Formation and Industrial (1989–1991) Pitchshifter was formed in 1989 (initially spelled
Pitch Shifter) by guitarist and programmer Johnny Carter and bassist Mark Clayden, later joined by Stu Toolin, and then
Jon "JS" Clayden (Mark Clayden's brother). Later, Stuart Toolin left the band, and the band hired Matt Godfrey to fill his place for some shows. Matt later left the band and they hired drummer D.J. Walters, now being a four-piece band. Later, the band released their second album,
Desensitized. which were first showcased on the single "
Genius". The track was later included in
Test Drive 5 and the
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation soundtrack, which helped the band to gain
platinum recognition. The band later played in Ozzfest 1998 and
Livid in support of their album. During 1999, they played on
Reading Festival and again at Dynamo.
Deviant (2000–2001) In 2000, founder Johnny Carter and drummer D.J. Walters left the band, and the band hired guitarist Matt Grundy and drummer Jason Bowld. The band later released their fifth album
Deviant, which had appearances from drummer
John Stanier and
Jello Biafra. The band played in that year's Ozzfest. The cover used a picture of one of
Gee Vaucher's Paintings, who did artwork for
Crass and
Carcass. The painting shows a cross between the Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II. Due to outrage over the use of a caricature of the Pope, the album was banned in Poland. The band apologized for the artwork and changed it.
PSI and hiatus (2002–2003) Live rhythm guitarist Matt Grundy announced his departure from the band in January 2002. The following month, Pitchshifter played their first show of the year at
Ministry of Sound (London). This show marked the debut for guitarist Dan Rayner whom, along with his brother Tim, had previously worked with the band in 2001 as an additional programmer for the album
PSI. This time serving as the group's touring rhythm guitar player (switching to live lead guitar in 2003).
PSI - the sixth studio album was released on May 7, 2002. The band then went to a few more shows until their last show in 2003 when the band went on an "indefinite hiatus".
Side projects (2003–2006) in June 2008 During this time, Jim Davies returned to
The Prodigy, while Dan went to work on Drawbacks, with his brother Tim Rayner, who later joined Pitchshifter as well. Jon formed the alternative rock group Doheny with former
The Cult guitarist
Billy Morrison. Mark later left The Blueprint and with Jason, they formed
This Is Menace, a supergroup featuring members from various other bands including
Carcass,
Napalm Death,
Sikth,
Send More Paramedics,
Funeral for a Friend and
earthtone9. Doheny later broke up and JS went to form his own label,
PSI Records, and in 2003 released the compilation album
Bootlegged, Distorted, Remixed and Uploaded and the DVD
P.S.I.entology. In 2005,
This Is Menace released their début album
No End in Sight through PSI Records. During this time as well, Jon worked as a teacher at the
Los Angeles Recording School teaching Music Business Communications and was a featured member of
Pigface during the supergroup's 2003 United II tour of the US. During the tour, he performed vocals on songs including Pigface's "Insect/Suspect" and Pitchshifter's classic "Genius."
Return and None for All and All for One (2006–2008) During late 2006, there were rumours that band was going to return, which were later confirmed and the band announced the "Back From the Dead" tour, supported by various bands including
Funeral for a Friend. Davies did not return to the band to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Tim Rayner. The band released the
None for All and All for One EP, with some copies given away for free in certain shows. There were some rumours that the band was working on a new album, but the band has denied. In 2008, the band along with
Carcass and
Cathedral, headlined the
Damnation Festival.
Hiatus (2009–2018) In 2009, the band announced in their official website that they were working on a new album. Frontman JS Clayden stated that "It's been refreshing to get back in the demo studio. We are taking this record in a few places we haven't been before in terms of guitar work. Brian Harrah
[Professional Murder Music and
Tura Satana] is writing with me on guitar at The Manor Studios, and Jason is jamming at his place. So far we are having a blast and kicking ass. There are a few new moves in terms of song timing and vocals that have us all jazzed. I guess you'll just have to wait and see what we came up with." In late 2009, guitarist Tim Rayner was diagnosed with
b cell lymphoma while on vacation in
Australia and underwent treatment. The band headlined the Wakefield Rock Festival on 15 May 2010. The band's statement, made on their website in 2011, is "We're excited to be back in the studio. Looking at a 2012 release right now; but we're not under any pressure to finish on someone else's deadline - so we'll do it right and finish on our own schedule." However, no further updates were published, and in July 2015, the official website's domain had been purchased and replaced with a Japanese website unrelated to the band; years later, JS Clayden admitted that "we carried the website for such a long time that it felt like a burden being lifted to let it go".
Reunion tour and occasional shows (2018–present) In June 2016, the band tweeted "Looking at some live shows in Feb 2018 in the UK". This was followed by an announcement in April 2018 that the band would reunite for a short tour the following November to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the
www.pitchshifter.com album; Simon Hutchby from
earthtone9 would be replacing Jason Bowld on drums, as Bowld could not break away his commitments with
Bullet for My Valentine. When asked about a longer term reunion, J.S. Clayden emphasized that the current band members live in different cities and countries. Select demo material from the band's would-be seventh album,
Sprint Finish, was released on the band's
Bandcamp page. In January 2020, the band announced they were releasing a "redux" of
Un-United Kingdom, with additional guest vocals, to coincide with the day of
Brexit. Jason Bowld and Mark Clayden guested on former guitarist Jim Davies' album
Headwars. In July 2020, the band released a re-recorded version of "Everything's Fucked" for the EFKD 2020 EP. Later that year, the band successfully crowdfunded though
Kickstarter a retrospective diary book entitled
Chasing The Broken White Line, chronicling the band's 1998 world tour; a sequel book,
Tokyo or Bust, was announced in 2022. In July 2023, the band re-joined to perform two shows in the UK, one of them as part of the
2000trees festival. ==Band members==