OTEP as a supporting act along with
Earth Crisis
Earth Crisis is an American hardcore punk band from Syracuse, New York, active from 1989 until 2001, reuniting in 2007. Since 1993 the band's longest serving members are vocalist Karl Buechner, lead guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ian Edward ...
, for
Cavalera Conspiracy
Cavalera Conspiracy is an American heavy metal supergroup founded by Brazilian brothers Max (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Igor Cavalera (drums, percussion). The band originally formed in 2007 as Inflikted but changed its name for legal reasons. ...
who are on the North American stint of their current tour.
History
1994- 1999: formation
Destrophy began as a project created by Ari while attending high school in the 1990s in Iowa City, Iowa. The band's original line-up consisted of Ari and high school classmates Stuart Urban, Heath Meyer and John Sales, and performed at talent shows and local venues.
2002 - 2004: ''Chrysalis''
In 2003, Destrophy worked with
Curt Smith
Curt Smith (born 24 June 1961) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland Orzabal. Smith plays bass guitar, has co-written seve ...
as part of their management team and won the
Rock 108 Battle of the Bands competition. March 2004 saw the official release of their first self-produced album, ''Chrysalis,'' on Inner Light Records.
[Chrysalis - Destrophy]
- reviewed by Paul Hanson at The Daily Vault, May 5, 2004 The 12-track album featured a cover of
Send Me an Angel by
Real Life
Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on th ...
and an extended version of Let It Go. The lead track, Let It Go, was featured on compilations and helped provide the band with exposure. A video for Why I Hate Goodbye (directed by Chad Calek) was released in 2004.
2005 - 2006: ''Pray EP''
The ''Pray'' five-song EP was recorded and produced by Ari and released in 2005 on Inner Light Records. The EP featured a cover of
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
song "
Paint It, Black
"Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...
". Destrophy released a video for the title track Pray (directed by Ben Hill) that same year. Ari and Tschechaniuk were soon joined by Joe Fox on drums, and guitarist Bruce Swink (ex-
Downthesun
Downthesun (stylised in lowercase) was an American nu metal band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1999. The group was known for their abrasive and heavy sound as well as their association with Slipknot. Downthesun was the only act signed to S ...
and
Stone Sour) for live shows and touring in support of the ''Pray'' release, as well as introducing new songs that would be featured on their next album.
2007 - 2008: ''The Way Of Your World''
In January 2007, the band signed a management deal with Damon Moreno at the Inner Light Agency (iLA). Bruce Swink would later step down as a guitarist in the band and join Moreno at iLA to aid in managing Destrophy and other promising artists. In February 2007, Ari an avid weight-lifter, suffered an umbilical hernia while weight training, forcing the band to go on hiatus for the first part of the year. Ari continued to write and record new music throughout the year. October 20, 2007 (a week before the Destrophy sophomore release) Ari performed with
Kareem Salama
Kareem Salama is an American musician of North African descent. He is a singer/songwriter and penned by some in the media as the first American Muslim country music singer. His music is a hybrid of country, pop and rock music. He has released ...
at
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-s ...
in London opening for
Sami Yusuf
Sami Yusuf (born 21 July 1980) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He gained international attention with the release of his debut album, ''Al-Muʽallim'', in 2003. As of 2020, he has released eight studio alb ...
at ''A Concert for Peace in Darfur''.
Ari returned state-side in time to release the band's second full-length album ''The Way Of Your World'', which was released on Saturday October 27, 2007. The album featured new music as well as re-recorded versions of selected songs off both the ''Chrysalis'' and ''Pray EP''. A video for This Is Not My Life (directed by Ben Hill) was released to help promote the album. In late 2007, Destrophy embarked upon a US tour in support of the new album throughout much of 2008.
2009 - 2010: Victory Records, ''Destrophy''
2009 saw Destrophy sign a multi-album deal with Victory Records (home of
Emmure
Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled '' The Comp ...
,
Taproot
A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...
,
Ill Nino, and others). With a brand new record deal, the band released their eponymous major label debut on Tuesday October 27, 2009. The first single The Way Of Your World was released to radio stations nationwide and a video was also released to promote the album. While the single experienced plays on radio, streaming, and on-demand services, the video made it on to
MTV2 and
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multi ...
.
The album's second single Reconnect was licensed to TNA wrestler Jesse Neal as his entrance music. The official video for the single, features Jesse Neal himself. The live version of the song was featured on the ''VicTorV Live'' video podcast.
Destrophy's self-titled album was added to TouchTunes Interactive Networks, making the album available on jukeboxes in various clubs, bars, and restaurants.
Ari was featured on the June 2010 cover of the ''MAX Sports & Fitness'' magazine (published by ''Muscle and Strength''), with a multi-page article on Ari's kettlebell training, as well as a discussion on Destrophy in the studio recording their latest release ''Cry Havoc''.
2011-present: ''Cry Havoc'', OTEP
Victory Records released a sample of the song Closer prior to the release of the band's new album, ''Cry Havoc'', which was released on Tuesday April 26, 2011. The album was produced by Ari except the song Still Bleeding which was produced by Ari and co-produced by
Corey Lowery
Corey French Lowery is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and engineer. He is the guitarist and backing vocalist for South African rock band Seether, and a former member of Saint Asonia, Stuck Mojo, Stereomud, Eye Empire, and ...
(of
Eye Empire
Eye Empire was an American rock band formed in 2009, consisting of Corey Lowery and B.C. Kochmit, Donald Carpenter, Garrett Whitlock and Dixie Duncan. Will Hunt joined the band in 2010 before departing in 2011, replaced by Ryan Bennett.
The ...
, ex-
Stuck Mojo
Stuck Mojo is an American rap metal band from Atlanta, formed in 1989 by bassist Dwayne Fowler. The band is considered to be one of the pioneers of rap metal. They have toured alongside bands such as Machine Head and Slapshot. Stuck Mojo's most ...
) who also performs guitar solos on Cry Havoc and Still Bleeding. Closer became the band's first radio single, accompanied by an official video release. Once again, the band's single experienced exposure on radio, streaming, and on-demand services with the video seeing frequent airplay on MTV2 and Fuse TV. The video was also featured on the ''VicTorV'' video podcast.
According to Ari, The phrase, "Cry Havoc" comes from Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'', and at least for "our album basically means go kick some ass". The title track and much of the album was influenced by the Spartan stand at Thermopylae, "which to me is the perfect example of holding true to one's way of life at any cost".
Currently, Destrophy members Ari on guitar and Tisinger on guitar have been playing as the backing band for
Otep Shamaya
Otep Shamaya is an American singer and rapper, best known as the lead vocalist and founder of the eponymous metal band Otep.
Career
Shamaya made her debut in 2000 with her band OTEP, and released the full-length albums '' Sevas Tra'' (June 20 ...
(OTEP) during the October and November 2011 tour dates.
Band name
A Greek-history teacher introduced Ari to the word ''diastrophe''
diastrophe
on MyEtymology (Greek meaning: something or someone who is not behaving as it should; to distort), which was Anglicized to ''Destrophy''.
Discography
* ''Chrysalis'' (2004)
* ''Pray EP'' (2005)
* ''The Way Of Your World'' (2007)
* ''Destrophy'' (2009)
* ''Cry Havoc'' (2011)
* ''New Gods EP'' (2021)
Singles
*Pray
*This Is Not My Life
*The Way Your World
*Reconnect
*Send in the Wolves
*We Are Alive
*Closer
*Dead Energy
*The New Violence
*Doomsday
* Army of Me
Band members
;Current members
* Ari Mihalopoulos – lead vocals, guitar, programming (2002–present)
* Phil Tschechaniuk – bass (2002–2011, 2021– present)
* Ryan Berrier – drums (2002–2004, 2021-present)
* Kevin Smith – guitar (2002–2004, 2021-present)
;Past members
* Erik Tisinger – guitar (2010–2011)
* Bruce Swink – guitar (2005–2010)
* Joe Fox – drums (2005–2011)
* Heath Meyer – drums (1992–1999)
* Luke Smith – guitar (1994–2000)
* John Sales – bass (1992–1999)
* Rhys Jones – guitar (1993–1994)
* Stuart Urban – guitar (1992–1993)
References
External links
*
Destrophy
on Victory Records website
Destrophy
on the Inner Light Agency website
Destrophy's Facebook pageDestrophy's Myspace page
{{Authority control
American alternative metal musical groups
Heavy metal musical groups from Iowa
Musical groups established in 2002
Musical groups from Des Moines, Iowa
Victory Records artists