(By Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker, Lead Journalist/Writer, RiffRelevant.com)
Back in the late 1990’s when Nu Metal was hitting its stride and straddling such sub-genre labels as “groove metal” and “alternative”, London’s Pulkas came to be.
Formed in 1998, the band were quickly scooped up by Earache Records after only a handful of live shows. The label sent the band into the studio with the famed producer Colin Richardson (Overkill, Fear Factory, Carcass, Kreator) that same year. The pairing resulted in the fantastically fierce outing “Greed“, a dark, moody album that garnered immense critical acclaim.
At the time of their début release, Pulkas‘ roster consisted of vocalist Luke Lloyd, guitarist Martin Bourne, bassist Jules McBride and drummer Rob Lewis. The ten-song album and subsequent accolades convinced the band that they deserved to be on a much larger, more mainstream record label.
Hiring themselves a new, hungry manager, the band commissioned their proxy to begin shopping them to major record labels. This was in spite of the fact that Pulkas were contractually bound to Earache for three more studio records. The band reportedly broke off all contact with the label and things soon escalated to involving lawyers and the legal system.
This move into the hearings and court phase meant the initiation of a lengthy, prolonged process. That would ultimately begin a protracted legal battle that would involve all parties in wranglings for the next two full years. During that period, Pulkas would break up with their only full-length release “Greed” and a two-song single, “Control“, being their only official output.
The short-lived Pulkas only lasted a handful of years from start to finish, which was quite a shame really. Based on their début album and the band’s fabled live performances, Pulkas were clearly ahead of their time.
They released a singular official video for the track “Loaded” which is streaming below. As far as I know, none of the band’s members went on to be involved in any other notable bands in the years since.
