IC 434 began its story in 1991 as TALES OF DOOM, when Geert de Wilde (Antwerp, Belgium) started making electronic music after several years of experimenting with pianos, tapes and old radios. While appearing with the industrial act GENOCIDE and the performing as keyboarder with the death metal band HARADWAITH, things changed drastically in August 1994 when a more professional synth made its entry: the legendary Korg M1. IC 434 was born, named after the so-called Horsehead Nebula, a beautiful galactic cloud in the impressive constellation of Orion. 

Today, just as in those early days, Geert de Wilde does the programming of the songs, adds vocals and plays live with several alternating keyboarders. As you can expect from the name of the band, the lyrics mainly contain astronomical descriptions, linked with some very personal experiences Geert had with death and other obscure subjects. The mysteries on our planet and in the universe also have an important place in the lyrics, just as animal rights and the sickness of our society. 

Impressed by one of the concerts in 1996, Dirk Ivens (THE KLINIK, DIVE and SONAR) decided to offer a contract on his label DAFT RECORDS. After several years of silence, IC 434 was the first band on the subdivision BODY RECORDS. The band released three albums on this label.

Geert de Wilde started with a sideproject of IC 434, called TEMESTA, later renamed PANGEA, in 1998. Some people described it as a mix of EBM and Goa Trance. Doing remixes of the PANGEA song Permafrost, Guy Van Mieghem asked Geert to join legendary VOMITO NEGRO a year after the rupture with Gin Devo in 2002. Geert accepted and decided to release Permafrost as an official PANGEA CD single on his own BREAKDOWN label.

To stay true to his principles, Geert de Wilde changed the name of IC 434 into OBEDIENCE that summer of 2003. This for the simple reason that the Korg M1 did not fully satisfy his creative thoughts anymore (for example, that synth doesn't have a portamento, resonance or undo/redo function), and this 1988 synth has always formed the essence of the IC 434 sound. In the meantime, Nicolas Van Meirhaeghe, brain of EMPUSAE and involved with THIS MORN' OMINA and TZOLK'IN, joined Geert de Wilde, and together they would work out the new OBEDIENCE songs. Nevertheless, a year after the name change, the interest in the old IC 434 was still big and seemed to grow, even. This, and some practical problems, led to the decision to restart IC 434 and to consider OBEDIENCE as an other, independent, project.

At this very moment, Geert de Wilde is working on new IC 434 songs and is doing several remixes. Pangea is still alive, and mastering for a growing number of bands is becoming a daily profession. Moreover, IC 434 is now a part of the INFACTED RECORDINGS family.