Lychgate was formed in 2011 by Vortigern (guitars) with the collaboration of Greg Chandler (vocals and guitars), Aran (Bass) and T. J. F. Vallely (drums). The debut album, self-titled, was recorded in 2012 and released in the first quarter of 2013. It was based on pre-Lychgate material from the previous decade.
Between January 2012 and December 2013, Vortigern wrote material for the second album entitled 'An Antidote for the Glass Pill' - a concept album inspired by Bentham's Panopticon. It was recorded almost entirely at Priory Studios intermittently in the second half of 2014. When completed, it was offered to the Finnish label Blood Music (Emperor, Perturbator, Maudlin of the Well, Sigh etc.) who released the work in August 2015. This was the springboard for the next evolution of the band, with the utilisation of organ as a compositional backbone to all tracks and a more radical approach to composition, with influences from late 19th century/early 20th century art music, Rock in Opposition, musique concréte and 1940s-70s cinema. Besides the core line-up and addition of Alan Webb on bass, the band invited Kevin Bowyer to perform all organ parts.
The press received the album highly, with praise given to the uniqueness and forward-thinking approach. Shortly after the release date, a European tour was conducted with Nightbringer in November 2015 . The following year, the band performed the entire album with real organ at Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, the Netherlands.
In August 2017, Lychgate entered Orgone Studios with producer Jaime Gomez (Ulver, Sólstafir, Paradise Lost) to record the third album for Blood Music, entitled 'The Contagion In Nine Steps', in which the band adopted generally slower tempos, and psychedelic atmospheres. It was inspired by the Stanisław Lem novel The Invincible (Niezwyciężony) and variations on the theme of group-think and crowd psychology.
During August/September 2019, an EP entitled 'Also sprach Futura' was recorded at Priory Studios, inspired by the film Metropolis (1925/1927), and other sources including Golem XIV (Lem, 1981) and Ovid's 'Metamorphoses', as well as references to transhumanism. The work was quicker paced, somewhat reminiscent of earlier works, while introducing new elements. It was released on Debemur Morti Productions (Blut Aus Nord, Ulcerate etc.) in March 2020.
The band features members who have been part of other projects such as Esoteric, The One, Macabre Omen, Lunar Aurora and Omega Centauri. The current line-up features the following members:
G. A. Chandler — Vocals
Vortigern — Guitar, Vocals and Piano
S. D. Lindsley — Guitar
Will Pearson — Drums (Live)