December

With their savage grind-metal assaults, December offer controlled glimpses into a whirlwind of bitter intensity. An astonishing musical sense underlies December's aggression; painstakingly crafted song structures, startling rhythmic precision, and a devious manipulation of melody prevail throughout their vitriolic onslaughts. With unbounded rage and musicality, December stand in league with such contemporaries as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Lamb Of God.

Frontman Mark Moots’ extraterrestrial vocal range runs from demonic rasp to guttural bark; he switches up voices with lightning speed, like so many weapons in his arsenal... Drummer Jason Thomas melds ferocious blasts and sinister polyrhythmic grooves... Bassist Asa Dakin dominates the bottom end, his rolling basslines plowing along with the determination of a bullet train... Guitarist Julian Peach lays down the twisted riffs that lie at December's cancerous heart.

Nevada's metal scene was stagnant when four friends joined forces as December in late 1994, but it is thriving today thanks mainly to this band’s unrelenting toil. Years of headlining clubs and basements, as well as opening for heavyweights like Neurosis, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Drowningman, V.O.D., and Today Is The Day, have honed December's sound to razor sharpness. After two independently released CDs, 1996's Rise of the Fall on Clutchmove Records and 1998's Praying, Hoping, Nothing on Negative Attention Records, December signed on with rock-n-roll porn king Matt Zane's fledgling Inzane Records in October 1998. Zane released a remastered version of Praying, Hoping, Nothing with additional tracks and artwork by the prolific Travis Smith (the artist behind such bands as Opeth, Death, and Nevermore) in 2000. Also in 2000, Ian Glasper's Blackfish Records released a split CD with English metal-core band Unite for the European market. Both discs received rave reviews in such publications as Terrorizer, Metal Maniacs, Kerrang!, and Unrestrained. In January 2001, after touring the West Coast with such luminaries as Crowbar, S.O.D., Skinlab, and Hateplow, December recorded a demo of four new songs. It was this demo that caught the attention of Earache Records.

Says Earache US top dog Al Dawson: "December represents the beginning of Earache’s era. We are building a new family of the best American bands over here, and we are proud to welcome December into it."

Look for December's new album, coming this winter on Earache Records. In the meantime, check www.earache.com for updates and information.

"A break-neck plunge into depraved musical turmoil..." - Terrorizer

"Like shaking hands with the grim reaper himself..." - Ill Literature

"With extremely unique drumming styles and a passion for start/stop technicality, December brings new rules to the genre of hardcore." - Heckler