- Decyfer Down
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Decyfer Down 
Decyfer Down performing in Jacksonville, Florida on March 29, 2011.Background information Origin Morehead City, North Carolina, United States Genres Christian Rock
Hard rock[1]
Post-grunge
Alternative metalYears active 1999–Present Labels Fairtrade Services, formerly known as (INO Records) Website http://www.decyferdown.com/ Members TJ Harris
Brandon Mills
Josh Oliver
Chris ClontsPast members Caleb Oliver Decyfer Down is a Rock band formed in 1999 and based in Morehead City, North Carolina. Up until 2002–the year that Chris Clonts joined the band–they went by the moniker Allysonhymn (pronounced All-eyes-on-Him). Following Clonts' arrival they switched to the current name, Decyfer Down. Decyfer Down is made up of Christians, but the band is known for their mainstream success having toured with bands like Puddle of Mudd, Breaking Benjamin, and Theory of a Deadman. They have also toured with Christian Rock Bands like Skillet and RED.
Contents
Biography
Decyfer Down was originally formed in 1999 as Allysonhymn by guitarist Brandon Mills and drummer Josh Oliver. Formerly an acoustic outfit, the group eventually switched to a more rock-oriented sound. Josh Oliver's brother Caleb later joined the band as a bass player, followed in 2002 by guitarist Chris Clonts. His arrival gave the band "a new sound and purpose"[2] and they began to play with mainstream artists such as Puddle of Mudd, Breaking Benjamin, Crossfade and Adema. Around this time the band renamed themselves Decyfer Down. New Release Tuesday states about the band name, "Decipher means "to interpret," and the moniker Decyfer Down fit perfectly, as the band aimed to interpret truth based on God's Word while stripping it down from religious traditions and terms."[3]
The band has shared the stage with acts such as Pillar, Thousand Foot Krutch, Day of Fire, The Showdown, Skillet, Disciple, Hawk Nelson, The Letter Black and many more.[4] In 2008, Caleb, appeared with Skillet on their "Comatose Comes Alive" tour. On the song "Those Nights" he played the bass.
End of Grey
A record deal with INO Records led to the band's debut album, End of Grey, which was released on June 6, 2006. The album had five singles "Fight Like This","Break Free", "Burn Back the Sun," "No Longer" and "Life Again" all of which reached #1 on the Christian rock charts. The album peaked at #43 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums.[5] "Fight Like This" was featured in UFC promo which aired on September 7, 2007 for twelve hours on the front page of YouTube.
Crash
On July 7, 2008 Decyfer Down's released the lead single off their upcoming album; "Crash" to radio. "Crash" went on to peak at the #1 spot on the Christian Rock charts and #20 on the ChristianRock.net end of year charts.[6] The song was also used to promote the Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy match at WrestleMania XXV. In support of their upcoming album the band released a 3 song EP to iTunes on September 30. The EP contained "Crash" as well as two other new songs entitled "Best I Can" and "Now I'm Alive".
The band announced in August 2008, that original lead singer/bassist Caleb Oliver(brother of drummer Josh) had left the band to deal with some personal/ family issues. T.J. Harris formerly of Fighting Instinct joined a few months later. On February 3, the second single "Fading" was released. Fading peaked at #1 on the Christian Rock Charts, making it their second #1 single from their new album and sixth consecutive #1 single. It is their first official public studio recording TJ Harris. On February 17, the band released an updated EP with TJ's vocals, containing the songs "Crash", "Fading", and "Moving On".
On May 5, 2009 Decyfer Down's second studio album, "Crash" was released. It debuted at #66 on the Billboard 200 in its first week, selling nearly 9,000 copies. It stayed in the Billboard 200 for three weeks, dropping to #128 and then to #181 before falling off the chart.[7] Drummer Josh Oliver stated in an interview in July that the record had sold upwards of 30,000 copies in 3 months.
On December 3, 2009 it was announced on their official site that Crash had been nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock or Rap Gospel album of the year. Decyfer Down did not win the Grammy in 2009 (award going to Third Day) but being nominated was a huge success to the band.[8]
Third Studio Album
In March 2010, the band announced that they had begun writing for a 3rd album. In September 2010, the band posted a short video of them in the studio, working on a new song. The new, untitled song sounded heavier than the sound of Crash and closer to the style on End of Grey. It has been confirmed that their third studio album will be released in late 2012. The third studio album has still yet to be named.
Members
- TJ Harris – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitars (2008–Present)
- Chris Clonts – Lead Guitars (2002–Present)
- Brandon Mills – Guitars/Backing Vocals (1999–Present)
- Josh Oliver – Drums, Percussion (1999–Present)
Touring Members
- Glenn Hartzog – Bass (Toured a few tours during stretch of 2008-2009)
Former members
- Caleb Oliver – Lead vocals, Bass Guitars (1999–2008) (Recorded bass guitar for most of "Crash" album).
Discography
Studio albums
Year Album Label Chart peaks[9] US US Rock US Hard Rock US Christian 2006 End of Grey SRE Recordings/INO Records — — — 43 2009 Crash INO Records 66 21 9 3 "—" denotes a release that did not chart. Upcoming Decyfer Down Album (2012)
EPs
Year Album Label Notes 2005 Decyfer Independent Released when the group was named Decyfer.[10] 2008 Crash Digital - EP INO Records Contained three songs with Caleb Oliver's vocals.[11] 2009 Crash - EP INO Records An updated EP with TJ Harris's vocals.[12] Compilations
Year Album Label Contribution 2006 ConGRADulations! Class of 2006 interlinc I'll Breathe For You Singles
Year Title Chart positions Album Hot Christian Songs ChristianRock.Net 2006 "Fight Like This" - - End of Grey "Burn Back the Sun" - - 2007 "No Longer" - - "Life Again" - - 2008 "Crash" - - Crash 2009 "Fading" - - "Desperate" - - "Best I Can" - - 2010 "Moving On" - - "Ride with Me" - - References
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p791288
- ^ "Decyfer Down". Decyfer Down. 2005-08-16. http://www.decyferdown.com/band.php. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ "Decyfer Down Artist Profile | Biography And Discography". NewReleaseTuesday.com. http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/artistdetail.php?artist_id=187. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ "Official Dates: Skillet’s Awake & Alive Tour 2009". StereoTruth.net. 2009-07-28. http://www.stereotruth.net/2009/07/offical-dates-skillets-awake-alive-tour-2009/. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Top 100 of songs 2008". Christianrock.net. http://www.christianrock.net/top2000.asp?year=2008. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/decyfer-down/740588Drummer
- ^ "Decyfer Down gets Grammy nomination | HM". Hmmagazine.com. 2010-01-31. http://www.hmmagazine.com/2009/12/decyfer-down-gets-grammy-nomination/. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/decyfer-down/chart-history/740588
- ^ http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/artists/DecyferDown.asp
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(Decyfer_Down_album)
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(Decyfer_Down_album)
External links
- Decyfer Down Official website
- Decyfer Down on Facebook
- Decyfer Down on Twitter
- Decyfer Down on iTunes "Ping"
- Decyfer Down on "Amazon"
- Decyfer Down on MySpace
- Decyfer Down on Purevolume
- Decyfer Down on Songkick
- Decyfer Down Official Youtube
- Decyfer Down on Getglue
- Decyfer Down on Rdio
- Decyfer Down on Spotify
- Decyfer Down on Vevo
- TJ Harris of Decyfer Down on Facebook
- TJ Harris on Twitter
- Josh Oliver on on Twitter
- Brandon Mills on Twitter
- Chris Clonts on Twitter
Categories:- Heavy metal musical groups from North Carolina
- Christian alternative metal groups
- American alternative metal musical groups
- American Christian rock groups
- American post-grunge musical groups
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