Million Dead came together in London, mid-2001 consisting of Cameron Dean (guitar), Julia Ruzicka (bass), Ben Dawson (drums) and Frank Turner (lead singer) and quickly gained interest from the rock/punk/hardcore scenes of the time. By 2002 they had supported Cave In, 80’s Matchbox B-line Disaster, The Icarus Line and Alec Empire and released their first single, ‘Smiling At Strangers On Trains’ in February 2003 via Integrity/Xtra Mile Recordings. The song gained plays across Radio 1 from John Peel, Mike Davies, Mary Ann Hobbs, Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq.
In April 2003 they recorded their debut album ‘A Song To Ruin’ at Mighty Atom Studios and released it in September. It reached the Top 20 of the Independent Chart and was described by Kerrang! Editor as: “Jaw-droppingly fiery, punk-fuelled noise laced with intelligence and soul…” and by The Independent as “A quite incredible debut.” The band were also nominated for Best Newcomer at the Kerrang! Awards and invited to tour with Funeral For A Friend. Completing the year with their very first headline tour and third single, ‘I Am The Party’, which was A-listed by MTV2.
In 2004 the band performed at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, completed their second headlining tour with yourcodenameis:milo and X Is Loaded in support and joined Funeral For A Friend again on their massive UK tour. They also released their debut single for Xtra Mile Recordings, ‘I Gave My Eyes To Stevie Wonder’ in May which entered the official Top 75 single charts.
Shortly after this release Cameron amicably left the band and was replaced by Tom Fowler (ex-Abjure/Palehorse) and entered Battery Studios to write and record their second full-length album with producer Mark Williams. The resulting album traded the clean, powerful lines from the debut for a maelstrom of thick riffs and coruscating noise. These cacophonic storms also hid some of the band’s most gentle moments, including the bare-bones, acoustic-led title track. It was described by Rocksound as: “a powerful, three-dimensional monster packed with quality songs that should finally push Million Dead into the big league.” Whilst Big Cheese said: “There’s true bile and vitriol behind every bitter lyric and raging cry, yet heart in every song.”
Despite the successes of the albums and the tours, the band decided to split and played their farewell tour in September 2005, their last show in Southampton ended the short career on a high. Now, 20 years later – the band have reunited with all 5 members playing together for the first time. Their first show back was where it ended, at the Southampton Joiners before headlining the second stage at 2000 Trees in July. They will tour the country in December. Their two albums have been reissued – A Song To Ruin has been pressed on vinyl for the first time and a special anniversary edition of Harmony No Harmony has been released. Both are available to buy now.