The Line-Up
Four musicians with deep roots in the UK rock and metal scene. Click any member to read the full story.
Dean Taylor has been playing guitar and active in bands since sixteen. His first band, heavily influenced by Terrorvision, The Wildhearts and The Almighty, set the template for a career built around hard rock with real teeth.
He went on to front Gloucestershire rock band Murdoc — touring the country, winning Best Unsigned Band with Kerrang Radio, playing alongside Void (now Scarlet Rebels) and Anti-Product, and shooting a video with Suicide Girls. Next came Nukchorris, signed to Raven Black Music, earning Best Live Act at the Exposure Music Awards and landing main support for Goldsboro on their UK tour off the back of Sons of Anarchy fame. Their debut single had Earache Records sitting up and taking notice.
The band later rebranded as You're Still Dead, picking up international airplay before calling it a day in January 2020. That same year, Dean co-founded Nophobia with Nathan Hooper — and the rest is still being written.
Nathan first picked up a guitar at 10 and had his first band, Zebedee, up and playing sold-out shows by 13. After a period running nightclub Sugar and promoting rock and metal nights, music pulled him back in properly when he put on the Alternative Fringe Festival — a weekend-long rock and metal event where he met people who would become his future bandmates.
He went on to play lead guitar in female-fronted five-piece Live Rounds, touring more than 40 shows a year, releasing their self-titled album, and finishing runners-up in Metal 2 The Masses. Alongside this he ran 50 Cal Promotions, supporting the local heavy music scene while also developing his production and recording skills.
In 2020, Nathan teamed up with Dean to co-found Nophobia. He also convinced the band to ditch valve amps entirely in favour of digital rigs with in-ear monitoring and click tracks — giving both the live sound and recorded material a much bigger, cleaner edge. Six years in and still building.
Jake's musical journey started with a black Telecaster and a copy of Pearl Jam's Ten. He joined his first band, Treacle Sleep, while still at school — sharing a stage with a young Dean Taylor as they found their feet on the Gloucester circuit.
After moving to bass, he rejoined Dean in Murdoc — voted Best Unsigned Band by Kerrang Radio, featured on BBC Introducing, and playing everywhere from Gloucester Guildhall to Camden's Dublin Castle. Next came industrial post-hardcore outfit Mordachi in London, who built a reputation as one of the capital's most ferocious live bands.
Jake then spent a decade on guitar with atmospheric black metal outfit Shadowflag, recording four full-length albums, playing shows across the UK and Europe, and making the road trip to the Carpathian Alliance Festival in Ukraine. Since Shadowflag, he has also played with goth rock/synthwave outfit Inver and black metal supergroup Ullenwood. Now anchoring the low end for Nophobia, Jake brings a wealth of experience and a ferocious stage presence to the band.
A self-taught drummer who picked up the sticks at 16, Rob's early career ran two bands simultaneously — thrash outfit Mephitis and glam rockers Thai Dyed Suicide. A standout early moment: playing Wolverhampton Civic Hall (Wulfrun) with Mephitis just one week after Nirvana had been on the same stage.
After a lengthy hiatus, Rob returned to the kit in 2016 a fundamentally different player — the time away shifting his focus from raw power to technique, precision, and feel. Since his return he has become a well-respected figure in the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire scene, recording multiple albums with David Kahl (OldErnie) at Farmyard Studios and Shaken Oak, and joining Shadowflag for the final two years of their run — including the band's memorable 10-year farewell gig at Scruffy Murphy's in Birmingham, where he shared the stage with fellow Nophobia bassist Jake Doherty.
In 2023 he co-founded Kromiius, who have released several singles and gigged heavily across the country. Rob also deps regularly for Bare Knuckle Asylum, with whom he has played HRH Great Yarmouth and HRH Ibiza. A dedicated member of the Green Room Studios family, he brings groove, technical skill, and complete reliability to every project.
