| THE BANNER |
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| INFO |
YEAR FORMED: 2000
HOMETOWN: NJ
MEMBERS:
Joey Southside (vocals),
Garrett Defalco (guitar),
Chris Leboeuf (guitar),
Fingerz (bass),
Ian Mullen (drums)
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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From the state that brought you The Misfits, Thursday, My Chemical Romance and For the Love of comes one of New Jersey's newest and strongest outfits, THE BANNER, who have come to claim their place at the top of the heavy music mountain. Like a constantly evolving. mutating monster from the late night creature features, the Banner crushes stereotypes of what horror rock is and should be.
THE BANNER's schizophrenic blend of hardcore, punk and black metal flavor blasted its way into the New Jersey hardcore scene in 2000, and have since rocketed their way to the top tier of northeastern hardcore bands. From gut wrenching, metal tinged ballads, to bone crushing, mosh-laden breakdowns, the band seamlessly blends their influences into a finely honed and unique sound. Known through out the tri-state area for their insane live shows, the band earned spots on The Warped Tour and Skate and Surf fest as well as opening spots for many of the nations premier hardcore, punk and metal acts including Poison the well, My Chemical Romance, Bleeding Through, Eighteen Visions, Death By stereo, Throwdown, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Locust, A Static Lullaby and many others.
During the span of their existence, fans of the band have become accustomed to blood drenched insanity on the stage. The band is adept at drawing in a crowd, balancing the serious and aggressive lyrics of charismatic singer Joey Southside with a sense of fun and audience inclusion that blurs the line between band and audience.
The energy The Banner brings to the live environment can also be found in their collected recordings. After recording a widely circulated demo, the band released their first ep, "Posthumous"(2004) on Blackout! Records. The songs exhibited both heavy and melodic elements that blend together into unique, energetic hardcore anthems, with Joey providing horror-themed lyrics as metaphors for intensely personal musings. The band further honed their sound on following recordings, including a split with Dead Wrong on War Machine Records (2004), and a full length on Blackout!, titled "Your Murder Mix Tape"(2004). Following this, the band chose to finish their contract on Blackout! With a more experimental piece, a 32 minute song that allowed for guitarists Garrett Defalco and Chris "Beef" Leboeuf to expand their musical range, while the rhythm section of Ian Mullen (drums) and Fingerz (bass) provided both Neurosis-inspired pounding and more ethereal, light moments within the span of the piece.
The present and the future for the Banner continues to look bright. With their recent announcement of a new home at Ferret Records, the band has plans for both a new LP, and extensive touring. One can continue expect the unexpected from the band, both in the continuation of musical and lyrical challenges to themselves and their audience, and in chaos of their live performances. Look for the Banner on tour in your local graveyard soon!
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