Society's Finest is an American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band from

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Their first full-length album, '' The Journey...So Far'', was released on

Solid State Records Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle where it is today. History Brandon Ebel and Michael Knott conceived the label as a joint venture, before Knott backe ...

in May 2000. Due to member changes and personal matters the band took a break from touring and recording to focus on their personal lives. During this hiatus, vocalist Josh Ashworth toured with the metalcore band Zao. When re-forming in 2004, the band joined Hand of Hope Records. With this label, they released '' Love, Murder, and a Three Letter Word'' in mid-2004. It contained new songs, along with old songs from their debut EP, ''Private Conflicts and Suicides'' (Pluto Records). Their third album, '' And I, the Drunkard'', was released in June 2006. Vocalist Josh Ashworth is the only remaining original member. Past members have gone on to join other bands including

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of the 20th century.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to World Lit ...

Demon Hunter Demon hunter is a demonology-related historic occupation or folkloric character which specializes in killing demons, monsters, or undead creatures. Demon hunter or variations may also refer to: Characters * Demon Hunter (comics), an Atlas/Seab ...

, and

The Famine The Famine was an American death metal band formed in Arlington, Texas, in 2006. They were signed to Solid State Records. History Formation and three-song EP The band initially formed with three of the original members of Embodyment i ...

. The band has shared stages with

P.O.D. P.O.D. (an initialism for Payable on Death) is an American nu metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval, bassist Mark "Traa" Daniels, lead guitarist Mar ...

, Zao,

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan is 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 Consonance and ...

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, and

Stavesacre Stavesacre are an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West. Stavesacre has released ...

History

Society's Finest started in 1997 with the original members of Josh Ashworth (vocals), Rob Pruett (guitars), Derek Rawls (guitars), Joel Bailey (bass), and Phillip Brummett (drums). The band recorded their debut EP, a split with My Spacecoaster in 1998. They went on to write and record the album "Private Conflicts and Suicides" in 1999. The band replaced Phillip Brummett with Josh Burnett on drums after the release of this album. They then went on to write and record their debut album, '' The Journey...So Far'' (released via

) between 1999 and 2003. The band line up changed again as they grew to see the departure of Derek Rawls on guitar and Josh Burnett on drums. The band reunited in 2004 with Ashworth, Bailey and multiple new members including Nick Nowell (guitars), Daniel Clark (guitars) and Lucas Laskaris (drums). The band recorded their second album, '' Love, Murder, and a Three Letter Word'', in 2004. Nowell and Poole left the band in 2006. The band replaced Nowell and Poole with Guy Turner (guitars) and former drummer Chad Wilburn. However, in the process of writing, Wilburn quit. The band could not find a replacement, so they hired former

Between the Buried and Me Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metalcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (guitar, backing ...

drummer Jason Roe. Roe recorded part of the album before they found a replacement, Jesse Smith, formerly of Zao. Though Smith stated he never actually joined the band. '' And I, the Drunkard'' was released on Alveran Records in 2006. The band broke up for the second time in 2011. With a whole new lineup, Ashworth reunited the band with Tyler Berry (guitars), David Cezero (bass), and Jason Roe in 2014, for a celebration of the life of former guitarist Randall Watts. The band stated that they were currently writing for a new album, but no further information has been released. In 2017, Ashworth did an interview claiming that the band now consisted only of himself and former guitarist Eli Bowser. In 2021, the band announced a new release in the future with the lineup of Ashworth, Bowser, former bassist Daniel Barton, and Lasko(Laskaris) back on drums.

Members

Current * Josh Ashworth – lead vocals (1997–2003, 2004–2011, 2014–present) * Joel Bailey – bass (1997–2003, 2004–2006, 2022–present) * Jordan Brady – drums (2002), bass (2014), guitars (2022–present) * Chad Wilburn – drums (1997–2001, 2005–2011, 2017–2021, 2022–present) Former *

Kris McCaddon Kris McCaddon is an American musician. He was the second guitarist for the metalcore band Society's Finest and lead guitarist for Demon Hunter. He was also the vocalist for the bands Embodyment and The Famine. Since McCaddon left the Famine i ...

– guitar (1999–2001) * Rob Pruett – guitar (1997–2000) *

Tim Lambesis Timothy Peter Lambesis (born November 21, 1980) is an American musician, producer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founding member, lead vocalist, and the sole continuous member of the metalcore band As I Lay Dying. Lambesis was arre ...

– guitar (2000–2001) * Kane Kelly – guitar (2000) * James Allain – drums (2001–2002) * Daniel Clark – guitar (2001–2003) * Pete Rose – bass (2003) * Guy Turner – guitar (2004–2011) * Nick Nowell – guitar (2004–2006) * Randall Watts – guitar (2004–2005; deceased) * Stephen Poole – drums (2004–2005) * David Cerezo – bass (2014–2016) * Tyler Berry – guitar (2014–2016) * Jason Roe – drums (2006, 2014–2016) * Eli Bowser – guitar (2004–2011, 2016–2022) * Daniel Barton – bass (2006–2011, 2021–2022) * Iasko – drums (2021–2022)

Discography

; Studio albums EPs * ''Private Conflicts and Suicides'' (1999) Additional musicians for this album were Derek Rawls (guitar), Phillip Brummett (drums), and Josh Burnett (drums). * ''The Difference Between Us'' (2001;

split EP A split album (or split) is a music album that includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There are also singles and EPs of the same variety, which are often called "split singles" and "split EPs" respectively. Split albums differ from "v ...

with Rise Over Run) * ''My Spacecoaster & Society's Finest'' (1998; split EP with My Spacecoaster) Additional musicians for this album were Derek Rawls (guitar) and Phillip Brummett (drums).

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Solid State Records artists Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 American musical quartets American Christian metal musical groups Metalcore musical groups from Texas