Dark New Day was an American
hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring
Brett Hestla of
Virgos Merlot
Virgos Merlot was an American hard rock band formed in 1998. Prior to the formation of Virgos Merlot, many of the band members were in the group The Devine, which later disbanded. After formation, their first album, '' Signs of a Vacant Soul'', ...
,
Clint Lowery
Clint Lowery (born December 15, 1971) is an American musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Sevendust. He has also played in Dark New Day and Still Rain, and served as the touri ...
of
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
,
Troy McLawhorn
William Troy McLawhorn (born November 4, 1968) is an American musician who has been a guitarist in the rock band Evanescence since 2007. He has also worked with the bands Seether, Dark New Day, doubleDrive, Still Rain, and Gibraltar.
Early care ...
of
DoubleDrive
doubleDrive (abbreviated dD) was an American post-grunge band from Atlanta, Georgia.
Biography
Originally called MK Ultra, doubleDrive arrived on the music scene in their hometown of Atlanta in late 1996. After winning the award for Atlanta' ...
,
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
Stereomud and
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 ...
, and
Will Hunt
William Hunt (born September 5, 1971) is an American drummer. He has been a member of rock band Evanescence since 2007, and has also played for Skrape, Dark New Day, Black Label Society, Device, Crossfade, Staind, Static-X, and Slaughter.
...
of
Skrape
Skrape was an American heavy metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997.
History
Formed in 1997 under the name "Jojo", they later renamed to "Skrape" two years later. Prior to their formation in 1997, members had been involved in notable ac ...
. Their debut album, ''
Twelve Year Silence
''Twelve Year Silence'' is the first album by American rock band Dark New Day. It was released on June 14, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The first single, "Brother", received moderate airplay on radio, and has proven to be a surprise hit. The ...
'', was released in 2005, followed by the
EP ''
Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)
Dark New Day was an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape. Their debu ...
'' in 2006. Though still inactive, Dark New Day released their second album, titled ''
New Tradition
''New Tradition'' is the second album by American hard rock supergroup Dark New Day, released on February 28, 2012. It is their third release in six years after ''Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)'' and their second album since ''Twelve Year Silen ...
'', in 2012.
On February 19, 2013, the band released their third album, titled ''Hail Mary''.
Band history
Formation and ''Twelve Year Silence'' (2004–2005)
The group initially formed under the name ''Dark Blue'' in late 2004 by childhood friends
Brett Hestla of
Virgos Merlot
Virgos Merlot was an American hard rock band formed in 1998. Prior to the formation of Virgos Merlot, many of the band members were in the group The Devine, which later disbanded. After formation, their first album, '' Signs of a Vacant Soul'', ...
,
Troy McLawhorn
William Troy McLawhorn (born November 4, 1968) is an American musician who has been a guitarist in the rock band Evanescence since 2007. He has also worked with the bands Seether, Dark New Day, doubleDrive, Still Rain, and Gibraltar.
Early care ...
of
DoubleDrive
doubleDrive (abbreviated dD) was an American post-grunge band from Atlanta, Georgia.
Biography
Originally called MK Ultra, doubleDrive arrived on the music scene in their hometown of Atlanta in late 1996. After winning the award for Atlanta' ...
,
Clint Lowery
Clint Lowery (born December 15, 1971) is an American musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Sevendust. He has also played in Dark New Day and Still Rain, and served as the touri ...
of
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
and his brother
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
Stereomud,
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 ...
, and
Will Hunt
William Hunt (born September 5, 1971) is an American drummer. He has been a member of rock band Evanescence since 2007, and has also played for Skrape, Dark New Day, Black Label Society, Device, Crossfade, Staind, Static-X, and Slaughter.
...
of
Skrape
Skrape was an American heavy metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997.
History
Formed in 1997 under the name "Jojo", they later renamed to "Skrape" two years later. Prior to their formation in 1997, members had been involved in notable ac ...
. After signing a deal with
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, they began recording their debut album with producer
Ben Grosse
Ben Grosse is an American record producer and mixer, known for his signature sound involving metal and hard rock music. Grosse has mixed and produced numerous albums for popular artists such as Dream Theater, Marilyn Manson, Sevendust, Disturbe ...
, whose previous production credits include
Filter
Filter, filtering or filters may refer to:
Science and technology
Computing
* Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming
* Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream
* Filter (video), a software component tha ...
,
Fuel,
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
, and
Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former ba ...
. It was reported that the group were to make their live debut at Wills Pub in
Orlando, Florida however the band announced on the fan forum that they never said they would play that show and they had previous engagements that prevented them from playing on that date. On January 29, it was announced that the group were changing their name from ''Dark Blue'' to ''Dark New Day'', no reason was given for the change. The group set ''
Twelve Year Silence
''Twelve Year Silence'' is the first album by American rock band Dark New Day. It was released on June 14, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The first single, "Brother", received moderate airplay on radio, and has proven to be a surprise hit. The ...
'' as the title of their debut album and posted their songs, ''Taking Me Alive'', ''Lean'' and ''Heal In Time'', on their Myspace. The group selected ''Brother'' as the first single from their album, which charted at No. 7 on the
US Mainstream Rock chart, and announced tour dates supporting
Chevelle. The song ''Taking Me Alive'' was included in the soundtrack for 2005 film
House of Wax due May 3 via
Maverick Records
Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...
. The group announced more shows running from July through to September with
Seether and
Crossfade as well as a couple of solo shows.
Twelve Year Silence
''Twelve Year Silence'' is the first album by American rock band Dark New Day. It was released on June 14, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The first single, "Brother", received moderate airplay on radio, and has proven to be a surprise hit. The ...
was released on June 14, charting at No. 103 on the
''Billboard'' 200 selling over 12,000 copies in its first week. The second single from the album ''Pieces'', which charted at No. 28 on the US Mainstream Rock chart, was included in the
compilation album ''
Best of the Taste of Chaos''.
''Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)'' EP (2006)
In April 2006, drummer Hunt temporarily joined
Mötley Crüe for a string of dates in Canada, filling in for the injured
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...
. Also Dark New Day announced they were to release an acoustic
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. , which would include two new songs, in the summer as well as begin working on the follow-up to their debut album. They played two shows in May in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
and
Orlando, Florida. The song ''Follow the Sun Down'' was chosen as the first single from the now titled ''Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)'' and invited fans to participate in the shooting of the video for the single. A download release of the EP was to be released on September 5 but there were no plans for a CD release. In December, guitarist Clint Lowery stated that the band were "searching for producers right now to collaborate with" after working on new material on and off since their debut release and were to begin recording in January 2007.
Second album and lineup changes (2007–2008)
In January 2007, it was announced that Hunt was to tour as part of
Vince Neil's solo band in Australia in March/April while in February Clint Lowery was recruited as a touring guitarist for Korn. The group stated that they were to continue on despite Clint's involvement with Korn, a move which they supported, and planned to enter the studio on March, 26. On May 17, 2007, it was announced that both McLawhorn and Hunt would temporarily join
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...
as their touring guitarist and drummer, respectively.
Evanescence lead singer
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler (; born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also particip ...
stated that "We're just borrowing Will and Troy for awhile" and that they would not be leaving Dark New Day.
There were growing rumours that the group were on the verge of splitting up due to Hunt and McLawhorn's involvement with Evanescence however guitarist Clint Lowery shot down these rumours stating:
On June 25, a new song titled ''Hail Mary'' was posted on the groups Myspace. In September 2007, Clint posted on Dark New Day's MySpace page saying that the band returned to the studio to record their next album with producer Dave Bendeth.
Mixing began in November and the album was completed by December with the band confirming some of the songs titles to appear on the album such as ''Simple'', ''Hail Mary'', ''Fiend'', ''Outside'' and ''Vicious Thinking''. In March 2008, the group posted one of the tracks set to appear on the new album on Myspace titled ''Goodbye'' however a few days later it was announced that Clint had rejoined previous band
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
although he still hoped the new album would be released soon. In April, drummer Hunt issued an update stating that Warner Bros. had decided to release the album however no release date was set. In May, guitarist Troy McLawhorn became the second member to leave the group. The group announced the addition of
Switched guitarist B.C. Kochmit, who Hunt described as "the perfect combination of Troy and Clint", with frontman Brett Hestla also taking up guitar duties for the group. They also announced they would be releasing a series of Demo Tracks as downloadable "releases" in anticipation for their new album. Two songs from these were posted to the band's MySpace page, ''Fiend (Version 1)'' and ''I Don't Need You''. On July 28, three new songs were added to their MySpace page, ''Anywhere'', ''Simple'' and ''Vicious Thinking'', as well as another version of ''Fiend'', ''Goodbye'' and ''Hail Mary''. They also announced a one-off show at the Three Bears Café in
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...
on September 6 where, during the show, guitarist Clint joined them on stage, after Sevendust's show was cancelled due to tropical storm Hannah.
Side projects (2009–2011)
In February 2009, Clint Lowery issued an update for the band since "there hasn't been an official statement given" in sometime by the group stating it was unlikely that the album would be given an official release but that he would find out if there was a chance of the album being made available on
iTunes. Despite this he stated that his update didn't clear much up and that the future of the group "doesn't look good".
In June 2009, it was announced that both Dark New Day members Corey Lowery and B.C. Kochmit had formed a new group called ''Violent Plan'' with singer Donnie Hamby, of
DoubleDrive
doubleDrive (abbreviated dD) was an American post-grunge band from Atlanta, Georgia.
Biography
Originally called MK Ultra, doubleDrive arrived on the music scene in their hometown of Atlanta in late 1996. After winning the award for Atlanta' ...
, and drummer Dan Richardson, of
Pro-Pain
Pro-Pain is an American heavy metal band based in New York City, formed in 1991 by vocalist and bassist Gary Meskil and drummer Dan Richardson, both former members of Crumbsuckers.Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'', MOJO ...
,
Crumbsuckers
Crumbsuckers was an American crossover thrash band formed by bass player Gary Meskil in 1982, in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York.
Crumbsuckers combined thrash and hardcore punk sounds and themes, making an impact on the scene with their 1986 ...
,
Life of Agony
Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Mina Caputo (then known as Keith Caputo), bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, mos ...
and
Stereomud completing a nine-song demo. However this group was short lived and by November they disbanded.
In November it was announced, along with the break-up of ''Violent Plan'', that Corey Lowery and B.C. Kochmit had formed another group called
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 ...
in October, with
Donald Carpenter, formerly of
Submersed
Submersed (sometimes typeset as SubmerseD) is an American rock band from Stephenville, Texas. They first disbanded in 2008, reuniting in late 2021, early 2022.
History
Submersed was signed to Wind-up Records, and worked with Alter Bridge gu ...
. The group's lineup was rounded off with drummer
Garrett Whitlock
Garrett Getts Whitlock (born June 11, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed.
Amateur career
Whitlock attended Providence Chris ...
, also formerly of Submersed, and solo artist
Dixie Duncan on guitar. The new group have posted demos on their official
Myspace and have toured with
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
.
In February 2010, it was announced that drummer Will Hunt, currently with
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...
, would join
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...
for the recording of their new album as well as touring with the group. As of June 2010, Hunt is the full-time drummer of
Crossfade and has recorded one album with them,
We All Bleed, which is set for an April 2011 release via
Eleven Seven Music
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''E ...
.
Despite the unreleased album not officially released via iTunes or physical CD format, it has been released via various torrent and blogging sites under the title of "Vicious Thinking."
On September 1 via Twitter, Dark New Day guitarist Clint Lowery posted "Cool, 2 new complete dnd records will be available on iTunes and other digital stores soon. Some real cool unreleased material. Stay tuned!." This was followed by another message by Lowery a day later stating "FYI- Dark new day "hail Mary" and "B-sides" albums should be available next week on iTunes etc. if all goes well. Was a long time coming." The released ''Hail Mary'' and ''B-Sides'' digitally, but have since been removed.
''New Tradition'' and ''Hail Mary'' (2012–2013)
On January 6, 2012, the band announced their new record titled ''New Tradition'' would be released on February 28. The first single entitled "New Tradition" was sent to radio stations the same day. Clint Lowery posted the following statement; "We're very excited about the new DARK NEW DAY release. It seems the time is right to make these songs public and share with the fans that continue to support this project. We believe this music is still very valid and powerful today, and think its mandatory we give these songs a fair chance out in the music world. We owe it to ourselves and the DARK NEW DAY fans. 'New Tradition' sums up the mindset we were in writing the follow-up to 'Twelve Year Silence'." Many of the tracks from 'New Tradition' were previously released on the ''B-Sides'' and ''Hail Mary'' albums. Brett Hestla said about the album:
The band also provided a bonus track, "Rising Sun", to fans who purchased the album before March 6.
''Hail Mary'' was released to physical media in February 2013, six years after being recorded, and two years after it was released as a digital download.
Band members
*
Brett Hestla – lead vocals
(2004–2008, 2012) rhythm guitar
(2008, 2012), lead guitar
(2012)
*
Clint Lowery
Clint Lowery (born December 15, 1971) is an American musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Sevendust. He has also played in Dark New Day and Still Rain, and served as the touri ...
– lead guitar, vocals
(2004–2008)
*
Troy McLawhorn
William Troy McLawhorn (born November 4, 1968) is an American musician who has been a guitarist in the rock band Evanescence since 2007. He has also worked with the bands Seether, Dark New Day, doubleDrive, Still Rain, and Gibraltar.
Early care ...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals
(2004–2008)
*
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 ...
– bass, backing vocals
(2004–2008, 2012)
*
Will Hunt
William Hunt (born September 5, 1971) is an American drummer. He has been a member of rock band Evanescence since 2007, and has also played for Skrape, Dark New Day, Black Label Society, Device, Crossfade, Staind, Static-X, and Slaughter.
...
– drums, backing vocals
(2004–2008, 2012)
Touring musicians
*
B.C. Kochmit – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
(2008)
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Twelve Year Silence
''Twelve Year Silence'' is the first album by American rock band Dark New Day. It was released on June 14, 2005 by Warner Bros. Records. The first single, "Brother", received moderate airplay on radio, and has proven to be a surprise hit. The ...
'' (2005)
* ''
New Tradition
''New Tradition'' is the second album by American hard rock supergroup Dark New Day, released on February 28, 2012. It is their third release in six years after ''Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)'' and their second album since ''Twelve Year Silen ...
'' (2012)
* ''Hail Mary'' (2013)
EPs
* ''
Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)
Dark New Day was an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape. Their debu ...
'' (2006)
Singles
References
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2004
Alternative metal supergroups
American hard rock musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Warner Records artists
American alternative metal musical groups