Cubanate
London industrial band known for blending metal guitars with techno.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Cubanate were an industrial band formed in London, England, in 1992. The original lineup consisted of Marc Heal on vocals, Graham Rayner on keyboards, Phil Barry on guitar, and Steve Etheridge on drums. They were known for blending electro-industrial music with distorted heavy metal guitar and techno percussion, and later added breakbeats to their sound. After their first album, *Antimatter*, came out in 1993, Rayner and Etheridge left the band. From then on, Cubanate centered around Heal and Barry, with other musicians joining the lineup periodically.
Their second album, *Cyberia*, was released in 1995 and included their most successful single, "Oxyacetylene." The third album, *Barbarossa*, followed in 1996. Cubanate then signed with Wax Trax! Records for their 1998 album *Interference*. After work on a fifth album, *Search Engine*, was abandoned, the band went on hiatus. They reunited briefly from 2010 to 2011, and again from 2016 to 2022.
- origin
- London, England
- years_active
- 1992–2002, 2010–2011, 2016–2022
- genre
- Industrial, electro-industrial, heavy metal
- label
- Dynamica Records, Wax Trax! Records
- notable_album
- Cyberia (1995)
- notable_single
- Oxyacetylene
Lore & Background
Cubanate formed after Marc Heal met Graham Rayner through an ad in Melody Maker; they had previously played together in the synthpop band Westwon. Recruiting Phil Barry and Steve Etheridge, the band's first recording session was in September 1992, producing rough versions of 'Switch' and 'Autonomy'. They released a demo cassette titled UK 92 and played their first UK tour in November 1992 supporting Sheep on Drugs. After signing to Berlin's Dynamica Records, their debut album Antimatter was released in 1993, with the single 'Body Burn' named Single of the Week by Kerrang!. Rayner and Etheridge then left to form K-Nitrate, replaced by Julian Beeston. The Metal EP was named Single of the Week in Melody Maker in 1994. That year, Cubanate received media attention after a notoriously violent UK tour with Carcass ended in death threats to Heal, and an on-air confrontation with Bruce Dickinson on Radio One.
Reader's Guide
Cubanate's significance lies in their fusion of industrial music with heavy metal and techno, which influenced later crossover acts. Their second album Cyberia (1995) contained their most successful single 'Oxyacetylene', which peaked at No. 3 on CMJ's RPM Chart in the US and was included on the Mortal Kombat: More Kombat compilation. The band's shift to Wax Trax! Records for Interference (1998) introduced drum and bass elements, dividing fans but earning praise from others. Four of their songs appeared on the Gran Turismo soundtrack, which sold over 10 million copies. After the aborted fifth album Search Engine, the band went on hiatus, reuniting briefly in 2010–2011 and again from 2016 to 2022, playing festivals such as Cold Waves. Their legacy includes influencing bands like The Prodigy and maintaining a cult following in industrial music.
Did You Know?
- Cubanate's debut single 'Body Burn' was named Single of the Week by Kerrang!.
- The band was banned from the Strawberry Fair in Cambridge after Heal intentionally provoked fans.
- Four Cubanate songs appeared on the soundtrack of the PlayStation game Gran Turismo, which sold over 10 million copies.
- Bruce Dickinson once read Heal's home phone number live on Radio One, though it was the wrong number.
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