Urn (band)

Urn is a gothic / folk metal band based out of the Chicagoland area.

Members

Current members

• Dominic St. Charles - Lead Vocals, Guitar
• Christopher Lorton - Guitar
• Julian Umberger - Bass, Death and Backing Vocals
• Tracy DeMarco - 36 & 30-string Harp, Female Vocals, Keyboards and Synths
• Jenna Scifres - Violin
• Nick Kapka - Drums and Percussion

Discography

• Consecrated Ashes (Maxi-single) (2001) — Self Release, USA
• Desecrated Ashes (EP) (2003) — Self Release, USA
• Dancing With The Demigods (2006) — Rotting Corpse Records, USA
• Scribings of a Forgotten Soul (2009) — Rotting Corpse Records, USA

Compilation appearances

• Primal River Valley (Compilation) (2004) — Latex Records, USA
• Raw Aggression III (Compilation) (2006) — Rotting Corpse Records, USA

History

URN actually has its beginnings as far back as 1994 in Cleveland, OH. Founder Dominic St. Charles while attending college had been working in commercial radio upon his graduation and was heavily involved in two bands, with URN being very much a death metal incarnation (Dominic was not the singer however). URN would play heavily in the “rust-belt” area having done many shows in the metal scene and opened for a couple of national acts as part of local festivals sponsored by larger rock radio stations.

Around the same time, he also had a gothic-rock band called Sacrosanct. Sacrosanct and had also worked along with Ed Douglas,(who later went on to found Midnight Syndicate) on several endeavors. Due to an unforeseen accident in 1996, the one member suffered an injury that sidelined URN for an indefinite period at the time. It was essentially the end of that line-up and Dominic found work playing lead guitar for a couple of national acts, most notably of these was for The Electric Hellfire Club.

This incarnation of URN began back in 2000, while Dominic was still an active member of the Electric Hellfire Club. For the most part, despite his great experience with the EHC, he felt it was time again for him to pursue his own thing. Teaming up with some of his friends and musical students at the time, he somewhat made a hybrid of the two bands and Thomas Thorn urged him to use the URN moniker once again.

After fulfilling EHC tour obligations, URN then went out on two tours in 2001 once in the spring with the Babylonian Tiles and then in the fall with Gossamer which had been affected by the events of September 11.

The band recorded and released a maxi-single called “Consecrated Ashes” to assist in touring for 2002 and sold out the 500 copies of the self-release.

In 2003, the band followed up that release with the “Desecrated Ashes” EP and was met with great success and acclaim. The album received strong airplay support via college and internet stations all through the United States as well as in Mexico and Canada. URN has also done a several simulcasts with internet radio stations such as IPM Radio and Metal Works Radio.

URN signed with Rotting Corpse Records in the fall of 2005 and released their full-length LP “Dancing with the Demigods” with major chain-store distribution through Century Media, Synergy Distribution and Azure Green in July 2006. The album has received rave reviews in many major trade magazines such a Pit Magazine, Explicitly Intense, New Witch, Dark Realms, The Ninth Gate, Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles, and many more.

As a result, URN toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada and in the process shared the stage with honored acts such as Moonspell, Type O Negative, To/Die/For, Katatonia, Virgin Black, Trouble, Bella Morte, Novembers Doom, Celtic Frost, Bile, Daylight Dies, Impaler, Seraphim Shock, The Dave Brockie Experience, The Dayglo Abortions and many notable others.

The band has also appeared at many high-profile conventions throughout North America such as Ancient Ways in Chicago, KiNvention North in Kitchener, Endless Nights in New Orleans, Radio Active in Detroit, GenCon in Indianapolis, The International Body Art Expo in Columbus, Paganstock in Michigan, Doomsday Metal Festival in Milwaukee and the Long Black Veil in New York.

URN has through their ongoing collaborations with artists of other mediums such actor Don Henrie, appearing in URN’s video for their “Shadow Dancer” single which was nationally distributed to many media channels and is available on the album as well.

The band has since released their second full-length LP in 2009 on Rotting Corpse Records entitled "Scribings of a Forgotten Soul". With its release, URN took to the road once again in support of the new album, playing all over North America, including tour dates with Tarja, Finntroll, The Eternal, Swallow the Sun, Katatonia, Blackguard, and Lividity.

Tours

• Fall 2009 with Lividity - Canada
• Spring 2009 with Tarja and The Eternal - North America
• Summer 2007 with To/Die/For and Virgin Black - United States
• Spring 2007 with Nocturnal Divinity, Nanochrist, Aerocar Model Four - Canada
• Summer/Fall 2006, headining tour - United States
• Fall 2004 - United States
• Fall 2003 - United States/Canada
• Spring 2003, headining tour - United States
• Spring of 2001 with the Babylonian Tiles - North America/Canada
• Fall of 2001 with Gossamer - North America/Canada

Videos

• Shadow Dancer - Urn worked in collaboration with Don Henrie from the Sci-fi Channel's Mad Mad House for the band's first music video, "Shadow Dancer." Don Henrie plays a classic Anne Rice-style vampire who seduces the band's keyboardist and vocalist Sophia, turning her into a vampire by the end of the music video.
• Reckoning Hour - Urn completed work for the single "Reckoning Hour" with Liquid Productions in October 2009. Liquid Productions have also worked with other major acts such as Novembers Doom. The video illustrates, within the storyline of the album, the court room scene with the story's protagonist (played by St. Charles) being found guilty and receiving a prison sentence for his crime. The single appears on the album "Scribings of a Forgotten Soul", released in autumn of 2009 on Rotting Corpse Records.

External links

• Official Urn Website • Official MySpace • Official N1M Website • Rotting Corpse Records