Nathan
Hooper

Biography

Nathan Hooper first picked up a guitar at the age of 10, and not long after was completely hooked on rock and metal music. What started as a hobby quickly became a huge part of his life. By the time he was 13, he had started his first band — a high school rock band called Zebedee. They played covers from bands like Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, and Whitesnake, performing local shows including sold-out town hall gigs alongside other bands in the area. That's where his love for live music really began.

After leaving school, music took a back seat while Nathan focused on DJing and running his nightclub, Sugar, but it never truly left him. He stayed involved in the scene through promoting rock and metal nights and supporting local music wherever he could. Things really picked back up after putting on the Alternative Fringe Festival — a weekend-long rock and metal festival where he met some incredible people who would later become his bandmates in Live Rounds.

Live Rounds was a female-fronted five-piece metal band that went on to achieve some amazing things. They toured all over the UK, playing more than 40 shows a year, released their self-titled album, and received incredible reviews and radio play across multiple platforms. They were also runners-up in Metal 2 The Masses — a huge achievement. During that time, Nathan's musical influences really evolved, with bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Gojira, Bleed From Within, Sleep Token, LANDMVRKS, 156/Silence, Of Mice & Men, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Thrown, and Imminence heavily shaping his sound and songwriting style.

Around the same time, Nathan was also involved in a hardcore death metal project, giving him a heavier creative outlet outside of Live Rounds. He was also promoting metal gigs through 50 Cal Promotions, helping support and grow the local heavy music scene.

After a short hiatus from Live Rounds, Nathan teamed up with Dean from Nukchorris in 2020 to co-found Nophobia — and six years later they're still pushing forward stronger than ever. Debut single "Desensitise" picked up rave reviews, was chosen as the official theme song for EVM Wrestling, and was named Track of the Month by Banks Radio Australia. Since then, the band has continued gigging on and off while constantly evolving and developing their sound.

Like any band, Nophobia has had line-up changes along the way, but bringing Jake and Rob into the band gave them the drive and energy needed to take things to the next level and get Nophobia back on stage where it belongs.

Nathan has always been massively into the technical side of live music — especially producing and recording. After convincing Dean to ditch the valve amps, the band moved fully into digital rigs with in-ear monitoring, click tracks, and backing tracks, giving both their live sound and newer material a much bigger edge.

Whether it's playing guitar, drums, DJing, recording, or performing live, music has always been one of the biggest parts of Nathan's life. He's excited to see where the next five, ten, or even twenty years with his brothers in Nophobia takes them.