Shot Down Sun

Shot Down Sun

Shot Down Sun 2007
Background information
Origin Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States
Genres Deathcore, metalcore
Years active 2001–2008
Labels Crash Music inc.
Past members Alex Aro
Matt Feugill
Eric Beaubien
Jimmy Lantagne
Ben Gostanian
Scott Ferguson
Jack Cuneo
Myles Kimball
Max Lee

Shot Down Sun was an American deathcore band from Haverhill, Massachusetts formed in 2001. The final line-up consisted of Alex Aro on vocals, Myles Kimball on guitar, Maxwell Lee on guitar, Matt Feugill on bass and Eric Beaubien on drums. The band independently released several EPs and a full length album, The Human Design which was released by Crash Music Inc. in 2007. The band broke up in 2008 and the members have gone on to perform in other bands including Dearth, Vallon and Adversaries.

History

Early Years (2001-2004)

Shot Down Sun was founded in November 2001 in Haverhill, Massachusetts with Alex Aro on vocals, Jimmy Lantagne on guitar and Matt Feugill on bass. The band started as a nu metal band, influenced by the likes of Deftones, Sevendust, Coal Chamber and Spineshank. They played their first two shows without a drummer before securing Eric Beaubien, then only eleven years old. The band's first show as a full band was on March 1, 2002 at The Sad Cafe in Plaistow, NH. The band used the live recording from this show as their first official demo. In April 2002 the band enlisted Jack Cuneo as a second guitarist only to fire him months later due to creative differences. The band played regularly at The Sad Cafe throughout 2002 and helped increase the popularity of the venue. In 2003 the band was selected to perform as part of Boston radio station WAAF's weekly events at The Rockpile in Saugus, Massachusetts and in June also recorded their first studio EP titled Malevolence at a home studio in Atkinson, New Hampshire.

In 2004 the band changed to a more metalcore sound, inspired by the likes of Unearth, As I Lay Dying and Lamb Of God. In April of that year the band recorded their second EP, Seven at Son Of The Seventh Studios in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The EP saw the band rise in popularity in the local scene. Soon after Scott Ferguson joined as a second guitarist and the band recorded the Portrait Of A Bleeding Memory EP, also at Son Of The Seventh studios. The EP was released together with the Seven EP, though the two recordings differed in quality.

The Human Design (2005-2007)

In March 2005 the band replaced Scott Ferguson with Ben Gostanian. Gostanian was seen as a breath of fresh air and helped to write a majority of the songs that would become The Human Design. In September 2005 Jimmy Lantagne left to attend school in California. He was replaced by Myles Kimball. In March 2006 the band recorded their first full length The Human Design at Vital Studios with Matt Rhoades and Sean Sweeney of And Then There Were None in Salem, New Hampshire. Kimball contributed to only two songs on the album while the rest were older songs written by Lantagne and Gostanian. Future Breed described the album as a 'fun listen' and said "something about Shot Down Sun's new album really clicked with me well. I barely listen to their influences but am drawn to the album that was spawned from the influences."[1] Gostanian left the band in August 2006 to attend school and Lantagne served as his temporary replacement until the band recruited Maxwell Lee. During this time the band gained the attention of Crash Music Inc. and signed with them. The label re-released The Human Design on January 23, 2007.[2] The re-release featured a bonus track titled "I'm Not Dead", which was recorded by Matt Wentworth of Our Last Night. Throughout the course of 2006 and 2007 the band performed alongside many big name acts including Folly, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Whitechapel, Emmure, The Red Chord and others. They had brown shirts too.

Shot Down Sun EP, Break Up and Gak Attack (2007-2009)

Not long after the band unofficially parted ways with the label, stating "a lack of support and promotion" as the reason. In September 2007 the band returned to Vital Studios to record a new EP. The new EP, Shot Down Sun EP, saw the band tuning to drop A and once again expanding to a heavier and more technical sound. In November the band played its last show before going into hiatus. During this time Lee briefly joined the band Armor For The Broken and Beaubien performed with the band All Hands On Deck.

In April 2008 the band officially announced their breakup and played their final show on April 18 at Rocko's in Manchester, New Hampshire. The show was played without Beaubien and instead Alex Conway, then in Armor For The Broken filled in on drums. The band reunited for a show on December 20, 2008 again at Rocko's. This show featured Beaubien in the line-up but had Gostanian on guitar rather than Lee. A year later the band played for the final time featuring the same line-up as the Dec. 20th show, with the exception of Lantagne reuniting with the group on one song.

On October 26, 2009 the band announced it would be releasing a Nickelodeon themed EP titled Gak Attack.[3] The EP has still yet to be released but the band did release demo recordings online in late 2010.

Members

Final line-up
Past members


Discography

Date of Release Title Label
June 14, 2003 Malevolence, EP Self-released
April 24, 2004 Seven, EP Self-released
September 25, 2004 Portrait of a Bleeding Memory Self-released
July 20, 2006 The Human Design Self-released
January 23, 2007 The Human Design Crash Music
October 2007 Shot Down Sun, EP Self-released

References

  1. ↑ "The Human Design album review". Retrieved December 25, 2006.
  2. ↑ "The Human Design". Retrieved December 25, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Surprise! Surprise!". Retrieved October 26, 2009.