Scott's Spotlight #49: BigElf

 To be posted to Facebook on 10/17/25

Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #49.  For more information about this series, please click here:

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Today I’ll be checking out a band that left the scene about a decade ago, but left a legacy of great heavy prog infused with a bit of psychedelia: BigElf. 

BigElf was initially formed in 1991 by keyboardist/vocalist/guitarist Damon Fox and bassist/vocalist Richard Anton in Los Angeles, California. They added Andrew H.M. Butler-Jones on guitar and drummer Thom Sullivan.  By the mid 90s they built a following as a dynamic original live band.  In 1995, they recorded their first 6-song EP, titled “Closer to Doom”.  Depending on the source, the EP was released either in 1995, 96, or 98.  However, 1996 seems to be the most creditable date. By the time of the EP’s recording, Thom Sullivan had been replaced on the kit by Steve Frothingham.  The EP helped build BigElf’s reputation as a dynamic band.  Not long after the EP was released, founding member Richard Anton exited the band, and they would continue for a time as a 3-piece, with Fox taking on the bass.   They especially were embraced by Scandinavian fans, which led to the band eventually relocating their home base to Stockholm, Sweden.  While the date is unclear for that move, they were there by the end of the year 2000. “Closer to Doom” was reissued in 1998 with 4 additional tracks. Some of the tracks I have enjoyed from it are “Change”, “Crazy”, “Frustration” and the title track.  To give an idea of the band’s sound, I’d say to take a bit of the Beatles “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, mixed with early Hammond organ and fuzz guitar soaked Deep Purple and top it with a layer of Mellotron.

The first full album was recorded in 1997 but not released until 2000 by the Swedish label Record Haven and titled “Money Machine” The album continues much in the same vein as the EP, soundwise. I have enjoyed pretty much every track on the album, with the title track, “Sellout”, “Neuropsychopathic Eye” and “Bitter End” being stand outs, along with an awesome cover of the Atomic Rooster track “Death Walks Behind You”.  Not long after the album dropped, the band added Swedish bassist Duffy Snowhill.  The band, with Snowhill in place, would release a 6-track EP called “Goatbridge Place” in 2001 consisting of 2 tracks from “Money Machine” and 4 live tracks (3 songs from “Money Machine” and a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”).  (The live tracks from this EP are now included on expanded editions of “Money Machine”).  Sadly, though, tragedy struck the band not long afterward.  While playing the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden in the summer of 2001, Guitarist Andrew Butler-Jones, fell it backstage, with pneumonia and a fever of 103 degrees Farenheidt, as did Damon Fox.  The two were eventually given antibiotics. Fox soon recovered, but Butler-Jones did not.  The guitarist was a diabetic and fell into a coma.  He would remain in the coma for 8 years, after being airlifted back to the US, until his passing on December 31, 2009 at the age of 42.

Fox and company decided to carry on, and added guitarist Ace Mark from Finland to the line up.  This quartet of Fox, “Froth” (Frothingham), Snowhill and Mark would record and release the wonderful second full length BigElf album “Hex” in 2003.  The band had been signed with Warner Music Sweden prior to this release, giving major label muscle to the band.  They expanded their cult following in Europe and began gaining more attention from the prog fan community around the world.  While the heavy psych sound still remains prominent, the band’s sonic palette seems to be expanding on this album; they seem to be embracing more prog-rock qualities.  The album opener “Madhatter” has been called a signature track for the band, surely referencing Damon Fox’s preference for wearing top hats.  Interestingly, there are two similarly named tracks on the album, with track 2 being titled “Bats in the Bulfry II” (yes, spelled that way), and track 11 called “Bats in the Belfry I” (yes, spelled that way). The later one especially is very proggy with an extended complex instrumental section.  Other notable tracks include “Disappear”, “Rock & Roll Contract” and “Burning Bridges”  The album was actually preceded by their third and final EP, called “The Madhatter EP”, which contains said track, a very grungy style track called “Why?”, “Bats and the Belfry III” (yes, released before the other two) and “Brown-Eyed Girl” which is NOT a cover of the Van Morrison classic.  

During this time period, Damon Fox had begun playing with a very unlikely artist–pop princess Christina Aguilera.  He actually had already appeared on her 2002 album “Stripped” as a session keyboardist along with a plethora of other musicians.  It seems that this led to Aguilera’s producer and sometimes-composer, Linda Perry, (who became known from “What’s Up?” by the 4-Non Blondes) taking an interest in Fox and BigElf.  Fox would appear on additional albums by Aguilera and other artists produced by Linda Perry such as Alicia Keys, Celine Dion and Ben Jelen.  Perry then signed BigElf to her Custard label who released their third album, “Cheat the Gallows” in 2008.  Perry even provides backing vocals on a couple of tracks.  The album is still pure BigElf, however.  The only possible influence of Fox’s foray into the world of big-time pop music seems to be the extra instrumentation on the album:

- Kung-Pao Horns / horns (1,2,10)

- The Section Quartet / strings (5,7)

- The Gallows Orchestra / strings (1,3,6,10)

- Eric Gorfain / string arrangements

I really LOVE this album.  The album seems to have a theme of warning of the excesses and pitfalls of the rock music industry.  The opening track “The Gravest Show on Earth”, “Blackball”, “The Evils of Rock & Roll”, “Superstar” and others reinforce the theme.The closing track, “Counting Sheep” is BigElf’s longest at 11:20.  This is killer heavy prog. In the touring cycle for this album, BigElf opened for three prog heavyweights on legs of each of their tours– Dream Theater, Opeth, and Porcupine Tree.

Unfortunately for the band, Perry and Custard eventually dropped them from the label, as the album didn’t bring BigElf the mainstream success they had hoped for.  Fox would later indicate (in this interview: https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-bigelf-dna-is-stronger-than-you-think-how-mike-portnoy-helped-resurrect-bigelf-with-into-the-maelstrom) that he had no hard feelings about it, and appreciated all that Perry had done for the band.   However, the band went into a “dark period”, according to the same interview:

—(begin article quote)--

After the many years of toil, fame and fortune still eluded the band. As a result, long-simmering issues within that line-up – ranging from salary disputes to hindsight disagreements over the sound of Cheat The Gallows – came to a boil. Worse, the timing coincided with challenges in the band members’ personal lives, including “a really dark time” for Fox. 

“What was about to happen was another Captain Fox pep talk: ‘We’re going to go get ’em. We’ve got our armies to this point and no one can take us,’” says the bandleader. “But it wasn’t going to work for Ace. He quit. He had a baby and his father had passed away. That changes your perspective on life.”

Fox mimics the sound of an egg cracking to describe what happened next. The yolk had spilt. Bigelf were over. 

—(end article quote)--

But, eventually they would return for one last hurrah.  Eventually, Fox and Snowhill started jamming.  For reasons unbeknownst to me, “Froth” did not return to the band.  So, when it came time to record the tracks that Fox and Snowhill had developed, Fox called a drummer he knew and asked him to fill in.  That drummer was none-other than once and future Dream Theater (and uncountable other projects) drum god,  Mike Portnoy.  While Fox was not intending it to be a reboot of BigElf, and encouraged Portnoy to play in his signature style, Portnoy had other ideas, telling Fox (in the same article):

—(begin article quote)---

In turn, the legendary drummer encouraged Fox to reactivate Bigelf. 

“I really wanted him to do his thing versus copying the Bigelf thing. He was worried it wouldn’t sound like Bigelf. I said: ‘Don’t worry. The Bigelf DNA is stronger than you think.’” Portnoy’s performance on Into The Maelstrom emphasises the groove side of his drumming over his busy fills.

“When I played it to my friends, they said: ‘Who’s this guy? Where’s Portnoy?’” laughs Snowhill.

—(end article quote)---

Of course, Portnoy’s drumming does occasionally come to the forefront, as with the big fills on “Alien Frequency” and the epic closer “ITM” (the initials of the album’s title, “Into the Maelstrom”).  As for the guitarist, the band brought in Luis Maldonado, who had worked with Glenn Hughes, (Portnoy’s DT bandmate) James LaBrie, and UFO.  Maldonado, being a Hispanic musician, has begun his guitar career by playing Flamenco music, which he feels contributed to his speed as a player.  The end result is nothing short of brilliant!  “Into the Maelstrom” dropped in 2014, and was very well received by BigElf fans. According to the referenced article, three of the album’s tracks are about fallen guitarist Andrew H.W. Butler-Jones:  “The Professor And The Madman”,  “High” and “Mr Harry McQuhae” (the latter’s title is a reference to the deceased guitarist’s middle names). Other notables on the album are the amazing opener “Incredible Time Machine”, and “Hypersleep”, but it is amazing all the way through.  It was released by a label well-known to fans of modern prog, Inside Out in 2024.  However, the album seems to be the final punctuation mark to BigElf as a band.

Not long afterward, in 2015, Damon Fox joined The Cult as a keyboardist/rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist, with whom he remained until 2022.  When I recently inquired on Facebook regarding the status of the band, the replies of those in the know seem to indicate that BigElf is no more, although I can find no official statement confirming that.  Stranger things have happened in prog, however.  So while I am not holding my breath for another reboot, I would not necessarily rule it out either.  I hope that this Spotlight finds all of the band members in good health and perhaps one day they will consider a comeback!  They are much missed!

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Prog On!

Scott

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LINKS FOR LISTENING:

From “Closer to Doom”:

“Change”

https://youtu.be/Fxos8Pl4By4

“Closer to Doom”

https://youtu.be/XresGWrug8U

From “Money Machine”

“Money Machine”:

https://youtu.be/-Vrd9GTyI_Q

“Neuropsychopathic Eye”

https://youtu.be/XrkT97tquVc

From “Hex”:

“Madhatter” (Official Music Video)

https://youtu.be/15unVOXJv8M

“Disappear”

https://youtu.be/j3LNEPswoL0

From “Cheat the Gallows”

“The Gravest Show on Earth”

https://youtu.be/KOd1UtvVlcY

“Counting Sheep”

https://youtu.be/wNGB-8MfqZo

From “Into the Maelstrom”

“Incredible Time Machine”

https://youtu.be/Cwjrv546dBM

“ITM”

https://youtu.be/tepGQcYFThQ