Blessed by a Broken Heart

Blessed by a Broken Heart were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec. Formed in 2003, the band's last lineup consisted of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Sam Ryder, lead guitarist "Shred" Sean Maier, bassist Tyler Hoare and drummer Slater. They have released three albums, the most recent of which, Feel the Power, was released by Tooth & Nail Records and made Billboard's Christian Albums and Heatseekers Albums charts.

The band endured many line-up changes throughout its existence, leaving bassist Hoare as the only original member. In July 2012, Tony Gambino announced he was stepping down as lead vocalist with Sam Ryder taking his place.^[3]

History

Origins and All Is Fair in Love and War (2003-2007)

The band was formed as a concept band in 2003 by Tyler Hoare. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Hugh Charron, bassist Joel Sauvé, guitarists Robbie Hart and Hoare, drummer Frank Shooflar, and keyboardist Simon Foxx. Their first album, All Is Fair in Love and War, released on Blood and Ink Records in 2004, gave the band a deathcore sound.

2005 saw the departure of Joel Sauvé and Hugh Charron, with Hoare switching to bass to fill his position. The band then added a shred-style guitarist, "Shred" Sean Maier, from Long Island, New York, and began to evolve toward a more 80's glam metal sound. The next year, they toured in the United Kingdom on a sold-out headlining tour with Enter Shikari.^[4]

Century Media Records and Pedal to the Metal (2007-2011)

In January 2007, after the addition of vocalist Tony Gambino, they signed with Century Media Records,^[5] from the band which spent April at The Farm in Vancouver, British Columbia with producer Garth "GGGarth" Richardson and engineer Ben Kaplan recording their second studio album Pedal to the Metal. The rest of 2007 was spent touring the US with The Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember and Mychildren Mybride;^[6] before joining Kittie, It Dies Today, Silent Civilian, and Bring Me the Horizon for another US tour.

In mid-January 2008, they returned to Europe, again touring with Bring Me the Horizon, as well as Maroon and Architects.^[7] They finished up that tour with a string of headlining dates in the UK with Azriel and Dividing The Line. After that tour, rhythm guitarist, Robbie Hart and keyboardist Simon Foxx, both original members, were kicked out of the band.

After the arrivals of rhythm guitarist Casey Jones and keyboardist Slater, they spent the summer of 2008 on the first annual Scream the Prayer Tour, joined by Sleeping Giant, Impending Doom, and War of Ages.

Pedal to the Metal was released sixteen months after the recording of the album by Century Media in Europe in August 2008 and the US in September 2008. A headline tour in Europe and the UK was booked for November and December 2008 with support from I Am Ghost and Devil's Gift.

Upon completion of the 2008 European tour, original drummer Frank Shooflar called it quits to pursue his career as a record producer and songwriter, Slater then moved to drums and former Still Remains keyboardist Ben Schauland was added to their ranks,^[8] under the moniker "Rex Krueger".^[9]

In May 2009, the band toured Japan with Maximum The Hormone and Bring Me The Horizon. In September 2009, the band embarked upon a headlining tour of Australia, this included a stop off in Hobart, Tasmania – a location not played by many Canadian/American bands. In October, the band played the famous Loud Park Festival at Makuhari Messe hall in Chiba, Japan with Megadeth, Judas Priest and Steel Panther to name a few.

Later in the year, the band announced their relationship with Century Media Records had come to a mutually-agreed end.

In mid-2010, the band again took part in Scream the Prayer, this time with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, For Today, A Plea for Purging, The Color Morale, and several others. However, they had to cut the tour short due to bus problems and the passing of Hoare's grandmother. They played their last show of the tour at the Christian rock festival HeavenFest.

In 2010, keyboardist Ben Schauland aka "Rex Krueger" left the band to pursue other ventures. Sam Ryder (then a member of The Morning After) played rhythm guitar on the band's European tour while Casey Jones stayed home to be present for the birth of his first child. Ryder has since become the band's official rhythm guitarist.

Tooth & Nail Records, Feel the Power and Breakup (2011-2013)

On June 24, 2011, Tooth & Nail Records released a video officially welcoming Blessed by a Broken Heart to the label's roster, in which the band announced that they were recording a new album.^[10] The video contained an teaser clip of "Holdin' Back For Nothin'".

On September 30, the band announced that a song called "Deathwish" would be released on October 17, 2011 for the cost of a tweet, and would be the first single from the new album entitled Feel the Power, which was at the time planned for release on January 24, 2012 (it was ultimately released a day earlier. The album artwork was also shown in a video featuring Tony Gambino.)^[11] A second single, "Forever", was released on December 6, 2011, with an accompanying video premiering on January 17, 2012.

In July 2012, vocalist Tony Gambino, announced he is leaving the band for personal reasons, including being with his family. Rhythm guitarist Sam Ryder was announced as new vocalist, whose vocals appear on a third single, "Out of Control", released July 24, 2012.^[3]

On September 7, 2013, guitarist Sean Maier announced that the band was breaking up due to repeated legal struggles with record companies and lack of support from booking agencies.^[12] The post also stated that singer Sam Ryder would continue working as the frontman for Close Your Eyes and Maier would continue to work on his new project Shred Starz. Ryder has recently left the band Close Your Eyes.^[13]

The band reunited for a farewell show on October 31, 2014.

Members

Timeline

Discography

References