remixed the song "Pop Idol" by Blade, providing an instrumental-only arrangement for the rapper, the original song having previously appeared on his earlier record "Storms Are Brewing".
In September 2005, it was announced via the band's official website that Million Dead were to call it a day at the conclusion of their September tour, as "irreconcilable differences within the band mean that it would be impossible to continue".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The band played their final concert at Southampton's Joiners venue on 23 September 2005.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Since the band's breakup, vocalist Frank Turner has made a career as a solo folk/punk artist. Tom Fowler and Julia Ruzicka played guitar and bass in another band, Quiet Kill (2005–2006) and then Who Owns Death TV (2007–2009), and The Idle Hearts in 2009. Ben Dawson currently plays drums for Palehorse, Mothlite, Queen of Swords, Armed Response Unit and Mïngle Härde; a hardcore punk band he formed with Frank Turner and Matt Nasir of Turner's backing band, The Sleeping Souls. Ruzicka also currently plays bass with Future of the Left, and played bass for Dream of an Opium Eater and Tricky on their tour in 2010. In November 2016, Ruzicka released her debut album under the name This Becomes Us. The album features 10 tracks written by Ruzicka and featuring Ian Wilson of Art Brut on guitar and Jack Egglestone of Future of the Left on drums. The first nine tracks on the album feature vocals recorded by what Ruzicka describes as "9 very different, and very inspiring vocalists", including Black Francis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2011, Turner commented on the band's break-up. "I'm very proud of all the music we made in that band," he said. "It came to an end. The actual process of that end wasn't very fun. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I hadn't done Million Dead before. I'm glad it happened. Once the end of Million Dead rolled around, I just didn't want to be in a band anymore. The last year of Million Dead was just murderous. Four people who want to kill each other, sat in a van driving around Europe...it's no fun."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Turner has continued to perform "Smiling At Strangers On Trains" live since the split of the band, often including it in solo sets. In 2019, Mïngle Härde also began playing the song.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 17 October 2024 an Instagram account<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was created, hinting at a 2025 reunion. On 23 October 2024 it was announced that a reunion would be taking place in 2025 with their original lineup consisting of Frank Turner, Julia Ruzicka, Tom Fowler, Ben Dawson and Cameron Dean. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DiscographyEdit
Studio albumsEdit
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="Million Dead Chart History">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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UK Rock <ref name="UK Rock Albums Chart">Peak chart position on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart:
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UK Indie <ref name="UK Independent Albums Chart">Peak chart position on the UK Independent Albums Chart:
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| A Song to Ruin |
|
154 | 17 | 14 | |
| Harmony No Harmony | 109 | — | — | ||
SinglesEdit
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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UK Rock <ref name="UK Rock Singles Chart">Peak chart position on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart:
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UK Indie <ref name="UK Indie Singles Chart">Peak chart position on the UK Indie Singles Chart:
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SCO <ref name="Scottish Singles Chart">Peak chart position on the Scottish Singles Chart:
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| "Smiling At Strangers On Trains" | 2003 | 128 | 14 | 48 | — | A Song to Ruin | |||||||||
| "Breaking The Back" | 100 | — | 21 | — | |||||||||||
| "I am the Party" | 82 | 8 | 9 | 83 | |||||||||||
| "I Gave My Eyes To Stevie Wonder" | 2004 | 72 | 9 | 9 | 75 | Non album single | |||||||||
| "Living the Dream" | 2005 | 60 | — | 9 | 67 | Harmony No Harmony | |||||||||
| "After The Rush Hour" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "To Whom It May Concern" | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
DemosEdit
- "Million Dead (First Demo)" - September 2001
- "Million Dead (Second Demo)" - June 2002
VideographyEdit
- "Smiling At Strangers On Trains"
- "Breaking The Back"
- "I Am The Party"
- "I Gave My Eyes To Stevie Wonder"
- "Living The Dream"
- "After The Rush Hour"
- "To Whom It May Concern"
- "Pornography For Cowards"