Messer is an American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
musical ensemble
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...
from
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. Started in 2009,
the ensemble has released three singles, including "Simple Man", "Whiskey" and "Make This Life" in addition to their self-titled debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
.
History
Beginnings (2009–2013)
During lead vocalist Dereak Messer's high-school career in Iowa, he performed with local bands. After high school, the singer moved to Dallas to engage in a professional music career. Upon Dereak's move to Texas, he met Javier Contreras, who performed in bands named Mudflap and Pimpadelic. When looking for a hair stylist, Dereak entered bassist Maddox Messer's Hair salon, at which time they began to talk about music. During drummer Kenny Youngar's drive from Canada to
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, his automobile malfunctioned near Dallas. Youngar ended up spending the night, and joined a band named Strangleweed (who made an appearance on ''
Eye for an Eye
"An eye for an eye" ( hbo, עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The principle exists also in Babylonian law.
In Roman c ...
''). After the band heard about this, Kenny was invited to join the group. Following the formation of the quartet, tattoo artist Donnie DeVille and the ensemble exchanged music after which time DeVille rounded out the quintet.
While touring with a multitude of notable music ensembles, the group caught the eye of
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Chad Gendason, who produced the debut album from the group.
Self-titled debut album and ''Make This Life Tour'' (2013–2018)
![Messer 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Messer_2017.jpg)
In 2013, the group released two singles entitled "Whisky" and "Simple Man".
Just under five years later, in January 2018, the ensemble released "Make This Life", the debut single from their self-titled album.
In early April 2018, "Make This Life" peaked at Number 28 on ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Songs.
In March and April 2018, the ensemble toured with
Lacey Sturm
Lacey Nicole Sturm (née Mosley, previously Carder; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter born in Homestead, Florida, but raised in Arlington, Texas. She is a co-founder and lead vocalist of the hard rock band Flyleaf. In ...
,
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
Righteous Vendetta.
On April 20, 2018, the group released via MaddPants Records their self-titled debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
,
produced by Chad Gendason.
In June 2018, the quintet travelled the southwestern United States in support of their ''Make This Life Tour'', with three July stops in Texas to perform on the 2018
Vans Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
.
On August 7, 2018, the band released their music video for "Save Myself", the second single from their self-titled album. In late August 2018, the group plans to perform throughout the United States with American heavy metal band
Gemini Syndrome
Gemini Syndrome is an American alternative metal band formed in 2010 in Los Angeles. The band currently consists of vocalist Aaron Nordstrom, drummer Brian Steele Medina, bassist Alessandro "(AP)" Paveri, and guitarist Miguel "Meegs" Rascon.
...
.
In October and November 2018, the group toured with American rock bands
Royal Bliss
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
and Joyous Wolf.
In January 2019, the ensemble filmed their music video for "Simple Man", one of the two first singles from their debut album. In April 2019, the group plans to perform multiple shows with
Pop Evil
Pop Evil is an American rock band that was formed in North Muskegon, Michigan, in 2001 by Leigh Kakaty. The band's roots reside in TenFive, a group formed in the late-1990s by Kakaty and guitarist Jason Reed.
Pop Evil won the Radio Contraband ...
and
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 ...
, followed by a mid 2019 United States tour with
Scott Stapp
Scott Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen, August 8, 1973) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted the band Art of Anarchy and has released three solo albums: '' The Great Di ...
of American rock band
Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
.
Critical reception
Regarding "Make This Life", Megan Buck of ''Shockwave Magazine'' stated that: "This fist-raising single will get your head nodding long before it’s finished" and that it "provides
a vivid and infectious sound that leaves you in high anticipation of the album to follow". Buck goes on to state that the tune is a "kick-starter of a single" that "draws you in with a little ‘unce-unce’, reminiscent of
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, however, the similarities end when the first verse lands". The author continues indicating that the two aforementioned songs "are the anathema-tic attention grabbers".
Members
* Dereak Messer – vocals
* Javier Contreras – lead guitar
* Maddox Messer – bass
* Kenny Youngar – drums
* Donnie Deville – rhythm guitar
Discography
Studio albums
*''Messer'' (2018)
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2010 establishments in Texas
Musical groups established in 2010
Musical groups from Dallas
Musical quintets
Rock music groups from Texas