The Letter Black, formerly known as Breaking the Silence,
is an American
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...
band that was formed in 2006 in
Uniontown,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The band consists of lead vocalist Sarah Anthony; her husband, lead guitarist and vocalist Mark Anthony; bassist Matt Beal and drummer William Fowler.
History
![Letterblack1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Letterblack1.JPG)
The Letter Black started out as a praise team at their local church with Sarah and her husband Mark as a duo on vocals under the name "Breaking the Silence". Later when they were signed to
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...
they changed the name of the band to "The Letter Black".
In 2008, Sarah Anthony was featured on the
Pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
album ''
For the Love of the Game'', singing on the track "I Fade Away". The band often does 150 shows or more a year and has shared the stage with bands such as
Skillet
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...
,
Decyfer Down
Decyfer Down is an American Christian rock band formed in 1999 and based in Morehead City, North Carolina, United States. Until 2002 – the year that Christopher Clonts joined the band – they went by the moniker Allysonhymn (pronounced All-ey ...
,
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
Hawk Nelson
Hawk Nelson is a Canadian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums to date.
History Early independent releases (2000–2003)
In 2000, Dunn, Clark, and Paige founded a Peterborough-based gr ...
.
They performed as the opening act for Skillet in the "2010 Awake and Alive Tour" and for the
Thousand Foot Krutch "Welcome to the Masquerade Tour".
The band's debut album, ''
Hanging On By a Thread'' was released on May 4, 2010 through Tooth & Nail records, putting The Letter Black as number 8 in the iTunes rock section in the same day.
A remix album titled ''Hanging On by a Remix'' was released on May 22, 2012.
In early 2013, the band was reported to be recording new material for their second studio album, later revealed to be called ''Rebuild''. The first single for the new album, "Sick Charade", was released on October 3, 2012. "The Only One" was released in February 2013 and "Pain Killer" was released on September 10, 2013. The album was initially scheduled to be released on April 23, 2013, however, on April 17, the album was postponed because the band decided to write three new songs for the album. The album was released on November 12, 2013.
On November 19, 2016, the band previewed a new song on their
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page for their upcoming fourth studio album which would be released by early 2017. According to the band, this would be their heaviest album to date. They announced that they had left Tooth & Nail Records and would record their next album independently. The band ran a successful $25,000
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign to record their next album. The band later signed with EMP Music Group on March 13, 2017. They also announced the album title revealed to be ''Pain'' and the cover art was also revealed. The album was released on May 26, 2017. The first single, "Last Day That I Cared", premiered on ''
Revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
'' on April 30, 2017. A lyric video for "Rock's Not Dead" was released on May 19, 2017.
In April 2020, Mark and Sarah Anthony announced that they signed with Rockfest Records. On December 13, drummer Justin Brown left the band to be replaced by Will Fowler.
Other media
In February 2013, Mark and Sarah Anthony signed with VIP Ink Publishing for an autobiography.
Band members
Current members
* Sarah Anthony – lead vocals
(2006–present)
* Mark Anthony – lead guitar, vocals
(2006–present)
* Matt Beal – bass guitar
(2006–present)
* Will Fowler – drums
(2020–present)
* Brandon Jordan - rhythm guitar
(2021-present)
Former members
* Justin Brown – drums (2012–2017)
Touring musicians
* Ty Dietzler – rhythm guitar
(2009–2010)
* Keith Anselmo – drums
(2010)
* Mike Motter – drums
(2017)
* Daniel Hegerle - drums
(2017-2018)
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
* ''
Breaking the Silence EP'' (2009)
* ''Hanging on by a Thread Sessions Vol. 1'' (2011)
* ''Hanging on by a Thread Sessions Vol. 2'' (2011)
Other releases
* ''Hanging On By a Remix'' (2012) Tooth & Nail Records
Singles
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter Black
American alternative metal musical groups
American Christian rock groups
American nu metal musical groups
American post-grunge musical groups
Hard rock musical groups from Pennsylvania
Musical groups established in 2006
Musical quartets