Paul Allender

Paul Allender
Background information
Birth name	Paul Allender
Born	(1970-11-17) 17 November 1970
Origin	Colchester, England
Genres	Extreme metal
Occupation(s)	Musician Songwriter
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1992-present
Labels	Roadrunner Records
Website	Cradle of Filth

Paul Allender (born 17 November 1970 Colchester, Essex, England) is the lead guitarist of the British extreme metal band Cradle of Filth.

Early life

At the age of six years old, Paul's father introduced him to martial arts, which led to a way of life for him and the home which he grew up in. He received his first guitar at the age of fourteen, and played in staggered periods until he was nineteen years old, because his martial arts training was always his first priority.

Cradle of Filth

He joined the band as the guitarist in 1992, and stayed until 1996 when he left Cradle of Filth to join The Blood Divine and to spend more time with his son. In 1998 Paul Allender started another band called Primary Slave. In 2000, just before Primary Slave signed a recording contract, he rejoined Cradle of Filth after receiving a call from Dani Filth, along with drummer Adrian Erlandsson and keyboardist Martin Powell on the band's album, Midian.

While performing on stage with Cradle of Filth at Bloodstock Open Air in August 2009, a member of the audience used a slingshot to fire a gobstopper at the stage which narrowly missed Dani Filth, but hit Allender on his spine in his lower back. He was then sent to the hospital which caused the performance to end early.

Playing style

Paul Allender is recognized for his unique right-handed technique and is currently endorsed by PRS Guitars and Blackstar amplification.

"To tell you the truth... I don't jam. I've always played what actually I see in my head. Therefore, when I play, I don't use any specific scales or anything in order or that's musically correct or anything... I’ve always concentrated on mixing lead-oriented riffs, but in like a rhythmic sense. That's the way I've always been because I've never really been interested in doing ultra-fast lead work. I've always mixed the two up. Just concentrating on the 16th notes and stuff on the right hand, making sure it all sinks in. It’s the guitar and it’s the way we dress onstage, it’s all part of this troupe, this uniformed-like togetherness... It just comes out dark as fuck".

Graphic art

Allender also has an art side project known as "Vomitorium: The Dark Art Of Cindy Frey And Paul Allender". He also produced the artwork for New Project's debut album Ultraviolent Light.

White Empress

The rumors that Paul Allender is a co-founder of the group White Empress are just that, rumors. I am speaking directly on Mr. Allender's behalf.

External links

• TD Guitar video