Channel Zero

Often hailed by metal enthusiasts as the "Belgium Metallica," the hard-rocking quartet Channel Zero featured vocalist Franky "DSVD" De Smet Van Damme, guitarist Xavier Carion, drummer Phil B., and bassist Tino DeMartino. The Brussels-based group came together in 1990 and delivered an independent self-titled debut two years afterward while cultivating a loyal following across Germany and at home. Their second album, Stigmatized for Life, surfaced in mid-1993; during this period they shared bills with Biohazard, Obituary, Napalm Death, Life of Agony, and Pro-Pain while also routing across Europe alongside Exhorder and M.O.D.

The band’s third effort, Unsafe, appeared in 1995 and became their most commercially successful release to date. They promoted it through co-headlining dates with Megadeth and Danzig, festival slots at Torhout/Werchter, Pukkelpop, and Bourges, and a headline run through Australia. Their fourth album, Black Fuel, followed in 1996, yet Channel Zero disbanded in August 1997. Former members subsequently joined other similarly oriented acts, while De Smet Van Damme shifted focus to producing emerging Belgian metal bands.

Channel Zero reformed in 2010, staging a string of sold-out hometown shows in Brussels before issuing the single "Black Flowers" and confirming work on fresh material. Their first album in fourteen years, Feed 'Em with a Brick, surfaced in 2011 via Roadrunner Records. After drummer Phil Baheux died in 2013, Ray Mayorga joined the lineup, enabling the band to complete a sixth album, Kill All Kings, in 2014. Three years later they returned with their seventh long-player, Exit Humanity.