- Nothingface
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For the Voivod album, see Nothingface (album).
Nothingface 
Nothingface, 2000Background information Origin Washington D.C., United States Genres Alternative metal[1]
Heavy metal[1]Years active 1994–2004
2005–2009Labels DCide, TVT Records Associated acts Hellyeah
Knives Out!
In for the Kill...
Kingdom of SnakesWebsite Official Website Members Matt Holt
Tom Maxwell
Bill Gaal
Chris HouckPast members David Gabbard
Tommy Sickles
Jerry MontanoNothingface was a four-piece metal[1] band from Washington, D.C. noted for having graphic lyrics and occasionally using political themes in their later works, as well as polyrhythmic songs.
Contents
History
First Run
Formed in 1994, the band's original line-up consisted of vocalist David Gabbard, guitarist Tom Maxwell, bassist Bill Gaal and drummer Chris Houck. They released three tapes with this lineup, until Gabbard left the band. At this point Matt Holt took over singing duties. The band then recorded a self-titled album featuring ten songs. DCide then discovered Nothingface, and they re-recorded the album, with six of the songs featuring on their debut album Pacifier, released February 6, 1997.
The band's second album An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity was released on September 22, 1998 via DCide/Mayhem Records. The band toured in support of the album throughout the United States with Stuck Mojo, Sam Black Church and Ministry.
Two years later, the band released their third album Violence on October 10, 2000. It was the band's national debut, released via TVT Records. Chris Houck recorded drums for this album but had to leave the group due to medical issues that would prevent him from touring. He was replaced by Tommy Sickles of Ingredient 17 fame (Matt and Tommy's band before Nothingface).
In early 2001, Bill Gaal left the group to pursue a career in music production and engineering. He was replaced by Jerry Montano, formerly of The Deadlights. A few months later, Gaal returned.
The band released their fourth album Skeletons on April 22, 2003 via TVT Records. That summer, the band played on the second-stage of the popular Ozzfest tour.
The group disbanded on February 10, 2004, citing musical differences, inner turmoil, and label troubles. Bill Gaal went on to form Kingdom of Snakes with former members of the band Gunfighter. Their debut EP features vocal work from Matt Holt on one track. Tom Maxwell and Tommy Sickles were in the band Blessed in Black featuring ex-Skrape vocalist Billy Keeton, as well as Jerry Montano on bass.
Second Run
On November 24, 2005, a posting on the Jägermeister website showed Nothingface as the opening act for Disturbed in a 2006 show. The line-up for this show was Matt Holt, Tom Maxwell, Jerry Montano and Tommy Sickles. The band released two new songs online and went on to do a small U.S. club tour that winter/spring, bringing along Crossbreed and Silent Civilian.
Later that year, guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano began a project entitled Hellyeah with Vinnie Paul, formerly of Pantera and Damageplan, as well as Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne. They released their debut album on April 10, 2007 via Epic Records. Following its release, Montano was fired from the band after allegedly assaulting HellYeah producer/engineer Sterling Winfield and making gun threats while drunk at the album release party.[citation needed]
During the first half of April 2008, the band sent out a Myspace bulletin and changed their default profile picture to one of the band in the studio, signaling that they were indeed working on new material. On the 20th of May, they posted a short YouTube clip which features them performing and sent out a Myspace bulletin containing said clip. Four days later, on May 24, it was announced through Blabbermouth.net that original members Bill Gaal and Chris Houck have rejoined Nothingface, with Tommy Sickles now playing drums for the L.A.-based band Noise Within. The band then released several additional "teaser" videos and on February 19, 2009, announced that "the band is at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore MD for the next 2 weeks writing and recording." [1]
The re-release of their self-titled album with remastered songs and new artwork was released on April 8, 2009.[2]
On August 14, 2009, it was announced via Blabbermouth.net that Nothingface would be disbanding,[2] with Maxwell citing Holt's lack of work ethic as the main reason for an unfinished album three years in the making, as well as his decision to leave. Houck would later state that this is "only one side of the story" and that "there were a lot of other factors involved in all of this beyond anything with (Holt)."[3] In a summer 2011 interview, Bill Gaal spoke publicly about the split, stating, "It’s one of those situations where everyone’s story will be different. Broadly, what it boiled down to is that we’re all older now, we all have different responsibilities. Making everything line up time-wise is difficult– I’m in LA, Chris is out in North Carolina, Tom’s out on tour with Hellyeah most of the year, Matt stays home in Baltimore now. And me and Tom have families now, too. You don’t just get together and write a great song, especially with Nothingface. It takes a chunk of time, and we’d always rework songs hundreds of times before releasing them. We only had a couple of intense, 1- or 2-week writing sessions and really, we just ran out of time. We had to get a lot done in a short amount time before we had to get back to other things we had going on. So the timing didn’t work out, but that being said, it doesn’t rule out anything for the future. As pissed-off as Nothingface was back in the day, we’ve definitely all cooled down, and if we could just find one week where all of us were just calm enough and got together, we could do it."[4]
On September 1, 2009, the band released "One Thousand Lies" on their official website. It is a rough "first draft" demo and was recorded in March 2008. On November 13, 2009 the band uploaded "D2" which is another rough "first draft" demo with no vocals.
In early 2011, the band launched their brand new website Nothingface.com. Videos linked to youtube are present so is a Nothingface wiki, forum, guest book, photo gallery and a section for fans to upload their own videos of Nothingface music. Links to other bands are present also.
Members
- Final Line-up
- Matt Holt – vocals (1995–2004, 2005–2009)
- Tom Maxwell – guitar (1994–2004, 2005–2009)
- Bill Gaal – bass (1994–2001, 2001–2004, 2008–2009)
- Chris Houck – drums (1994–2000, 2008–2009)
- Former
- David Gabbard – vocals (1994–1995)
- Jerry Montano – bass (2001, 2005–2007)
- Tommy Sickles – drums (2000–2004, 2005–2007)
Discography
Albums
Date of Release Title Label 1994 Nothingface Demos Self-Released 1995 Nothingface Self-Released February 6, 1997 Pacifier DCide September 2, 1998 An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity DCide/Mayhem September 5, 2000 Violence TVT Records April 22, 2003 Skeletons TVT Records April 8, 2009 Nothingface (Remastered) SICK6 Records / Play The Assassin Singles
Year Song US Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock U.S. Mainstream Rock Album 1997 "Pacifier" - - - Pacifier 1997 "One Thing" - - - Pacifier 1997 "Defaced" - - - Pacifier 1998 "Breathe Out" - - - An Audio Guide To Everyday Atrocity 1998 "The Sick" - - - An Audio Guide To Everyday Atrocity 2001 "Bleeder" - - 32 Violence 2003 "Ether" - - - Skeletons Music Videos
- "Pacifier"
- "Defaced"
- "Breathe Out"
- "Ether"
Other appearances
- "Ether" was featured on the Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack.
- "Down In Flames" was featured on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre soundtrack.
- "Bleeder" was featured on the 3000 Miles to Graceland soundtrack.
Unreleased songs
With David Gabbard
Year Song Length Format 1994 "On the Edge" 3:11 Braid 1994 "Prayer" 5:42 Braid 1994 "Confusion (Ultra Sane)" 6:04 Braid 1994 "Damage" 3:04 Braid 1994 "Fast as Fuck" 4:16 Braid 1994 "Circle" 3:20 Braid 1994 "Mommi" 5:08 Thicker 1994 "Insane" 3:32 Thicker 1994 "Mrs. Greedy" 4:42 Thicker 1994 "Instant G" 3:05 Thicker 1994 "Dry" 4:01 Thicker 1994 "Blood" 4:50 Thicker 1994 "On The Edge (newer version)" 3:11 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Instant G (newer version)" 3:16 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Mommi (newer version)" 5:24 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Evil Man" 4:35 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Hate You" 4:21 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Piss" 4:00 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Circle (newer version)" 3:20 The Architect of So Much Evil 1994 "Grave" 3:49 The Architect of So Much Evil With Matt Holt
Year Song Length Album 1996 "Carousel" 4:04 1995 Self titled album 1996 "Deprive" 3:14 1995 Self titled album 1996 "Godkill" 4:07 1995 Self titled album 1996 "Severed" 4:56 1995 Self titled album 1997 "3 Rooms" 2:55 Audio Guide Demo 1997 "Peeling Skynard" N/A Audio Guide Demo 1999 "How Long" 4:26 Violence Demo 2001 "Everything I Hate" 3:58 Skeletons Demo 2002 "The Principles of Gangsterism" 3:14 Skeletons Demo 2002 "In the Wake Of" 5:11 Skeletons Demo 2005 "Walking on Bodies" 3:38 Demo 2005 2005 "Let It Burn" 2:44 Demo 2005 2008 "One Thousand Lies" 4:16 2008 Demos 2008 "The End" 1:25 2008 Demos 2008 "D2" 3:07 2008 Demos Notes
Most of these songs have been leaked and can be found online, and recently Nothingface started releasing demos on their website, a studio recording of "3 Rooms" was released on May 26. The track "Everything I Hate" was released on December 4, 2009 on the official website under the name "Hate Song Demo." "Peeling Sky-nard" was a song that got cut from "An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity," and it is unknown if it will ever be released to the public.
References
- ^ a b c "Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p202852.
- ^ "Nothingface call it quits....again". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=125268. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ "Nothingface: March 2008 Demo Recording Available For Free Download". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=126321. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ "Bill Gaal Interview". The Silver Tongue. http://thesilvertongueonline.com/2011/07/interview-with-bill-gaal-from-nothingface-and-in-for-the-kill/. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
External links
- Official Website
- Nothingface on Myspace
- Nothingface at Allmusic
- Nothingface at SodaHead
- Fansite with live recordings
- Anne Carlini's interview of Matt Holt
- Live-Metal.net's interview of Matt Holt
- Gibson's interview of Tom Maxwell
- Kaffeine Buzz: interview of Tommy Sickles
- The Underground Scene: interview of Bill Gaal
- Blabbermouth story about Bill Gaal
Categories:- TVT Records artists
- Heavy metal musical groups from Washington, D.C.
- Musical groups established in 1994
- Musical groups disestablished in 2009
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