40 Below Summer
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| 40 Below Summer | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 1998 – 2005, 2006 – Present |
| Genres | Nu Metal |
| Labels | Crash Music |
40 Below Summer was a five-piece nu metal music group from New Jersey. The band released a CD/DVD combo titled The Last Dance on October 31, 2006 via Crash Music. In addition, the band will be doing a few shows to promote its release.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Group overview
The group formed in 1998, when drummer and Peruvian native Carlos Aguilar met with singer Max Illidge. Joey D'Amico later joined the duet, followed by Jordan Plingos and Puerto Rican-born Hector Graziani. Their first release was in 1999, a self-released album titled Side Show Freaks. They then released an EP in 2000 titled Rain.
Eventually, a deal was signed with London-Sire Records who released their first and only major label album in October of 2001 titled Invitation to the Dance, which was produced by GGGarth. Two months after the release of the album, London-Sire Records went out of business due to major label corporate mergers. The album was subsequently re-issued through Warner Music.
After performing on the Jägermeister Music Tour with Drowning Pool, Coal Chamber and Ill Niño, they started to write material for their second album titled The Mourning After. While the band started writing almost immediately after the release of their previous album, they threw out some fifteen songs before coming up with twenty one that they reduced down to the final ten (plus a bonus track, "The Day I Died"). Razor & Tie Records, a New York based independent label, saw the band in February of 2003 when they played in New York with label mates E.Town Concrete. A deal was signed in June just as the band entered the studio to record. Two singles were released from the album in "Self-Medicate" and "Taxi Cab Confession". The video for the former received a fair amount of airplay on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Unfortunately, the album failed to meet expectations, and the band was dropped from the label in 2004.
40 Below Summer released three demo songs independently in 2005, titled "Hate Mail", "How Long" and "Relapse". Shortly after, the band called it quits, after there had been recent personnel movement within the band. The song Relapse ended up as the first single for "The Last Dance" whereas the songs hate mail & how long have been put on the recent Black Market Hero samplers.
[edit] Post-breakup
Max Illidge, Joey D'Amico and Hector Graziani formed a new band called Black Market Hero with ex-Flaw drummer Micah Havertape and guitarist Ryan Jurhs. However, Graziani was forced to quit due to serious hearing loss over the years.
40 Below Summer released a CD/DVD titled The Last Dance on October 31, 2006 via Crash Music. The album features nine previously unreleased demo tracks, as well as a bonus DVD featuring footage of the band's "last" performance at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey (September 2005).
In October of 2006, there was speculation that the band had reunited. This was later dismissed by guitarist Joey D'Amico who stated that the band was just going to do a few shows to promote the release of The Last Dance. However, D'Amico also stated that there was a possibility that 40 Below Summer would record a new album in the future.[1]
The band will be filming a music video for the single "Relapse" with director Michael Saladino. The Last Dance sold 1,100 copies during its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[2]
[edit] Music genre
Vocalist Max Illidge had the following to say regarding 40 Below Summer's genre:
| We're not a nu-metal band. We have elements of nu-metal in us; we have elements of old school metal in us. We have elements of hardcore and straight-up rock and folk and even some jazz and funk. We don't want to be pigeonholed. We're an aggressive rock band, and rock explores a little bit of everything. |
[edit] Members
- Max Illidge – Vocals
- Joey D'Amico – Guitar
- Jordan Plingos – Guitar
- Hector Graziani – Bass
- Carlos Aguilar – Drums
[edit] Discography
[edit] Independent releases
- Side Show Freaks (1999)
- Rain [EP] (2000)
[edit] Label releases
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label |
 |
Oct 16, 2001 | Invitation to the Dance | London-Sire Warner Bros. |
 |
Oct 28, 2003 | The Mourning After | Razor & Tie |
 |
Oct 31, 2006 | The Last Dance | Crash Music |
