Gotham Road (or Gotham Rd.) is a

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered b ...

/ heavy metal band formed after the demise of the band

Graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

Michale Graves Michael Emanuel (born March 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly ...

, Loki, J.V. Bastard and Paul Lifeless.

History

Formation

The band first formed under the assumed name of Graves and recorded a demo in 2002 which was essentially composed of re-recorded Graves songs with a heavier musical element. In 2003, the group went on to change its name to Gotham Road and recorded the ''

Seasons of the Witch ''Seasons of the Witch'' is an album by American heavy metal/horror punk band Gotham Road, released in 2003. The band features former Misfits singer Michale Graves who had just quit his previous band, Graves. Track listing 2003 release ...

'' EP which contained five new songs as well as two reworked Graves songs. Gotham Road went on the "Seasons of the Witch Tour" to support the EP in 2003. The following year they recorded a three-song demo and thus departed on their sixty city "Mourning Light Tour", during which the band was denied entry to Canada and had to cancel subsequent shows. The band had also booked a European tour which they had to cancel due to venues backing out according to Graves due to his outspoken " conservative punk" views. The band would go on to play numerous shows and, in December 2004, played a farewell show before Michale Graves' departure for the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. Graves was then approached by Horror High Records to record a solo album, the subsequent album '' Punk Rock Is Dead'' featured Paul Lifeless on drums. He was later honorably discharged from the Marines due to a back injury, and embarked on a tour to promote his new album that featured the members of Gotham Road as his backing band as well as openers

Trashlight Vision Trashlight Vision was a trash punk band from the United States. They featured the guitarist from Murderdolls, Acey Slade and Steve Haley from the Philadelphia-based rock band HALEY. The band released their debut album in April 2006 on UnderGroov ...

. Few one-off Gotham Road shows followed.

Hiatus

The band has, as of late, been on indefinite hiatus as each of the members have all gone on to different projects. Michale has continued on with his solo efforts, taking JV Bastard along as a touring bassist for his solo band; Paul Lifeless went on to work with Know Your Enemy and currently Mister Monster as well as The Banner; Loki and JV Bastard recently formed The Doomsday Prophecy, a metal band which has been developing a cult following in the New York/New Jersey area.

Reunion

On April 12, 2008, Gotham Road reunited for one show in

Belmar, New Jersey Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,794,MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

download, replete with eight bonus tracks. The band also contributed two songs to the German compilation CD '' Get Acquainted Vol. 1''. The latest word is that due to Paul's obligation to his successful hardcore band The Banner he will not rejoin the band in the immediate future. Paul currently plays in the punk/surf band Killed by the Bull from

North Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...

, which also features ex-members of the Banner as well as Captives and Distance. On December 31, 2009, Gotham Road played a show at Dingbatz and then again on January 4, 2014 as part of a benefit show for a friend of the bands.

Musicians

* Michale Graves – vocals * Carlos "Loki" Cofino – guitar * J.V. Bastard – bass * Paul Lifeles – drums

Discography

* Untitled five-song demo (2003) * ''

'' (2003) – EP * Untitled three-song demo (2004) * ''

'' (2008) – internet-only LP * Sampler: '' Get Acquainted Vol. 1'' (2008) (including "On My Way" and "Say Something") * Sampler: ''Get Acquainted Vol. 2'' (2009) (including "All the Cars" and "You Awful Me") * Sampler: ''The Sound of Horror Vol. 1'' (2010) (including "On My Way")

References

External links

Gotham Road's official website
{{Michale Graves Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey Musical groups from New Jersey Horror punk groups