Martin Walkyier Biography

Martin Walkyier (born 20 November 1967) is an English singer known for his bands Sabbat and Skyclad and for his lyrics. Metal Hammer journalist Detlef Dengler called Walkyier a "great lyricist" known for his multitude of words and "brilliant puns"; yet Walkyier was never asked to write lyrics for other bands, "unfortunately", as he says.

Biography

Walkyier was born on 20 November 1967 as the only child of Roy and Eve Walkyier. At the age of eight he began to be interested in acting and poetry and started to play guitar. Fascinated by bands like Witchfynde, he formed Hydra with Fraser Craske and later Sabbat. Walkyier quit his job as a truck driver to invest more time in his music although he would have no secure income. He left Sabbat in 1990 and returned with Skyclad, a band that mixed heavy metal with folk music and pioneered folk metal. After the release of ten albums, Walkyier was broke; he later said that "[T]he insight that you can't live on dreaming came too late. Unfair contracts, incompetent advisers, wrong decisions and my naivety almost broke my neck. I ended up feeling like in a marriage not divorced because of the children." Skyclad were only a hobby for the other members. Walkyier left Skyclad and started working as a nightwatchman for a furniture store, gave occasional concerts under the name Return to the Sabbat and started the company Prick Tees, which designs and produces T-shirts.

Walkyier helped out Iscariah when the latter moved to England with his family: Walkyier got him a flat and a job for Iscariah's wife. It took two years to organise everything before they could seriously work on Walkyier's new band, The Clan Destined. Walkyier had to help his frail mother and his ill father while The Clan Destined got into the background. According to Walkyier, Iscariah left without telling him why and abandoned him. However, he finished In the Big Ending, but was disillusioned and announced it would be his last musical work, but had promise at his father's deathbed that he would continue. Roy Walkyier died in early 2007. Martin Walkyier structured and arranged the music composed by Iscariah. Andy Sneap wanted to produce the recordings but had to work with Nevermore; James Murphy, a friend of Sneap's, offered Walkyier his help. The final album features a DVD with a video to the song "A Beautiful Start to the End of the World", inspired by the novel Aime und Jaguar. Although, according to Metal Hammer journalist Detlef Dengler, the video "is professional and looks very expensive", it cost "almost nothing" according to Walkyier, as The Clan Destined consist of Pagans with a common life philosophy: "artists, designers and film makers".

Along with Andy Sneap, Frazer Craske (who has now left the band and been replaced by Gizz Butt), Simon Jones and Simon Negus, Walkyier reformed Sabbat in 2006 to play shows. In late 2008, he had finished the recordings for The Clan Destined's debut album and recorded vocals for Hell's debut album; Walkyier has stated that "Hell and especially their singer Dave Halliday were my idols in the early 1980s. My friends all listened to Metallica, but I felt attracted by bands with image and true personality. The theatrics of bands like Hell influenced me tremendously." As Walkyier's friend Andy Sneap also was "a fanatic Hell supporter", they approached the remaining three members after Halliday's suicide and offered to help them out as singer and guitarist and give the old songs a modern production. He also contributed guest vocals for Cradle of Filth and Forgodsake. In 2008 or 2009, Walkyier announced he was working on a rock opera, the story being titled Plugging Hellfire and published in Devolution magazine, illustrated by Neil Sims, and a biography with Paul Stenning's support.

However, in late October 2009, Walkyier announced that he is working upon writing and recording some brand-new material for The Clan Destined. He felt encouraged by messages from fans and promised his father to write something to honour his memory. He has recruited the "exceptionally talented" guitarist and composer Jacqui Taylor to the band. Furthermore, Jay Graham, former Skyclad drummer will be drumming on the new Clan Destined album. Walkyier further stated: "I'm currently looking for people who have what it takes to join together with me in this creative endeavour, both in the studio and at live THE CLAN DESTINED concerts (you know who you are!)."

Discography

With Sabbat

• Blood for the Blood God EP, 1987
• Stranger Than Fiction Demo, 1987
• A Cautionary Tale/And the Brave Man Fails Split, 1988
• History of a Time to Come Full-length, 1988
• Dreamweaver Full-length, 1989
• Wildfire/The Best of Enemies Single, 1989

With Skyclad

• The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth Full-Length 1991
• A Burnt Offering for the Bone Idol Full-Length 1992
• Tracks from the Wilderness EP 1992
• Jonah's Ark Full-Length 1993
• Thinking Allowed? Single 1993
• Prince of the Poverty Line Full-Length 1994
• The Silent Whales of Lunar Sea Full-Length 1995
• Irrational Anthems Full-Length 1996
• Oui Avant-Garde Chance Full-Length 1996
• The Answer Machine? Full-Length 1997
• Outrageous Fourtunes Limited Edition EP 1998
• Vintage Whine Full-Length 1999
• Classix Shape Limited Edition EP 1999
• Folkmon Full-Length 2000
• Another Fine Mess Live Album 2001

With The Clan Destined

• In the Big Ending Demo 2006

Guest appearances

During Walkyier's career, he has made several guest vocal appearances such as:

• A verse in the Forgodsake song "Skyhigh" from the Blasthead album (1994)
• Guest vocals on Cradle of Filth's cover of the Sabbat track "For Those Who Died" on Midian (2000) and on the song "The Snake-Eyed and the Venomous" from the deluxe edition of Thornography (2006)
• Guest Vocals on Torsohorse song "Face To Face" from 2006 album No Going Back
• Guest vocals on Skiltron's cover of the Running Wild track "Ballad of William Kidd" from the ReUnation - A Tribute to Running Wild album (2009)
• Verse on "Female Drugthing" on Pyogenesis' Love Nation Sugarhead EP, Nuclear Blast 1997
• Guest vocals on Tuatha de Danann's "Rhymes Against Humanity" from their 2015 album Dawn of a New Sun