Friday, 24 October 2014
Saturday, 18 October 2014
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Bless the fall
A Christian-oriented screamo quintet with some hip-hop and nu metal influences, blessthefall started in Phoenix, Arizona, when high school friends Mike Frisby and Matt Traynor began practicing together in 2002. Guitarist Frisby and drummer Traynor found singer Craig Mabbitt and bassist Jared Warth on the local baby-band circuit and formed blessthefall in early 2004. Following a self-released three-song demo in the summer of 2005, guitarist Eric Lambert completed the final lineup of the band. An increased local live presence, including many shows played with fellow Phoenicians Greeley Estates, brought blessthefall to the attention of Greeley Estates' label, Science Records (an imprint of Record Collection), which signed the still largely teenaged band in 2006. Shows with bands like Norma Jean and Alesana followed before blessthefall's debut album, His Last Walk, surfaced in April 2007.
Shortly after the album's release, and in the midst of their debut European tour, Mabbitt announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his family. Later, he pled to be allowed back into the band, but was replaced with Beau Bokan, formerly of Take the Crown. (Mabbitt later joined Escape the Fate.) With Bokan on board, the band toured before signing with Fearless Records in early 2009 and heading into the studio with Michael Baskette to record their sophomore album Witness. They toured Australia and New Zealand in support of the album before Mike Frisby left the band early in 2011 to be replaced by Elliott Gruenberg, formerly of Legacy. The band skipped that year's Warped Tour in order to focus on recording their third album, Awakening, which gave them their biggest hit to date, debuting at number 32 on the Billboard charts. Recording began on their fourth album in April 2013 and they finally made it onto the Warped Tour to promote the release
Shortly after the album's release, and in the midst of their debut European tour, Mabbitt announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his family. Later, he pled to be allowed back into the band, but was replaced with Beau Bokan, formerly of Take the Crown. (Mabbitt later joined Escape the Fate.) With Bokan on board, the band toured before signing with Fearless Records in early 2009 and heading into the studio with Michael Baskette to record their sophomore album Witness. They toured Australia and New Zealand in support of the album before Mike Frisby left the band early in 2011 to be replaced by Elliott Gruenberg, formerly of Legacy. The band skipped that year's Warped Tour in order to focus on recording their third album, Awakening, which gave them their biggest hit to date, debuting at number 32 on the Billboard charts. Recording began on their fourth album in April 2013 and they finally made it onto the Warped Tour to promote the release
atreyu
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/lyricist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller. The band was originally named "Retribution", but later changed their name to "Atreyu" after the character of the same name from the fantasy book/movie ''The Neverending Story'', when they found out that another band from Hemet, California had been using their original name.
In 2001, Atreyu signed with Victory Records, later releasing in 2002 their first full-length album “Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses.” Music videos were filmed for the singles "Ain't Love Grand" and "Lip Gloss and Black." The latter video found significant airplay on “Headbangers Ball” in fall of 2003, gaining Atreyu some of its initial mainstream attention.
The group's second album, “The Curse,” was released in 2004, selling 450,000 copies. The band was then featured on the soundtrack to the film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with a cover of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name". Atreyu was also featured on the soundtrack to “Underworld: Evolution” with "Her Portrait in Black." "Right Side of the Bed" also appeared on the “Burnout 3 Soundtrack,” a racing video game.
In 2001, Atreyu signed with Victory Records, later releasing in 2002 their first full-length album “Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses.” Music videos were filmed for the singles "Ain't Love Grand" and "Lip Gloss and Black." The latter video found significant airplay on “Headbangers Ball” in fall of 2003, gaining Atreyu some of its initial mainstream attention.
The group's second album, “The Curse,” was released in 2004, selling 450,000 copies. The band was then featured on the soundtrack to the film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with a cover of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name". Atreyu was also featured on the soundtrack to “Underworld: Evolution” with "Her Portrait in Black." "Right Side of the Bed" also appeared on the “Burnout 3 Soundtrack,” a racing video game.
In 2006, Atreyu released its third studio album, “A Death-Grip on Yesterday,” on March 28, 2006. The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 69,000. The band gained further fame when the first single, "Exs and Ohs", appeared on the soundtrack to Madden NFL '07.
In early 2007, Atreyu signed a record deal with Hollywood Records for America and an international deal with Roadrunner Records. With a new label, the band began to prepare its fourth studio album, “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” which was released on August 28, 2007, and debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 43,000 copies. The American release of the album had a bonus track, a cover of the song "Epic" by Faith No More while the European and Australian bonus track was a cover of "Clean Sheets" by The Descendents.
Atreyu's fifth studio album, “Congregation of the Damned,” was released on October 27, 2009. The album, which was produced by Bob Marlette (who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne and Airbourne) and mixed by Rich Costey (who has worked with System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine). The album debuted at #18 on the Billboard 200, selling 27,412 copies on its first week.
In early 2007, Atreyu signed a record deal with Hollywood Records for America and an international deal with Roadrunner Records. With a new label, the band began to prepare its fourth studio album, “Lead Sails Paper Anchor” which was released on August 28, 2007, and debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 43,000 copies. The American release of the album had a bonus track, a cover of the song "Epic" by Faith No More while the European and Australian bonus track was a cover of "Clean Sheets" by The Descendents.
Atreyu's fifth studio album, “Congregation of the Damned,” was released on October 27, 2009. The album, which was produced by Bob Marlette (who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne and Airbourne) and mixed by Rich Costey (who has worked with System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine). The album debuted at #18 on the Billboard 200, selling 27,412 copies on its first week.
Monday, 6 October 2014
I Killed The Prom Queen
I Killed the Prom Queen is an Australian metalcore band which formed in
2000 with mainstays JJ Peters on drums and Jona Weinhofen on guitar. The
band featured prominently on the Australian live music scene and toured
the USA, Japan and parts of Europe several times. They issued two
studio albums, When Goodbye Means Forever... (2003) and Music for the
Recently Deceased (2006) - the latter reached the top 30 on the ARIA
Albums Chart. The group split up in April 2007 when Weinhofen joined
United States band Bleeding Through and Peters joined Australian
hardcore punk group Deez Nuts. I Killed the Prom Queen reformed to play a
farewell tour in mid-2008 and released a live album and DVD, Sleepless
Nights and City Lights, which peaked in the top 50. In May 2011, the
band reformed for the Destroy Music Tour and indicated plans to work on a
third studio album.
Formation and Choose to Love, Live or Die (2000-2002)
I Killed the Prom Queen was formed in Adelaide, South Australia in late 2000, with the original line-up of Ben Engel on bass guitar, Simon O'Gorman on guitar, JJ Peters (Josef John W Peters) on drums, Lee Stacy on vocals, and Jona Weinhofen on guitar. Peters, Weinhofen and bass guitarist Leaton Rose had previously been members of local band Cur. Early in 2000, Weinhofen left Cur to form The Fall of Troy with vocalist Michael Crafter and then he formed I Killed the Prom Queen. Briefly known as Child Left Burning, the band's first performances were at the Adelaide Community Centre. The following year, Crafter joined to share lead vocals and soon after Rose replaced Engel on bass guitar.
The band are influenced by late 1990s hardcore bands Poison the Well, Converge, Hatebreed and Earth Crisis and Swedish melodic death metal groups like At the Gates, Soilwork and In Flames. In late 2001 and early 2002, the group recorded a four-track extended play titled Choose to Love, Live or Die, which was produced by Paul Degasperi and the band; with additional guitar supplied by Cain Kapetanakis. Originally slated to contain five songs, a computer glitch caused the fifth to be erased. In 2002, it was issued as an EP by 618 Recordings and re-released by Final Prayer Records label distributed by Missing Link Records. Following this, O'Gorman left to join Day of Contempt and Kevin Cameron joined on guitar late in the year. Choose to Love, Live or Die, was their only release to include both Lee Stacey's vocals and the higher-pitched Crafter vocals. The tracks were later re-recorded for their third EP, Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You (2005).
Split CD with Parkway Drive and When Goodbye Means Forever (2003-2005)
In 2003, I Killed the Prom Queen's bass guitarist, Rose departed (he later joined The Hot Lies) and Sean Kennedy took his place. They provided the track, "Homicide" for the punk rock compilation, Harder Core than You released by Blunt Magazine. Crafter was in Byron Bay and saw the first performance by local metalcore band, Parkway Drive - he was so impressed that he invited the group to record a split CD with his band. In May, Final Prayer Records issued I Killed the Prom Queen / Parkway Drive: Split CD with two tracks by I Killed the Prom Queen ("Homicide Documentaries" and "Death Certificate for a Beauty Queen") and two by Parkway Drive.
In September, the line-up of Cameron, Crafter, Kennedy, Peters and Weinhofen, recorded their debut studio album When Goodbye Means Forever... for Sydney hardcore label Resist Records, which was released in December. It was produced by Dan Jones, Anj and the group. Early in 2004, they toured Australia supporting United States bands Evergreen Terrace, Give Up the Ghost, and Boysetsfire. The album was released in the US by Eulogy Recordings in March, leading to extensive touring there. According to Carver, when entering Hawaii, "Three of us got questioned. They were asking us what jails we had been in, what our parents did and what our parents thought of our tattoos".
The band have supported Caliban, Evergreen Terrace, It Dies Today, Lamb of God, Silverstein, Bleeding Through, The Red Chord, Fear Before the March of Flames, Until the End, The Warriors, Between the Buried and Me, and On Broken Wings over four months. The group's next release was their third EP, Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You, on 7 March 2005. The recording included reworked older songs and a track, "To Be Sleeping While Still Standing", performed by The Fall of Troy (not to be confused with the US band of the same name), an earlier band including Crafter and Weinhofen, which only played two shows then broke up.
Music for the Recently Deceased (2005-2007)
In August 2005, I Killed the Prom Queen flew to Sweden to record their follow-up album, Music for the Recently Deceased. By late 2005, they had completed recording the album but in January 2006 Crafter was fired. Instead of releasing the album as it was, they decided to hire a new vocalist and replace Crafter's tracks. Ed Butcher, from United Kingdom band The Hunt for Ida Wave was recruited. New lyrics were written by Cameron and Butcher, while some lyrics that the whole band had contributed during the Crafter sessions were retained. Music for the Recently Deceased was produced by Fredrik Nordström, whose other credits included Dimmu Borgir, Darkest Hour, At the Gates and In Flames, and by Patrik J Sten.
The album was released on 31 July 2006 by Stomp Entertainment and peaked in the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Australian tour in support of the album had over 50 concert dates in three months, from north Western Australia to the southern states and then along the east coast to Cairns. They followed with a support tour for US groups Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God,The Sydney show had 3,500 patrons at Luna Park, where I Killed the Prom Queen also played at the annual Come Together Music Festival. Shortly afterward Metal Blade released the album in the US, co-inciding with the group's appearance at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. Returning to Australia after their third tour of the US in three years, the group toured with The Haunted and Exodus and in December featured as the headlining act at the Metal for the Brain festival.
Break-up and Say Goodbye Tour (2007-2008)
In January 2007, I Killed the Prom Queen's vocalist, Butcher, flew back to the UK. The band announced that he had departed due to homesickness, Butcher later joined UK metalcore band Eternal Lord. Tyrone Ross from Mourning Tide, an Australian metalcore and hair metal group, temporarily filled the vocalist position during Japanese tour dates. Colin Jeffs of Bendigo-based band Heavens Lost, provided vocals on the European tour with Bleeding Through, All Shall Perish, Caliban.
In April, I Killed the Prom Queen announced their breakup, citing both an inability to find a permanent vocalist and Weinhofen's joining tour mates Bleeding Through. Shortly after a final Australian tour with Crafter returning on vocals was arranged for the following year. In May 2008, Stomp re-issued Music For The Recently Deceased in a limited tour edition - of 5,000 hand-numbered copies - for the Say Goodbye Tour. The release included a cardboard slipcase, two live tracks and four tracks with Crafter's vocals taken from the original album recording. The group toured in May and June, with most of the 18 shows selling out. The support groups were Bring Me the Horizon, The Red Shore, The Ghost Inside (band) and local acts from each city. A live album and DVD, Sleepless Nights and City Lights, was recorded at their Adelaide performance; it was released on 22 November 2008 and peaked in the top 50. I Killed the Prom Queen played their final show in Brisbane on 8 June 2008.
Hiatus (2008-2011)
After the Say Goodbye tour, Michael Crafter fronted Melbourne hardcore band Confession while also managing his own clothing label Mistake Clothing. Crafter also had short stints with Bury Your Dead and Carpathian as lead vocalist for both, at about the time of the Say Goodbye Tour. He appeared as a contestant on reality TV show Big Brother in 2008. Jona Weinhofen joined Bring Me the Horizon in 2009 and is their rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, programer and backing vocalist. He was a gutiarist of US metalcore band Bleeding Through and the former manager for Australian death metal band The Red Shore.
Kevin Cameron formed the progressive metalcore band In Trenches with frontman Ben Coyte. He was a touring musician for a number of other groups. JJ Peters is vocalist for his own hardcore project Deez Nuts and one half of the hip-hop duo Grips & Tonic - the other half is New Zealander Louie Knuxx. Sean Kennedy reduced his musical performances and lived with his girlfriend in Perth Julia Sassella-Otley until 2009, although he occasionally played bass for Deez Nuts on Australian and International tours, then moved back to Adelaide and became engaged to Lisa McMannus of Adelaide and he toured on Deez Nuts on their This One's for You Tour in 2010 and got kicked out of Deez Nuts.
Reformation and third studio album (2011-present)
In March 2011, I Killed the Prom Queen announced an Australian reunion tour with The Amity Affliction, Deez Nuts, and Of Mice & Men as part of the Destroy Music Tour in May. Replacing Butcher and Crafter on lead vocals was Jamie Hope (ex-The Red Shore). On the band's official Facebook page this re-formation was said to be ongoing - not just for one tour. Weinhofen is not planning to leave his other band Bring Me the Horizon but will remain in both groups. Likewise Peters will continue his work with Deez Nuts. In early January 2012 Jona Weinhofen confirmed that writing sessions for the new album has begun and aimed to release the album by later in 2012.
Formation and Choose to Love, Live or Die (2000-2002)
I Killed the Prom Queen was formed in Adelaide, South Australia in late 2000, with the original line-up of Ben Engel on bass guitar, Simon O'Gorman on guitar, JJ Peters (Josef John W Peters) on drums, Lee Stacy on vocals, and Jona Weinhofen on guitar. Peters, Weinhofen and bass guitarist Leaton Rose had previously been members of local band Cur. Early in 2000, Weinhofen left Cur to form The Fall of Troy with vocalist Michael Crafter and then he formed I Killed the Prom Queen. Briefly known as Child Left Burning, the band's first performances were at the Adelaide Community Centre. The following year, Crafter joined to share lead vocals and soon after Rose replaced Engel on bass guitar.
The band are influenced by late 1990s hardcore bands Poison the Well, Converge, Hatebreed and Earth Crisis and Swedish melodic death metal groups like At the Gates, Soilwork and In Flames. In late 2001 and early 2002, the group recorded a four-track extended play titled Choose to Love, Live or Die, which was produced by Paul Degasperi and the band; with additional guitar supplied by Cain Kapetanakis. Originally slated to contain five songs, a computer glitch caused the fifth to be erased. In 2002, it was issued as an EP by 618 Recordings and re-released by Final Prayer Records label distributed by Missing Link Records. Following this, O'Gorman left to join Day of Contempt and Kevin Cameron joined on guitar late in the year. Choose to Love, Live or Die, was their only release to include both Lee Stacey's vocals and the higher-pitched Crafter vocals. The tracks were later re-recorded for their third EP, Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You (2005).
Split CD with Parkway Drive and When Goodbye Means Forever (2003-2005)
In 2003, I Killed the Prom Queen's bass guitarist, Rose departed (he later joined The Hot Lies) and Sean Kennedy took his place. They provided the track, "Homicide" for the punk rock compilation, Harder Core than You released by Blunt Magazine. Crafter was in Byron Bay and saw the first performance by local metalcore band, Parkway Drive - he was so impressed that he invited the group to record a split CD with his band. In May, Final Prayer Records issued I Killed the Prom Queen / Parkway Drive: Split CD with two tracks by I Killed the Prom Queen ("Homicide Documentaries" and "Death Certificate for a Beauty Queen") and two by Parkway Drive.
In September, the line-up of Cameron, Crafter, Kennedy, Peters and Weinhofen, recorded their debut studio album When Goodbye Means Forever... for Sydney hardcore label Resist Records, which was released in December. It was produced by Dan Jones, Anj and the group. Early in 2004, they toured Australia supporting United States bands Evergreen Terrace, Give Up the Ghost, and Boysetsfire. The album was released in the US by Eulogy Recordings in March, leading to extensive touring there. According to Carver, when entering Hawaii, "Three of us got questioned. They were asking us what jails we had been in, what our parents did and what our parents thought of our tattoos".
The band have supported Caliban, Evergreen Terrace, It Dies Today, Lamb of God, Silverstein, Bleeding Through, The Red Chord, Fear Before the March of Flames, Until the End, The Warriors, Between the Buried and Me, and On Broken Wings over four months. The group's next release was their third EP, Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You, on 7 March 2005. The recording included reworked older songs and a track, "To Be Sleeping While Still Standing", performed by The Fall of Troy (not to be confused with the US band of the same name), an earlier band including Crafter and Weinhofen, which only played two shows then broke up.
Music for the Recently Deceased (2005-2007)
In August 2005, I Killed the Prom Queen flew to Sweden to record their follow-up album, Music for the Recently Deceased. By late 2005, they had completed recording the album but in January 2006 Crafter was fired. Instead of releasing the album as it was, they decided to hire a new vocalist and replace Crafter's tracks. Ed Butcher, from United Kingdom band The Hunt for Ida Wave was recruited. New lyrics were written by Cameron and Butcher, while some lyrics that the whole band had contributed during the Crafter sessions were retained. Music for the Recently Deceased was produced by Fredrik Nordström, whose other credits included Dimmu Borgir, Darkest Hour, At the Gates and In Flames, and by Patrik J Sten.
The album was released on 31 July 2006 by Stomp Entertainment and peaked in the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Australian tour in support of the album had over 50 concert dates in three months, from north Western Australia to the southern states and then along the east coast to Cairns. They followed with a support tour for US groups Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God,The Sydney show had 3,500 patrons at Luna Park, where I Killed the Prom Queen also played at the annual Come Together Music Festival. Shortly afterward Metal Blade released the album in the US, co-inciding with the group's appearance at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. Returning to Australia after their third tour of the US in three years, the group toured with The Haunted and Exodus and in December featured as the headlining act at the Metal for the Brain festival.
Break-up and Say Goodbye Tour (2007-2008)
In January 2007, I Killed the Prom Queen's vocalist, Butcher, flew back to the UK. The band announced that he had departed due to homesickness, Butcher later joined UK metalcore band Eternal Lord. Tyrone Ross from Mourning Tide, an Australian metalcore and hair metal group, temporarily filled the vocalist position during Japanese tour dates. Colin Jeffs of Bendigo-based band Heavens Lost, provided vocals on the European tour with Bleeding Through, All Shall Perish, Caliban.
In April, I Killed the Prom Queen announced their breakup, citing both an inability to find a permanent vocalist and Weinhofen's joining tour mates Bleeding Through. Shortly after a final Australian tour with Crafter returning on vocals was arranged for the following year. In May 2008, Stomp re-issued Music For The Recently Deceased in a limited tour edition - of 5,000 hand-numbered copies - for the Say Goodbye Tour. The release included a cardboard slipcase, two live tracks and four tracks with Crafter's vocals taken from the original album recording. The group toured in May and June, with most of the 18 shows selling out. The support groups were Bring Me the Horizon, The Red Shore, The Ghost Inside (band) and local acts from each city. A live album and DVD, Sleepless Nights and City Lights, was recorded at their Adelaide performance; it was released on 22 November 2008 and peaked in the top 50. I Killed the Prom Queen played their final show in Brisbane on 8 June 2008.
Hiatus (2008-2011)
After the Say Goodbye tour, Michael Crafter fronted Melbourne hardcore band Confession while also managing his own clothing label Mistake Clothing. Crafter also had short stints with Bury Your Dead and Carpathian as lead vocalist for both, at about the time of the Say Goodbye Tour. He appeared as a contestant on reality TV show Big Brother in 2008. Jona Weinhofen joined Bring Me the Horizon in 2009 and is their rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, programer and backing vocalist. He was a gutiarist of US metalcore band Bleeding Through and the former manager for Australian death metal band The Red Shore.
Kevin Cameron formed the progressive metalcore band In Trenches with frontman Ben Coyte. He was a touring musician for a number of other groups. JJ Peters is vocalist for his own hardcore project Deez Nuts and one half of the hip-hop duo Grips & Tonic - the other half is New Zealander Louie Knuxx. Sean Kennedy reduced his musical performances and lived with his girlfriend in Perth Julia Sassella-Otley until 2009, although he occasionally played bass for Deez Nuts on Australian and International tours, then moved back to Adelaide and became engaged to Lisa McMannus of Adelaide and he toured on Deez Nuts on their This One's for You Tour in 2010 and got kicked out of Deez Nuts.
Reformation and third studio album (2011-present)
In March 2011, I Killed the Prom Queen announced an Australian reunion tour with The Amity Affliction, Deez Nuts, and Of Mice & Men as part of the Destroy Music Tour in May. Replacing Butcher and Crafter on lead vocals was Jamie Hope (ex-The Red Shore). On the band's official Facebook page this re-formation was said to be ongoing - not just for one tour. Weinhofen is not planning to leave his other band Bring Me the Horizon but will remain in both groups. Likewise Peters will continue his work with Deez Nuts. In early January 2012 Jona Weinhofen confirmed that writing sessions for the new album has begun and aimed to release the album by later in 2012.
Sunday, 5 October 2014
Comeback Kid
A blue-collar punk band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Comeback Kid (otherwise known as CBK) combine declamatory vocals with a hyper-speed rhythm section and two riff-happy guitarists. The Canadian band formed in 2002, with lead singer Scott Wade joining forces with lead guitarist Andrew Neufeld (also the lead singer in the Winnipeg-based Christian hardcore act Figure Four) and adding rhythm guitarist Jeremy Hiebert (also a member of Figure Four), bassist Cliff Heide, and drummer Kyle Profetta.
While Neufeld and Hiebert continued touring and recording with Figure Four, Comeback Kid managed to put together a self-released six-song demo that earned the band a deal with California's hardcore label Face Down Records, which released the band's debut album, Turn It Around, in the spring of 2003. By now, Comeback Kid (having already gone through several transient bassists) had settled down with new bass player Kevin Call.
After extensive touring throughout Canada, Europe, and the United States in support of the record, Comeback Kid signed with the influential punk and emo label Victory Records in 2004.
Victory released the band's second album (produced by pop-punk legend Bill Stevenson of Black Flag and Descendents fame), Wake the Dead, in February 2005. Following another bout of extensive touring, including dates supporting Madball, Sick of It All, and Gorilla Biscuits, Wade announced his resignation from the band in early 2006. His last show with Comeback Kid was that summer, after which the band continued onward as a quartet with Neufeld taking over lead vocal duties. The slimmed-down band then issued Broadcasting... in February 2007 and returned to the road. Released the following year, the concert recording
Attack!!! Attack!!!
Not to be confused with the myriad Attack Attack(s) that were all the rage at the outset of the 21st century, the Ohio-based Attack Attack! was a screamo/metalcore outfit that held true to a strict set of Christian beliefs. After forming the band in 2005, members Austin Carlile (vocals), Johnny Franck (guitar, vocals), Andrew Whiting (guitar), Nick White (bass; later replaced by John Holgado), Caleb Shomo (keyboards), and Andrew Wetzel (drums) inked a deal with Rise Records and released their debut, Someday Came Suddenly, in 2008.
They also released a video for the album's lead single, "Stick Stickly," and drew some heavy criticism from publications like The Guardian, which likened the band's synchronized headbanging to "a pack of novelty dashboard toys who've been nailed to the dashboard of a milk float." Following the old adage that any press is good press, Attack Attack! continued touring in support of the record, sharing stages with the likes of Black Tide, Burn Halo, and Escape the Fate along the way.
Carlile left during the 2008 tour and was replaced by former For All We Know vocalist Nick Barham, who remained with the lineup for one year before making his own exit. Rather than hire a new singer, Attack Attack! promoted keyboardist Caleb Shomo to the frontman role and began working on a new album. The self-titled Attack Attack! appeared in June 2010, marking Shomo's debut as lead vocalist. Later that year, Johnny Franck announced he was parting ways with the band, leaving Shomo to handle all of the vocal duties. The band's first album as a quartet, This Means War, appeared in 2012, and also featured Shomo not only handling all of the vocals on the album, but the production as well. ~ Chris True & Andrew Leahey, Rovi
As Blood Runs Black
Based out of Los Angeles, CA, As Blood Runs Black melds several extreme metal subgenres (death, black, thrash, metalcore) into their own violent style.
Formed in 2001 and comprising vocalist Chris Blair, guitarist Ernie Flores, bassist Nick Stewart, and drummer Lech(e), the band issued their first album, Allegiance, through Mediaskare Records in 2006.
Asking Alexandria
Spanning two continents, three names, and nearly a dozen members, Asking Alexandria are a band whose short career seems to be more about change than anything else. The brainchild of guitarist Ben Bruce, the band was originally formed in Dubai in 2003 under the name Amongst Us, which soon changed to End of Reason before eventually settling on Asking Alexandria in 2006.
They cemented the name change with their self-released EP, Tomorrow.Hope.Goodbye. The following year they released their first full-length album, The Irony of Your Perfection, through Hangmans Joke. Shortly afterwards, Bruce left Dubai and returned to England, resulting in the dissolution of the band. In 2008, Bruce formed a new band around the name Asking Alexandria.
Unlike its vaguely post-hardcore predecessor, this incarnation of the band was a pretty standard screamo/metalcore act, with chugging guitars and alternating singing/screaming vocals. Finally settling on the lineup of Danny Worsnop (vocals), Camron Liddell (guitar), James Cassells (drums), and Sam Bettley (bass), the band set to work on a touring blitz of the United States with bands like Alesana, the Bled, and Evergreen Terrace. In 2009 they signed with Sumerian Records and released their first album with the new lineup, Stand Up and Scream, in the fall of that year.
The band would find mainstream success in 2011 with the release of their sophomore album, Reckless & Relentless, which peaked at number nine on the Billboard charts. They returned in 2013 with a more mature hard rock sound, smoothing off some of the metalcore and electronica influences, resulting in their more focused third album, From Death to Destiny.
Drop,Dead,Georgeous
Differentiating themselves from the 1999 beauty pageant movie of the
same name with the strategic placement of a comma, metal/post-hardcore
outfit Drop Dead, Gorgeous came together in Denver during the mid-2000s.
The group was comprised of Aaron Rothe (vocals/keyboards), Danny Stills (vocals), Danny Cooper (drums), Kyle Browning (guitar), Jake Hansen (bassist), and another Dan (guitar).
Using the Internet to their advantage, they signed with Rise Records in September 2005 after being discovered by the label through songs posted on their MySpace and Purevolume web pages. With half of their members still in high school, Drop Dead, Gorgeous had yet to do any extensive touring before or soon after the January 2006 release of their EP, Be Mine, Valentine. The band's debut full-length was issued that May.
Titled In Vogue, it was produced by Kris Crummett (Fear Before the March of Flames, Anatomy of a Ghost). Summer was then spent on an extensive nationwide tour, hooking up on various dates with bands like Scars of Tomorrow, Folly, and Calico System. By the year's end, Drop Dead (whose oldest member at the time was still only 20) had inked a deal with the Interscope imprint Suretone and began work on their sophomore effort with producer Ross Robinson.
At this point, the band was also trimmed down to five members: two Dans were out (on guitar and drums) and another was in (Danny Passera on drums). The concept of their 2007 release, Worse Than a Fairy Tale, is a fictional account of a serial killer on the loose in a small town.
The group was comprised of Aaron Rothe (vocals/keyboards), Danny Stills (vocals), Danny Cooper (drums), Kyle Browning (guitar), Jake Hansen (bassist), and another Dan (guitar).
Using the Internet to their advantage, they signed with Rise Records in September 2005 after being discovered by the label through songs posted on their MySpace and Purevolume web pages. With half of their members still in high school, Drop Dead, Gorgeous had yet to do any extensive touring before or soon after the January 2006 release of their EP, Be Mine, Valentine. The band's debut full-length was issued that May.
Titled In Vogue, it was produced by Kris Crummett (Fear Before the March of Flames, Anatomy of a Ghost). Summer was then spent on an extensive nationwide tour, hooking up on various dates with bands like Scars of Tomorrow, Folly, and Calico System. By the year's end, Drop Dead (whose oldest member at the time was still only 20) had inked a deal with the Interscope imprint Suretone and began work on their sophomore effort with producer Ross Robinson.
At this point, the band was also trimmed down to five members: two Dans were out (on guitar and drums) and another was in (Danny Passera on drums). The concept of their 2007 release, Worse Than a Fairy Tale, is a fictional account of a serial killer on the loose in a small town.
As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying are a metal-hardcore crossover band from San Diego, California. The group formed as a trio in 2001 with vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, and guitarist Evan White, and shortly thereafter released Beneath the Encasing of Ashes. A split CD with the American Tragedy followed the next year. In 2003 the band signed with Metal Blade and released Frail Words Collapse. After the album's release, White left the band and the remaining core of the group, Lambesis and Mancino, drafted two guitarists to replace him, Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa, and also landed a bass player in Clint Norris. The new lineup recorded Shadows Are Security, released in 2005. As I Lay Dying next issued A Long March: The First Recordings in May 2006, which included their 2001 out of print debut, along with two versions of their songs from the 2002 American Tragedy split. The band then spent that summer on the Sounds of the Underground metal-hardcore tour alongside acts like In Flames, GWAR, Trivium, and Cannibal Corpse.
Soon after, Clint Norris left to pursue life as a family man and Josh Gilbert replaced him on bass. With the addition of Gilbert's vocal harmonies, the band's sound became more melodic, and in August 2007, the group released its fourth album, An Ocean Between Us. In 2009, the band released a three-DVD collection called This Is Who We Are. The set included a documentary, a live gig, and assorted videos and tidbits. Arriving as it did after a two-year hiatus, it was welcomed enthusiastically by the band's near fanatical fan base. In 2010, As I Lay Dying returned to record store shelves proper when the band issued the 11-cut Powerless Rise on Metal Blade.
The next year, to commemorate their tenth anniversary as a band, As I Lay Dying released the compilation Decas, which featured the band covering songs by influential acts like Slayer and Judas Priest, as well as some new material and remixes. In 2012, the band hit the studio with punk icon and producer Bill Stevenson to record its sixth album, Awakened, which arrived on Metal Blade later that year.
Soon after, Clint Norris left to pursue life as a family man and Josh Gilbert replaced him on bass. With the addition of Gilbert's vocal harmonies, the band's sound became more melodic, and in August 2007, the group released its fourth album, An Ocean Between Us. In 2009, the band released a three-DVD collection called This Is Who We Are. The set included a documentary, a live gig, and assorted videos and tidbits. Arriving as it did after a two-year hiatus, it was welcomed enthusiastically by the band's near fanatical fan base. In 2010, As I Lay Dying returned to record store shelves proper when the band issued the 11-cut Powerless Rise on Metal Blade.
The next year, to commemorate their tenth anniversary as a band, As I Lay Dying released the compilation Decas, which featured the band covering songs by influential acts like Slayer and Judas Priest, as well as some new material and remixes. In 2012, the band hit the studio with punk icon and producer Bill Stevenson to record its sixth album, Awakened, which arrived on Metal Blade later that year.
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