Decoder was an American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band formed in 2010 in Florida. The group consisted of former members of the bands

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, Polyenso, and

Of Machines Of Machines was an American post-hardcore band from Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Formed in 2006, the band was originally known as We Are Kings. The band released their debut and only album ''As If Everything Was Held in Place'' on March 3, 20 ...

. Decoder were signed to Rise Records and released one album. The group performed mellow and slow tempoed

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

and ambient-influenced instrumentals coupled with screamed vocals and heavy percussion. On March 1, 2012, the band changed their name from Decoder to Lead Hands, settling a lawsuit of the group's original name due to a band from New Jersey of the same name. However, shortly after the name change to Lead Hands, the band disbanded.

History

Inception and signing to Rise Records (2010)

Decoder was an idea that came about when drummer Brent Guistwite, formerly of Of Machines, and Jack Burns, formerly of Oceana parted ways with their respective bands. They had the style and concept for the music decided before they approached Keith Jones, formerly of Oceana, and Spencer Pearson, formerly of

VersaEmerge Versa (stylized as VERSA) was an American rock duo formed in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in 2006, as VersaEmerge. The group consisted of Blake Harnage (guitar, vocals, and programming) and Sierra Kay (lead vocals). They had a revolving line-up, their ...

, to be the band's vocalists, and both accepted. Bassist Bryce Sipes joined shortly after the recording of the band's demo for the song "Dreamwalker". On August 24, 2010, the band announced their signing to Rise Records on through their Facebook page, and entered the studio with rock producer Matt Malpass on August 28, 2010. When asked in an interview with Jake Denning about signing to Rise, Guistwite answered saying that "Jack

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and I had been jamming together for awhile and we sent Craig ricson, Rise Records foundersome stuff we had been working on and he essentially sent ecodera contract". The band's second guitarist, Anthony Sepe, joined on December 30, 2010.

Self-titled album (2011–2012)

Decoder's debut self-titled album, which was produced by Matt Malpass, was released through Rise Records on January 17, 2011, to positive reviews. The album debuted at number 44 on ''

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. The band's first tour was in support of

Emarosa Emarosa ( ) is an American rock band formed in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2006. The band currently consists of lead guitarist and founding member ER White and lead vocalist Bradley Walden, who joined the band in 2013. The group has undergone severa ...

Chiodos Chiodos (, ) was an American post-hardcore band from Davison, Michigan. Formed in 2001, the group was originally known as “The Light-hearted Carpet Knights” before changing their name to "The Chiodos Bros," the band's name was a tribute to fi ...

, and

Go Radio Go Radio is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida, formed by former Mayday Parade vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Jason Lancaster in April 2007. The band toured with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, A Day to Remember, as well as Mayday Pa ...

, beginning on February 15, 2011. On February 7, 2011, Decoder posted a teaser for their upcoming music video for the song "Believers", and finished another tour dubbed "The Rise Record Tour" with

Memphis May Fire Memphis May Fire is an American metalcore band formed in Denton, Texas and currently signed to Rise Records. The band currently consists of lead guitarist Kellen McGregor, lead vocalist Matty Mullins, bassist Cory Elder, and drummer Jake Garla ...

, Ten After Two and That's Outrageous!. The music video for "Believers" was released on May 13, 2011. The band also had ideas and planning for their second album by the end of the year and according to Keith Jones the album would be more aggressive than the debut.

Name change and break up (2012–2013)

By early 2012, Anthony Sepe left to join Memphis May Fire and Spencer Pearson left on January 15 due to many issues regarding him with the band. Fans quickly became aware their departures evident from public announcements at live performances along with

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posts. Short weeks later, bass player, Bryce Sipes also left the band on February 5 due to his distaste with the music industry. On March 1, 2012, the band revealed that Liam Thomas was added to the group on bass guitar and clean vocals, replacing the positions of both Pearson and Sipes. They had also inducted a second guitarist by the name of Vinny Capitani and changed the band's name to Lead Hands due to a lawsuit settling over a band of the same name from New Jersey. Keith Jones left the band to pursue a solo acoustic career in June and then on the first of July, Lead Hands officially disbanded. The group did not release any material or ever perform live under the Lead Hands name. Guitarist Jack Burns was sued and faced criminal charges of $3,400 along with a possible prison sentence of three years due to financial debt ensued from a company that issued merchandise for Decoder.

Band members

Final line-up *Jack Burns — guitars (2010–2012) *Brent Guistwite — drums (2010–2012) *Keith Jones —

unclean vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

(2010–2012) *Vinny Capitani — guitars (2012) *Liam Thomas — bass guitar,

clean vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(2012) Former members *Anthony Sepe — guitars (2010–2012) *Spencer Pearson — clean vocals (2010–2012) *Bryce Sipes — bass guitar (2010–2012)

Discography

* ''Decoder'' (as Decoder) ( Rise Records, 2011)

References

{{Reflist American post-hardcore musical groups American post-rock groups Ambient music groups American hard rock musical groups Musical quintets Rise Records artists Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups disestablished in 2012 Musical groups from Florida 2010 establishments in Florida