Ten tonne Dozer hit the road for nine-date tour in UK

Powerful Shetland groove metal band Ten Tonne Dozer are hitting the road again next month for a nine-date tour of Scotland and the north of England.

The group were formed by Australian vocalist Dave Kok and Shetlander Jamie Duncan, who plays lead guitar, back in 2005. Completing the line-up are guitarist Mick Tait, bassist Keith Nicol and new drummer Keith Neill.

Their explosive live performances have seen the band gain recognition across the UK and Europe during tours in each of the past three years, which have seen them supporting Faroese metal powerhouse SIC (no relation to our beloved local authority), Dutch rockers Monstertone and German act Samsara.

The October tour, which starts on 20th October with a gig at Bannerman’s in Edinburgh, will see Ten Tonne Dozer reunited with Monstertone for a date in Inverness on 28th October. They will be joined by Newcastle metal act A Thousand Lies for the majority of the nine dates.

Taking in Perth, where Ten Tonne Dozer will per­form as part of the Pryderfest festival, the “Mad As A Snake In A Hat” tour goes to Whitehaven, Carlisle, New­castle, Glasgow, Dundee and Inverness before finishing at Flanagan’s in Elgin on 29th October.

Before then, the band will be in action locally tonight as part of Oxjam, the annual UK-wide music festival run by charity Oxfam. They are sharing a bill with, among others, Automatic Chicken and DJ Lyall Halcrow for a gig at the Lerwick Legion.

This year has seen the band produce a new CD, Sheep Skull Buggery, and a DVD entitled March of the Dozer. They have also been confirmed to play at Vunk Fest in Shetland next July.

Among the band’s musical roots are the riffs of classic bands including Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, with touches of thrash metal from Metallica and Exodus.

They have received frequent airplay on a host of radio stations throughout the western world, helping them to build up a worldwide fan base, and their 2007 EP <i>The Valley</i> received favourable review in Metal Hammer magazine. The fanzine Alpha Vunk describes them as “the best thing to rise out from the ashes of the Shetland metal scene in 20 years”.

● For full details of the tour dates and to hear the band’s music you can visit www.myspace.com/tentonnedozer. The group also has a Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/tentonnedozer?sk= ap_2405167945.