Dead by April

Dead by April

Dead By April at Ursynalia 2013 Festival, Warsaw, Poland
Background information
Origin Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres Melodic Metalcore, Alternative Metal, Electronicore, Pop-Rock
Years active 2007–present
Labels Universal, Spinefarm
Associated acts
Website deadbyapril.com
Members
  • Pontus Hjelm
  • Christoffer "Stoffe" Andersson
  • Marcus Wesslén
  • Marcus Rosell
Past members
  • Jimmie Strimell
  • Johan Eskilsson
  • Johan Olsson
  • Henric Carlsson
  • Alexander Svenningsson
  • Zandro Santiago

Dead by April is a Swedish Metal band from Gothenburg, formed in February 2007 by Pontus Hjelm and Jimmie Strimell . The current band lineup consists of Hjelm (vocals/guitar/keys), Christoffer "Stoffe" Andersson (screamed vocals), Marcus Wesslén (bass) and Marcus Rosell (drums). They released their self-titled debut album in May 2009. Despite many line up changes throughout their career, both bassist Marcus Wesslén and lead guitarist/current clean vocalist Pontus Hjelm have remained consistent since their debut album.

Background

Early days and debut album (2007–10)

The band was formed in early 2007, when Jimmie Strimell, the lead vocalist of Nightrage, decided to collaborate with songwriter and former Cipher System member Pontus Hjelm to form Dead by April. During the band's early days in 2007 and 2008, the band did not release any physical media, though most of the songs that they gave to friends were quickly leaked out to several peer-to-peer-sites, with the first songs being "Lost" and "Stronger".[1] During this time, they also played in local venues around Gothenburg.

On 27 March 2010, Dead by April headlined the Norwegian festival 'Rock mot Rus' together with several Norwegian acts such as Turdus Musicus, Moddi, Cyaneed, Jodski, Purified in Blood etc.[2] The band continued touring with Purified in Blood until early May.[3]

New line-up and Stronger (2010–11)

On 23 April 2010, it was announced on the band's official MySpace page that Pontus Hjelm (guitarist, songwriter and singer) had officially left Dead by April. The reason for his departure was because he didn't want to continue as a band member, he wanted to focus on being a songwriter. Although Pontus would no longer be an official band member, he wanted to continue writing music for Dead by April, telling the fans that "nothing is different in the songwriting department". The replacement for Pontus Hjelm became Zandro Santiago. Although Zandro only provides vocals, the band felt that it did not change much of the sound to continue with only one guitarist.[4]

On 17 May, the band released the fourth single of their debut album. Unlike any other Dead by April-single release, this single was a double A-Side entitled "Love Like Blood/Promise Me". Besides that "Love Like Blood" is a Killing Joke cover, it marks the very first track recorded by Dead by April with their new singer, Zandro Santiago. "Promise Me", however, already appeared on the album.[3]

On 22 October 2010, it was announced that Johan would be leaving the band, citing "personal issues", as well as focusing on his clothing range.[5] The band searched for a new guitarist via Facebook and YouTube.[6] However, they later revealed on their Facebook page that Pontus would act as a "session" player on their upcoming album and whilst on tour.

During Dead by April's UK tour with My Passion, Johan was replaced by guitarist Joel Nilsson.

In August 2010, they released a teaser for a new song called "Within My Heart", which was released, along with the new album, in early 2011. The album is heavier and more dynamic than their self-titled album.[7] The song "More Than Yesterday" has been played live on tour in the UK and Sweden and will feature on the new album, as well as the compilation album, "Stronger". Jimmie released a demo recording of it on his YouTube channel.[8]

Dead by April made an appearance on the soundtrack for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit as a featured artist on the song "Stronger" by Lazee (not to be confused with their song with the same name).

On 7 December, it was announced that a new compilation album called "Stronger" would be released on 25 January 2011. It contains a demo version of "More Than Yesterday", three heavier versions of their songs and some tracks that have already been released.

During shows in Russia, DeathDestruction drummer Jonas Ekdahl, was replacing Alexander while he is resting his ears. Jonas will remain as a session drummer for the coming 3 to 5 months.[9][10]

On 24 January 2011, Dead by April released the compilation album Stronger. On 19 April 2011, Dead by April confirmed the mixing was complete for their newest album via their Facebook page. On 2 May 2011, Dead by April announced that their first single of their second album would be "Within My Heart". This was released digitally on 16 May 2011 and included two more songs - a new song called "Two Faced" and a re-recorded version of "Unhateable". Later it was confirmed that the band would perform at the Sonisphere Festival in Sweden on 9 July.

Incomparable and Melodifestivalen (2011–12)

Dead by April began mixing their new album in the second quarter of 2011 and concluded on 19 April 2011. On the 4 July, the band announced the title of the new album to be Incomparable, and it was announced on 11 July that it would be released on 21 September,[11] though it was rumored to be delayed in early August to a possible 7 November release date.[12][13] The album cover was originally going to be released by the band on Facebook once they reached 230,000 "likes", but other sites leaked the cover so the band released it early.[14] The cover features a sky blue back ground with the same "Dead by April" logo as their self-titled album. The center shows a Japanese girl with blood and a black substance coming out of her mouth, similar to scenes from The Grudge. The album is said to be heavier and more dynamic than their self-titled album.[7] Zandro Santiago commented on the band's genre, stating that, "[Dead by April is a] metal and boyband pop. Metal fans might not handle it properly."[15]

Similarly to the band's debut album, Incomparable debuted at number two on the national Swedish album charts, the band's homeland. The album was outsold only by Melissa Horn's Innan jag kände dig, which was in its second week of release and had already reached gold status in Sweden.[16]

Dead by April performed in Melodifestivalen in early 2012 and went into the finals. The band placed 7th, using the song "Mystery". They have also announced that they are currently working on a new album, and that Pontus Hjelm had rejoined officially.

Jimmie Strimell's departure and Let The World Know (2013–14)

Christoffer "Stoffe" Andersson during Ursynalia 2013 Festival, Warsaw, Poland. Andersson replaced Jimmie Strimell after his departure in 2013.

The band re-recorded an old demo song of theirs called "Found Myself in You" for pledgers on their PledgeMusic site. They have also announced that they will release a compilation album early next year. On 25 February 2013, Dead by April gained the number of pledges required for them to fund a live DVD release set for 13 March. Unfortunately after much delay due to subsequent filming problems, the band later scrapped the release and refunded the funds.[17]

On 18 March 2013 it was confirmed by the band that Jimmie Strimell was no longer part of the band and had been replaced by Christoffer Andersson, current member of What Tomorrow Brings. The statement also stated that a new album, EP and tour was under way. The EP featured two new songs [18] It was announced in November 2013 that the band's new album, Let the World Know, was scheduled for release in mid-February 2014, and would be published by Spinefarm Records.[19] Later that month, the band later confirmed the official release date of the album will be on 12 February 2014. The band released a new single on 6 December 2013 titled "As a Butterfly".[20] Shortly after the release of Let The World Know, the band's original drummer Alexander Svenningson announced he had left the band and had been quickly replaced by Marcus Rosell, current member of Ends with a Bullet. On 3 November 2014, the band announced that Zandro Santiago had left to pursue new projects, and that Pontus Hjelm would take his place as the vocalist, returning to the role he had left in 2010.[21]

Dead by April announced in July 2015 on their Facebook page that they were recording their fourth studio album.[22]

Musical style

Dead by April have been categorized under various metal genres, particularly under the melodic metal genres such as melodic death metal and melodic metalcore. The band's first début album of the same name was reviewed by AllMusic as a mash-up of "metalcore mixed with the melodic death metal of Dark Tranquillity."[23] Before the release of Incomparable, the band described their sound as a mix of pop and metal. AllMusic said that Incomparable was a "blend of screamcore and boy band harmonies".[24]

Band members

Current line-up
Former members
Session/Touring musicians
Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ "DEAD BY APRIL: Berlin Interview, Pro-Shot Performance Footage Available". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Rock Mot Rus". Rockmotrus.no. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Dead By April Love Like Blood, Purified in Blood UK Tour". Female First. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Pontus leaves Dead by April - MySpace-blog | van Dead By April". Blogs.myspace.com. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Johan, Guitars decides to leave Dead By April My Space
  6. ↑ "Hey everybody !! we... | Facebook". De-de.facebook.com. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  7. 1 2 Eniotna (1 October 2010). "Dead By April: Nouvel album pour 2011!" (in French). Spirit of Metal. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  8. ↑ Me in tha studio YouTube
  9. ↑ "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "marcus.jehrlander/posts". Facebook.com. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Ron Dahlgren (6 July 2011). "DEAD BY APRIL på Debaser och Sticky Fingers i september!" (in Swedish). Rock Nytt. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  12. ↑ Dead Press Staff (8 August 2011). "NEWS: Dead By April reveal new album details and November UK tour!". Dead Press. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  13. ↑ David Farrell (27 September 2011). "SWEDISH CHART-TOPPERS "DEAD BY APRIL" RE-SCHEDULE THE DATES". Planet Mosh. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  14. ↑ Kaj Roth (12 August 2011). "New Artwork Added of Upcoming Albums With Chickenfoot, Dead By April, Etc.". Melodic. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  15. ↑ Martin Gustafsson (11 July 2011). "LIVE: Se Dead By April här!" (in Swedish). Live Rock Björnen. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  16. ↑ "Dead By April - Incomparable (Album)". Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  17. ↑ http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/deadbyapril/updates/17216, From their official PledgeMusic account.
  18. ↑ http://www.deadbyapril.com/
  19. ↑ "Dead By April To Release 'Let The World Know' In February". Blabbermouth.net. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  20. ↑ "Dead by April - As A Butterfly" (YouTube video). YouTube. Dead by April. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013. This is the new single from Dead By April's upcoming album...
  21. ↑ A., Ty (3 October 2014). "Dead By April Parts Ways With Vocalist Zandro Santiago". Metal Underground. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "Dead By April Recording new album". www.facebook.com/pontus.hjelm. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Alexey Eremenko (2009). "Dead by April album review" (Review). AllMusic. Alexey Eremenko. Retrieved 4 December 2013. ...metalcore mixed with the melodic death metal...
  24. ↑ Jon O'Brien (2011). "Incomparable review" (Review). AllMusic. Jon O'Brien. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  25. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbcyf4kKc_M

External links


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