The Sun The Moon The Stars are a
stoner metal band from
Woodland Park,
New Jersey.
History
Prior to the band's formation, frontman Matthew Dwyer began writing and demoing material in hopes of finding other musicians to accompany him. Eventually, he joined forces with old friends Joseph Ott on guitar, and
Those Mockingbirds frontman Adam Bird on drums.
The trio arranged and fine-tuned Dwyer's original compositions to prepare for a studio recording.
On Halloween 2009, the band released their debut 4-song EP, ''We Are The Swine'', independently through Bandcamp and limited edition CD. The release was produced by Jayson DeZuzio (
Coheed and Cambria,
Skylar Grey) and recorded at Treehouse studios in Jersey City, NJ.
After recruiting former
The Banner drummer Ian Mullen and bassist Dave Joyce, The Sun The Moon The Stars entered Stained Glass studios to record their first true EP, ''Mind Reader'', in the fall of 2010. Shortly after, former
The Oval Portrait
"The Oval Portrait" is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, involving the disturbing circumstances of a portrait in a château. It is one of his shortest stories, filling only two pages in its initial publication in 1842.
Plo ...
guitarist E. Van Vogel replaced Joyce as bassist.
The record was mixed and mastered by DeZuzio in 2011. An early preview attracted the attention of the label The Black Numbers, and was released March 6, 2012 on vinyl and digital download.
The band supported the record on select dates with
Maylene and The Sons Of Disaster and
Lionize
Lionize is an American rock band based in Montgomery County, Maryland. The sound of the band is rooted in hard rock and heavy metal, but they frequently experiment with varying sounds, such as reggae, dub music, go-go, and funk. The band line-u ...
,
as well as joining
Planes Mistaken For Stars
Planes Mistaken for Stars is an American rock band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1997. Working with several different labels, they released three studio albums and four EPs before breaking up in 2008. While rooted in the post-hardcore and emo ...
for dates on their reunion tour.
On August 14, 2012 The Sun The Moon The Stars released their cover of
Cream's "
Sunshine Of Your Love
"Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock, psychedelia, and pop, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive b ...
", a b-side from the ''Mind Reader'' recording sessions, as a free download.
The band spent the next few months writing their first full-length record, ''The God'', and eventually attracting the attention of former
The Number Twelve Looks Like You
The Number Twelve Looks Like You is an American mathcore band, formed in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, in 2002. The band went on a six-year hiatus in 2010. In May 2016, they performed a secret show and then announced their reunio ...
frontman-turned-producer, Jesse Korman. In the fall, they recorded 12 songs at Backroom Studios with Korman producing and Kevin Antreassian (
Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time sign ...
,
Trophy Scars
Trophy Scars, is an American experimental rock band from Morristown, New Jersey, United States, with blues and psychedelic influences. Trophy Scars began as a post-hardcore group but has since embraced broader genres.
Trophy Scars song cata ...
) as engineer. Korman and Antreassian's company, JK Productions, uploaded the song "To Dethrone A God" to Soundcloud for streaming in April 2013.
This became the only song released, as Van Vogel and Mullen parted ways to pursue non-musical careers and Dwyer went on hiatus to Ecuador until the winter.
In 2014 the band, now joined by former Arson drummer Keith Hasselbrink and former The Murder And The Harlot guitarist Edward Bersano, continued playing live while writing another new record.
Musical style and influences
Many reviews categorize the band's sound as high-energy metal akin to the likes of
Black Sabbath,
,
,
stoner metal groups such as
High on Fire
High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Per ...
,
Melvins
Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...
,
early
Soundgarden and various other metal-influenced styles.
Dwyer's shrieking razor-like vocals have been compared to those of late
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
frontman
Bon Scott,
while Ott's crisp guitar-playing has been deemed reminiscent of
Zakk Wylde and
Slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
.
Dwyer's lyrics address diverse topics such as astral gods, the
cosmos, and
mysticism.
The band is praised for taking a unique lyrical approach instead of succumbing to modern metal's typical "cheesy 80's satanism" or frustratingly vague themes.
The Sun The Moon The Stars takes its name from the lyrics to the
Black Sabbath song "
N.I.B.
"N.I.B." is a song released by British heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It first appeared as the fourth track on the band's 1970 debut album, ''Black Sabbath (album), Black Sabbath''. The lyrics are in the first person from th ...
".
Band members
;Current members
*Matthew Dwyer – vocals/guitar
(2009–present)
*Joseph Ott III – guitar
(2009–present)
*Ian Mullen – bass
(2014–present), drums (2009–2013),
*Keith Hasselbrink – drums
(2013–present)
;Former members
*Adam Bird – drums
(2009)
*Dave Joyce – bass
(2010–2012)
*E. Van Vogel – bass
(2012–2013)
*Edward Bersano – bass
(2013–2014)
Discography
EPs
* ''Mind Reader''
(2012)
* ''We Are The Swine''
(2009)
Singles
* "Sunshine Of Your Love"
(digital download, 2012)
References
External links
The Sun The Moon The Stars - Official PageThe Sun The Moon The Stars - The Black NumbersThe Sun The Moon The Stars - BandcampThe Sun The Moon The Stars - Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun The Moon The Stars
Heavy metal musical groups from New Jersey
Musical groups established in 2009
American stoner rock musical groups
American doom metal musical groups
People from Woodland Park, New Jersey