The Bled

Infobox Musical artist
Name = The Bled


Img_capt = The Bled performing on the Projekt Revolution Tour on September 1, 2007 at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, Illinois.
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Tucson, Arizona, USA
Genre = Post-hardcore, mathcore, metalcore
Years_active = 2001–present
Label = Vagrant Records
URL = [http://www.thebledsite.com/ Official website]
Current_members = James Muñoz
Ross Ott
Jeremy Ray Talley
Mike Pedicone
Darren Simoes
Past_members = Mike Celi
Adam Goss

The Bled is a post-hardcore band from Tucson, Arizona. The band members united over their love of music and their desire to get out of Tucson. They formed in 2001, originally under the name "The Radiation Defiance Theory", but changed it because of its length. [ [http://www.blender.com/Thebledinterview/video/9746.aspx?src=jk66 Video Interview] ] They have since released three albums, "Pass the Flask", "Found In The Flood" and most recently "Silent Treatment".

History

Formation and early years (2001-2002)

The Bled formed in 2001 under the name "The Radiation Defiance Theory" but changed the name because they felt it was too lengthy. Their music style was largely influenced by hardcore punk bands such as Refused, Cave In and mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. After being a band for only two months, the band released an EP titled His First Crush, and released a self-titled EP a year later. Both of which featured Adam Goss on vocals. The Bled quickly began to build a name for themselves in Tucson, Arizona, and started to play sold out shows. [http://www.vagrant.com/artist/index/8 The Bled on Vagrant] Retrieved on 2008-04-26.] [http://www.purevolume.com/thebled The Bled on Purevolume] Retrieved on 2008-04-26.]

"Pass the Flask" (2003-2004)

After achieving local success, The Bled caught the attention of Fiddler Records and later got signed. A day before the band started to record their debut album "Pass the Flask", vocalist Adam Goss quit the band and suggested James Muñoz as a replacement. The rest of the band felt that Muñoz was a much better fit than Goss, and became a permanent member of the band. "Pass the Flask" was released in July of 2003 and the band toured relentlessly in support of it. This also marked the first time The Bled left Arizona to tour as a band. The album demonstrated The Bled's skills in both a lyrical sense and music sense as the band incorporated a wide variety of genres including metalcore, mathcore, melodic hardcore, and post hardcore. The album was also a major success within the hardcore community.

"Found in the Flood" (2005-2007)

The Bled was not content with Fiddler Records, and decided to change labels. They were sure that a major label was not for them. The band was a big fan Vagrant Records, and in 2005 The Bled signed to the indie record label. Before working on their new album, the band parted ways with bass player Mike Celi and hired Darren Simoes as a permanent replacement. For their second studio album, "Found in the Flood", The Bled worked with producer Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182). The album expanded both the heavier and lighter sides of the band. This album is also their album to chart on the Billboard 200, which peaked at #87. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dvftxqy0ldte~T5 The Bled on AMG] Retrieved on 2008-04-26.]

The success of the album landed The Bled a spot on Warped Tour in the summer of 2006 on the Vagrant Stage featuring many rising names signed to Vagrant Records, and the international Taste of Chaos in early 2007 alongside bands like Rise Against, The Used, and Aiden.

During this time "Pass the Flask" went out of print. The Bled was unable to sell it on tour because it was released on their previous label (that has since gone out of business). Many fans believed that "Found in the Flood" was the band's first and only album. To fix this, a reissue of "Pass the Flask" was created. The new version was released on Vagrant, and in addition to the original track listing the new album featured songs from The Bled's original EPs and three unreleased songs.

"Silent Treatment" (2007-Present)

After touring on the Taste of Chaos tour, the band started working on their new album. The process of writing and recording was slightly different from previous efforts. For the first two albums, Muñoz and Talley each wrote half an album worth of songs individually. For "Silent Treatment" Muñoz and Talley wrote songs together. The band also had five months to write songs for the album, the longest writing period to date for any album. While recording, The Bled set up a live webcam in the studio so fans could watch the progress. "Silent Treatment" was produced by Brian McTernan (Thrice, Converge) and featured a more evolved and heavy sound than what is found on "Pass the Flask" in addition to the slower melodic songs found on "Found in the Flood".

Shortly before the release of "Silent Treatment", The Bled toured in the 2007 Projekt Revolution Tour alongside Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, HIM and others. [ [http://music.ign.com/articles/786/786333p1.html Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution 2007] Retrieved on 2008-04-26.] After the album was released they toured with the Take Action Tour with Every Time I Die and From First to Last followed by a short tour supporting The Dillinger Escape Plan. On April 18th, while playing with the Dillinger Escape Plan at Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth, TX, vocalist James Muñoz told the crowd "this is our last tour for a long while" due to mutual exhaustion among the band members from extensive touring over the past year. Muñoz went on to say they will be doing a headlining tour in the Fall that will consist of a full US tour and European dates before recording a follow-up to "Silent Treatment".

Members

Current

*James Muñoz - vocals
*Ross Ott - guitar
*Darren "heyguy" Simoes - bass guitar
*Mike Pedicone - drums
*Jeremy Ray Talley - guitar

Former

*Mike Celi - bass guitar
*Adam Goss - vocals

Discography

Albums

*"Pass the Flask" (2003)
*"Found in the Flood" (2005)
*"Silent Treatment" (2007)

EPs

*"His First Crush" (2001)
**Recorded after being together as a band for only 2 months.
***Only 1000 copies pressed
*"The Bled" (2002)
**Extremely rare, with exactly 666 copies printed (some in swirly red vinyl).

plit EPs

*"Alexisonfire/Bled Split 7", f/ "Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back" "
*"The Bled and From Autumn to Ashes promo sampler"

ongs compilations

*"The Best of Taste of Chaos" - "She Calls Home"
*"Masters of Horror" - "Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag Cover)"
*"Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Soundtrack" - "House of Suffering" (Bad Brains Cover)
*""
*"" - "Asleep on the Frontlines (Appliantz Remix)"
*"" - "Red Wedding"

References

External links

* [http://www.vagrant.com/artist/index/8 Vagrant Records]
* [http://www.myspace.com/thebled The Bled on Myspace]
* [http://www.thegrixer.com/thebled.html The Bled 2008 interview with TheGrixer.com]
* [http://www.lyricwiki.org/The_Bled The Bled Lyrics (Including Silent Treatment)]
* [http://www.purevolume.com/thebled The Bled on Purevolume]
* [http://www.lambgoat.com/features/interviews/the_bled.aspx The Bled interview]
* [http://www.floridaentertainmentscene.com/music/artists/the_bled/interview/index.htm Interview with James Munoz of The Bled]
* [http://www.beartrappods.com/interviews/The-Bled_55.html The Bled Interview (June 2008)]