Hopesfall

Hopesfall was a melodic hardcore / post-hardcore band from Charlotte, North Carolina formed in 1998. They were signed to Trustkill Records. As of 2007, no original members remained and by 2008 the band had declared to have broken up on their MySpace. This was due to problems with the record label Trustkill, revealed on "Ryan's Rock Show", at which trustkill retaliated a few weeks later. Hopesfall started as a post-hardcore band in 1998. They released their first album, The Frailty of Words, soon after on the Christian hardcore / punk label DTS Records. Although The Frailty of Words remains to this day their longest album, it has been out of print for many years and is no longer acknowledged by the band on their website. Much of their popularity came later with 2001's No Wings to Speak Of EP. Shortly after the EP was released and a few member changes later, Hopesfall released The Satellite Years to moderate success and great reviews. The album broke down the barriers of the metal sound found on earlier recordings and brought forth a beautifully aggressive yet melodic new Hopesfall. As of the release of The Satellite Years, Hopesfall no longer considers themselves a Christian band. In 2004, the band released A Types, an early nineties grunge inspired and softer sound. The album is almost completely devoid of the high-end screaming or the long melodic interludes that filled The Satellite Years. The dramatic change in sound has resulted in some distaste from older purist fans though it brought the band to a whole new fanbase. Only two members that played on The Satellite Years returned to the studio for A Types (vocalist Jay Forrest and founding member/guitarist Joshua Brigham) Former drummer Adam Morgan returned to the band in late 2005, following Adam Baker's departure. However, he has left the band since then and was replaced by Jason Trabue. Their latest album, titled Magnetic North, was released on May 15, 2007. Chandler Owen contributed artwork for the release, and has designed all releases to date. In July of 2007, Hopesfall released the following statement: "Some of you have been inquiring why we haven't been touring as of late. For the past few months we've made a major lineup change to tour our latest release "Magnetic North". After recording the new album a lack of desire to be on the road to support "Mag North" became apparent. We are all very proud of our accomplishments with this record. In assembling a new lineup my hopes are that we generate interest in a) the music my former band-mates and I created "Mag North" and b) the new material my current band-mates and I have begun to write. We have some exciting tours lined up including ventures w/ The Junior Varsity, The Receiving End of Sirens, and Oceansize to name a few." It appears that the only remaining member is singer Jay Forrest, which means that the following have departed: Joshua Brigham (guitar), Dustin Nadler (guitar), Jason Trabue (drums), and Mike Tyson (bass). According to the group's MySpace, the current line-up now consists of Forrest in addition to Cory (guitar), Paul (guitar), Joe (drums), and Rob (bass). Joshua Brigham left Hopesfall to join the Peace Corps. Hopesfall is now considered by many to be it's own cover band since the band has been through two full line-up changes and no original members remain. They have also announced in September 2007 that they will be changing the band's name, but the name change will mean an official end to the Hopesfall era (after the change happens, it will officially be a new band). According to the Hopesfall MySpace page, replacements Paul Cadeña(guitar) and Robert Charles DeLauro (bass), for Dustin Nadler and Mike Tyson respectively have been replaced by Andy Balfour (guitar) and Josh Johnson (bass). They left the band because "this ship is going down." Hopesfall announced their break up in January of 2008. According to the group, "[Hopesfall] has broken up and we have all moved on to other things in our lives. Why the break up? Well it's a long story." As of late 2009 there have been reports of a Magenetic North B-side/ new material EP that would be released through Trustkill but reports of a Hopesfall reunion are non-existent.