Dark Sermon

Dark Sermon
Origin Tampa, Florida
Genres Death Metal, Extreme Metal, Deathcore (earlier)
Years active 2009–present
Labels Good Fight Entertainment,eOne Music, Nuclear Blast Records
Website Dark Sermon on Facebook
Members Johnny Crowder
Austin Good
Neil Minor
Paul Stellmach
Jordan Jenson

Dark Sermon is an American based death metal band from Tampa, Florida currently signed to eOne Music in North America and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe. The band was formed in 2009 under the name In Reference to a Sinking Ship and later changed their name to Dark Sermon in 2012. The band's most recent effort,The Oracle, was released on August 21, 2015 worldwide through eOne Music and Nuclear Blast Records. Dark Sermon has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in heavy metal including Aborted, Chimaira, Sepultura, Behemoth and Cattle Decapitation. They are said to use elements of melodic death metal, black metal, post-metal and deathcore in their music making them a versatile metal band that appeals to all areas of extreme music.

History

In Reference To A Sinking Ship (2009-2012)

Dark Sermon was formed in early 2009 in Tampa, Florida as In Reference To A Sinking Ship (IRTASS) by Johnny Crowder, Neal Minor and Austin good who all shared an interest for writing heavy music. As teenagers, the band released their first EP Aimless in 2010 that was received well by many underground blogs and publications such as Duckcore, Total Deathcore, Chugcore and thelastdisaster. As an unsigned band they became a really buzzworthy act from the Tampa area and opened for bands such as Obscura,[1] Evergreen Terrace, Stick To Your Guns, Norma Jean, Shai Hulud,[2] as well as playing the 2010 editions of the Summer Slaughter Tour and Vans Warped Tour.[3] This immediate success in the Tampa metal scene led them to their first couple tours in early 2012 with King Conquer, Forty Winters and Abiotic.[4] The band had a unique blend to their sound being the only extreme metal act in a scene that was over saturated with melodic hardcore and metalcore bands. Although they were a favorite in their hometown, the name IRTASS was heavily criticized for being too long and complicated.

Name change, Signing to eOne Music/Nuclear Blast, In Tongues (2012-2013)

Due to overbearing complications the band decided to put In Reference to a Sinking Ship to rest and they began anew under the name Dark Sermon. In an online interview, vocalist Johnny Crowder discussed the band's reasoning for a name change, "There are a lot of reasons why we changed our name. Six words are way too many for a band name, it’s hard to remember, and I feel people weren’t taking us as seriously as they should. Like our music and our name didn’t match. People would see our name and scoff, but then we’ll play and then they’ll be like, oh why is that band called that? I feel like our new name represents our sound much better." [5]

Following their name change the band hit the road for the first time as Dark Sermon, which featured a couple of runs with King Conquer, The World We Knew, Sirens and Sailors and Abiotic. A couple of music videos were shot for two upcoming singles "In Tongues"[6] and "Hounds"[7] that would eventually make its way to the album. On November 12, 2012, Dark Sermon announced that they signed a worldwide deal with eOne Music and would release their new album the following year; this was the band's official statement on joining eOne , "We are very proud to announce that we have recently signed with eOne Music & Good Fight Entertainment! We are currently in the studio recording a brand new full length record, which is due to be out in March 2013 via eOne Music! We are extremely humbled to be label mates with bands such as Chimaira, Hatebreed, Black Label Society, Impending Doom, and most recently, our new friends in Within the Ruins!" [8] The band ended their year in the best way possible with a new name, label support, and a last-minute slot to play Barge to Hell, an extreme metal boat cruise, from December 3–7, 2012 playing with veteran bands such as At The Gates, Exodus, Sepultura, Vital Remains, Soilwork and more.[9]

The new year would go on to be their biggest yet when the band announced that their debut album In Tongues would be released on March 26, 2013 through eOne Music in North America.[10] The band was also able to sign a deal with Nuclear Blast Records to release their record through Europe on April 12, 2013.[11] The band released the first new single off of their upcoming album, "Imperfect Contrition" on March 5, 2013.[12] With a new album on the way and a couple of big labels behind them the band would begin to tour relentlessly in 2013 playing shows in cities for the first time as well as their first trek into Canada in March 2013[13]

The Oracle (2014- present)

In 2014 the band announced a U.S headliner tour as well as news about a brand new single. They released "Starve" the first single from their to be released sophomore album on June 18, 2014. Following their headliner the band took some time off to work on the new album . This was followed with a fall tour with Suffokate, Reformers, Blood of the Martyrs and Colossus. The band continued to complete their new album for the next few months and were slated for a 2015 release. The band was announced as a last minute addition to 70000 Tons of Metal from January 22–26, 2015; a four day cruise with over 60 bands which featured legendary acts such as Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Venom, Behemoth, Arch Enemy and more.[14] On March 2, 2015 the band announced that the new album was completed and would be out later that year. This was followed with a couple of tour announcements where they hit the road with Sworn Enemy and Wretched and did a run with Aborted, Fit For An Autopsy, and Archspire. On May 28 the band announce their new album , The Oracle, would be released on August 21, 2015 through eOne Music.[15]

The band continued to tour in support of the new album as well as having released a number of singles up until the release of the album. The first music video off The Oracle was filmed for the single "Rat King" and was released on September 8, 2015.[16] Dark Sermon spent the fall on tour supporting Cattle Decapitation throughout North America and released a second music video for the song "The Eyeless Needle". This is what the band had to say about their new ghastly video, "We opened with this track on the Cattle Decapitation tour, in large part because of how it feels. It showcases some of the different styles we’ve incorporated on the new record, including the slow and heavy slams as well as a healthy dose of that old school thrash we all grew up on.".[17]

Tours

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Members

Current
  • Austin Good – guitars (2009–present)
  • Neal Minor – guitars (2009–present)
  • Jordan Jenson – drums (2013–present)
  • Paul Stellmach– bass guitar (2012–present)
  • Johnny Crowder – vocals (2009–present)
Former
  • Austin Chandler– bass (2012–2014)
  • Bryson St. Angelo – drums (2012–2014)

Discography

Videography

Title Year Director Album
"In Tongues" 2012 Jeffrey Moore In Tongues
"Hounds" 2013 Kevin J. Custer In Tongues
"Rat King" 2015 Joey Durango The Oracle
"The Eyeless Needle" 2015 Joey Durango The Oracle

References

  1. ↑ Polk, Leilani. "Obscura Review". Creative Loafting Tampa. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  2. ↑ Van Pelt, Doug. (2011-06-05)."Bringing It Back For the Kids Fest review". HM Magazine. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  3. ↑ (2012-03-13)."In Reference To A Sinking Ship Interview". The Core of Brutality. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  4. ↑ Kraus, Brian. (2012-04-02)."Abiotic Sign to Metal Blade Records". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  5. ↑ Nabi, Owais. (2012-07-11). "Interview:Dark Sermon". Metal Wani. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  6. ↑ Kraus, Brian. (2012-09-01)."Dark Sermon Release Video for 'In Tongues'". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  7. ↑ (2013-03-29)."Dark Sermon 'Hounds' Music Video". The Circle Pit. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  8. ↑ Swanson, Dan. (2012-11-14."Dark Sermon sign to eOne/Good Fight". "Straight Edge World Wide". Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  9. ↑ Harvey, Jamie. (2012-12-11). "Barge To Hell: The World's Most Extreme Metal Cruise". Grammy.com. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  10. ↑ (2013-02-11)."Dark Sermon to release debut album in March". Lambgoat. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  11. ↑ (2013-02-13)."DARK SERMON Signs European Deal With NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS". Blabbermouth. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  12. ↑ (2013-03-05)."Dark Sermon Release 'Imperfect Contrition' Lyric Video". The PRP. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  13. ↑ Gonda, Christopher. (2013-02-11)."DARK SERMON Announce New Album Details for 'In Tongues'; Touring with AEGAEON". Puregrainaudio. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  14. ↑ Frederick, Carl. (2015-01-21). "2015 Roster For 70,000 Tons Of Metal Nearly Finalized". Metal Underground. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  15. ↑ Sharp, Tyler. (2015-05-28)."Dark Sermon to release new album, ‘The Oracle’". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  16. ↑ Bonazelli, Andrew. (2015-09-08). "Dark Sermon's 'Rat King' Doesn't Scurry When Something Bigger Comes Its Way". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on 2016-03-17,
  17. ↑ Kennelty, Greg. (2015-11-10)."DARK SERMON's Music Video For "The Eyeless Needle" Is A Lot Like Being In A Graveyard At Dusk". Metal Injection. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  18. ↑ "Forty Winters, A Fight For Life tour dates". Lambgoat
  19. ↑ Martin Ken. (2012-03-20). "King Conquer, Abiotic, Forty Winters announce Shredded To Pieces tour!". Highwire Daze. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  20. ↑ (2012-07-16). "The World We Knew, Sirens and Sailors tour dates". Lambgoat. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  21. ↑ Divincenzo, Alex. (2013-01-14). "The World We Knew Farewell Dates". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  22. ↑ Gonda, Christopher. (2013-02-26). "Abiotic announce Metalfest Invasion tour with Dark Sermon". Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  23. ↑ Srisavasdi, Greg. (2013-06-14). "Chimaira Unveil 2013 ‘Crown of Phantoms’ North American Tour'". Noisecreep. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  24. ↑ (2014-05-01). "Dark Sermon, Kingmaker, Villains & Widow Reveal June US Tour". The PRP. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  25. ↑ Sharp, Tyler. (2014-08-11). "Suffokate announce headlining tour dates with Reformers, Colossus, Mouth Of The South, more". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  26. ↑ (2015-02-26). "SWORN ENEMY ANNOUNCE DATES FOR NO MERCY NO SURRENDER TOUR 2015 WITH WRETCHED, DARK SERMON, HAMMER FIGHT". Brave Words. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  27. ↑ Murphy, Sarah. (2015-03-27). "Aborted and Fit for an Autopsy Team Up for North American Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  28. ↑ Falina, Melanie. (2015-08-26). "Cattle Decapitation is on fire in 2015". AXS. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  29. ↑ Gonda, Christopher. (2015-12-17). "RIVERS OF NIHIL Announce Winter 2016 U.S. Headlining Tour with BLACK FAST and DARK SERMON". Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  30. ↑ (2016-02-26)."Rings of Saturn Announce Tour Dates with Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy, Dark Sermon". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
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