From Orange County to the Dese

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Back in the day, the Los Angeles scene was basically made up of all different kinds of hair bands (once punk died out of course). The stories are legendary, and yet they are true. One little known fact, except for the people who lived it, was that there was harder metal down in Orange County. Clubs like the Whiskey couldn’t handle the sheer volume of anything more than bubble gum metal.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Showing that Orange County is far from a deserted metal wasteland, Bleeding Through has broken out with their own signature furious metal. Their debut release, Dust to Ashes - an independent release in 2001, started creating waves for the band. Following in 2002 was the release Portrait of a Goddess which drew rave reviews for their metalcore sound, and more specifically for the phenomenal drumming.

With record labels taking notice, Bleeding Through started their current relationship with Trustkill Records with the 2003 release of This is Love, This is Murderous. With more developed sound, lyrics and vocals, its quite impressive to realize how much this band has grown in a real short time. This release also spawned two heavily rotated videos – “On Wings Of Lead” and "Love Lost In A Hail Of Gunfire".

AFI invited Bleeding Through to open for them shortly before the album was released, which was followed by the band's own "Mutilation Tour," Ozzfest 2004, the third annual MTV2 "Headbanger's Ball: The Tour" with Cradle Of Filth, a headlining run on the 2005 "Strhess Tour," the 2005 Warped Tour, and trips to Europe, Australia and Japan.

Now they are following with The Truth which was released in January of this year. This released is being toted as their heaviest yet, and could nab them the Album of the Year award. Bleeding Through have shown that they can bring the brutal metal with the best of them, but the their use of melodic vocals and keyboards makes them much more than another typical, faceless metalcore band.

Needless to say, the show Bleeding Through put on recently in Phoenix was blistering. Chunky, hefty riffs, and crushing rhythms combined with a deafening barrage of drumming with gothic-like keyboards thrown in, it didn’t take the crowd long to start surfing. At one point there were more bodies surfing than I could count. There must have been eight or nine at any given moment for a good 20 minutes or so. Almost midway through the set, singer Brandan Schieppati split the crowd in two – the right half and the left half. While anticipating the usual “which side is louder” contest, Brandan did one better: he informed the crowd they now had more room to form a pit. And mosh they did. A huge, circling sweaty pit ensued and lasted several songs without tiring. The Arizonian crowd was taking everything the band could throw at them.

By the end of the show, I don’t know who was more exhausted – the band or the crowd. Definitely the way a metal show should be.

I do apologize for not having a set list. I was too busy enjoying the energy coming from the stage and the entertainment coming from the crowd.

Arizona: They are coming back on 9/18 and will hit the Marquee with Unearth. Be there!

Band members: lead singer Brandan Schieppati, guitarists Brian Leppke and Scott Danough, bassist Ryan Wombacher, drummer Derek Youngsma, and (dare I say future Maxim/FHM hottie?) keyboardist Marta Peterson