Once upon a time, back in the mists of time, there was a producer who was working with a pop artiste, who needed a guitarist ….
Luckily, said producer’s friend’s band had been in the studio recording a demo, and thus where Rupert and Ryan met … Rupert asked Ryan to step in to record the song and it worked well. Whilst recording, the two found that musically they had a lot in common … and so decided to have a go at recording a cover that Rupert had wanted to do for a long time … “Don’t Pay The Ferryman” by Chris Deburgh … possibly not the first song you would think of as a heavy rock song. All it needed was a singer, so it was decided to ask the singer in Ryan’s band, Lucie, who immediately made it her own, and thus the band Into The Unknown was born.
The strange mix of Ryan (a huge fan of Slash and AC/DC, and a music college graduate), coupled with Lucie, (whose only taste of fame was as a performer on the Czech Republic equivalent of the X Factor, and a fan of Adele amongst other things), and Rupert, (a producer known for touring with a lot of American rock bands, but also having been the bass player for a short while with English band Thunderclap Newman!) seems to work. This resulted in their debut album “Out of the Shadows” which was an interesting mix of light and shade, from the aforementioned “Don’t pay The Ferryman”, through an interesting take on Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” to the anthemic “Monsters” and the epic “Demons and Angels”. One minute the band is rocking out to the heavy guitars of “Why Me?” and “Once” then chilling out with the acoustic feel of “Breaking my Heart” . Catchy choruses and soaring vocals meld with raucous riffs to create a debut album anyone would be proud of.
The album was met with critical acclaim, and the diverse feel of the album earned them many fans. This diversity continued on with their second album “Breaking the Silence”, released in 2019, kicking off with the heavy rocking “Pandora’s Box”, followed up by the equally powerful “Are You Ready” and “Live Your Life”, whilst the acoustic side was catered for by the piano ballad “You Can’t Have Love Without The Pain” and the emotive “Back In Time”. Once more the band showcased their take on an unusual cover, this time taking on 80s pop star Howard Jones’ “What Is Love?”.
The biggest problem with only having three members was that they couldn’t rehearse the songs in full before recording, so they had been warming up by recording covers prior to the full sessions. They realised that they had quite a few under their belt, and this resulted in 2018’s mini album of covers, “The Other Side of the Wall”. It also led to the realisation that they needed to expand their membership. First up was James as rhythm guitar, first showcased in the stand alone single “Out In the Fields” in 2019.
Unfortunately circumstances conspired against them, the pandemic hit, and Lucie needed to return to her native Czech Republic, and sadly had to leave the band. Paul and Richard joined the band, and whilst auditions were undertaken to find the right new singer, album 3 was being written. Various lockdowns and restrictions meant that both the auditions and recordings were delayed, as were rehearsals for live shows.
Fast forward to 2021 (at least the very end of 2021!) and finally new singer Natalie is announced, as well as the launch of their new single. Two acoustic tracks were recorded during lockdown, in remote locations, and these songs are being released as ‘b sides’, new versions of “Breaking My Heart”, and “Don’t Pay The Ferryman”.
Into the Unknown are:
Ryan Rivers – lead guitar
Rupert Withers – Bass
James Milner – rhythm guitar
Richard Novak – Drums
Paul Knightley – keyboards
Natalie Shedden – vocals