Pitch Shifter



A British industrial-metal (and later on, electronic-rock) band formed in 1989. Initially playing a minimalistic, sludgy, and very heavy variation of industrial metal reminiscent of Streetcleaner-era Godflesh, Pitch Shifter later added elements from electronica, such as drum 'n bass and jungle-inspired percussion, resulting in positive critical attention and relatively good (though still modest) sales for releases like www.pitchshifter.com. Since their (to date) last album release PSI in 2002, the band has become largely dormant, only playing the occasional festival and releasing an EP, though there have been rumours of a new album flying around since 2009, with a new album scheduled for release in 2012.

The current lineup is:


 * J.S. Clayden - vocals/programming, lyrics, backing vocals on Industrial.
 * Mark Clayen - bass, vocals and lyrics on Industrial.
 * Jason Bowld - drums/percussion.
 * Dan Rayner - lead guitar (live member).
 * Tim Rayner - rhythm guitar (live member).

Releases:


 * Industrial (1991)
 * Submit mini-album (1992)
 * Desensitized (1993)
 * Infotainment? (1996)
 * www.pitchshifter.com (1998)
 * Deviant (2000)
 * PSI (2002)

This band contains the following trope examples:

 * Cluster F-Bomb: "Keep It Clean" and "Everything's Fucked"
 * Follow the Leader: Industrial and Submit owe quite a bit to early-period Godflesh. It's even theorized that the blurred face on the cover of Industrial is that of Justin Broadrick.
 * Genre Shift: Take a listen to both Industrial and PSI and you'll see how much the band changed drastically within ten years.
 * Iconic Logo: The PSI eye.
 * Industrial Metal
 * Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Around a 9 for Industrial and Submit, declining to around 5-6 for www.pitchshifter.com onwards.
 * Sampling: As well as incorporating dialogue samples into some of their songs, Pitch Shifter offered a collection of samples for use on their albums Infotainment? and www.pitchshifter.com.
 * Three Chords and the Truth
 * TV Never Lies: One of Pitch Shifter's main concerns is the relation between media and government/corporate control.
 * Word Salad Lyrics: Much of Industrial''s lyrics sheet consists of words or short phrases that complement the harsh music, but don't scan too well.