Gwen Stacy was an American
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...
band from
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...
, active between 2004 and 2010. Their name came from the character
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George Stacy and Helen Sta ...
, who appeared in the comic book ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'' as the girlfriend of
Peter Parker. The band announced a reunion in April 2014.
History
Formation and early years (2004–2008)
Gwen Stacy formed as a band in mid-2004 by founding members Brent Schindler and T.J. Sego along with previous members, Chris Suter, and Josh Rickard. After several member changes the band was probably best recognized with members Cole Wallace, Brent Schindler, T.J. Sego, Patrick Meadows, and Mike Bryant. In 2007 Gwen Stacy signed to Ferret Records and released their first full length, ''
The Life I Know'', on February 5, 2008. The album received low reviews. Alternative Press gave it 1.5/5 stars, saying that "they make
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...
seem like progressive luminaries", while allmusic.com game them 2.5/5 stars, saying that "they're a passable metal band, having obviously done their homework and modeled their chops after hardcore's heaviest hitters."
Lineup changes and ''A Dialogue'' (2009)
In a blog posted by Gwen Stacy in late December the band announced that Geoff Jenkins, guitarist previously of the band
Once Nothing would become the band's new vocalist. In this time, Gwen Stacy did a headlining tour with
Our Last Night
Our Last Night is an American post-hardcore band formed in 2004, consisting of brothers Trevor (vocals) and Matthew (guitar, vocals) Wentworth and Timothy Molloy (drums). The band is known for its post-hardcore and alternative metal renditions ...
,
Vanna, and In Fear and Faith, a trip to Europe with
Poison the Well Poisoning the well (or to poison the well) is a logical fallacy.
Poisoning the well may also refer to:
*Well poisoning, the literal meaning of the phrase
*"Poisoning the Well", a ''Stargate Atlantis'' episode
*Poison the Well (band), a hardcore pu ...
and
36 Crazy Fists from March to April, a tour with
Eyes Set to Kill, and a headlining run with support from
Ice Nine Kills
Ice Nine Kills (sometimes stylized in all capital letters or abbreviated to INK, and formerly known as Ice Nine) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, who are signed to Fearless Records. Best known for i ...
and
Stray from the Path
Stray from the Path is an American hardcore punk band formed in 2001 in Long Island, New York. They have released ten full-length albums. Their first three records were independently released – ''People Over Profit'' in 2002, ''Audio Prozac'' ...
in the fall of 2009.
Guitarist, Jordan Tomb, also a previous band member of
Once Nothing, recently accompanied Gwen Stacy for their 2009 tour.
Gwen Stacy went into the studio in mid May with Andreas Magnusson, whose previous work includes
Haste the Day's album ''
Dreamer'' and
Oh, Sleeper
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. Af ...
's record ''
When I Am God'', among others. The record was released on October 20, 2009. JesusFreakHideout scooped that the next album was to be called ''A Dialogue'', correlating with the October 20 release through Solid State Records. The band issued a press release stating that the new album was indeed called ''
A Dialogue
''A Dialogue'' is a 1973 collaborative work featuring a multi-topic conversation between writers James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni. The preface was written by Ida Lewis, the afterword by Orde M. Coombs Orde may refer to:
People Given name
* Orde B ...
'' and would be released on October 20 through
Solid State Records.
In September 2009, the band recorded their first video from A Dialogue in an abandoned neighborhood in
Bensenville, IL to the song "The First Words". Then on October 15, 2009, the band recorded a second video for the song "A Dialogue". Both videos were directed by Jeremy E. Jackson, who also did their video for "The Fear in Your Eyes".
The main protagonist in both videos is ex-founding member Chris Suter.
Gwen Stacy kicked off the fall of 2009 with a tour with
Ice Nine Kills
Ice Nine Kills (sometimes stylized in all capital letters or abbreviated to INK, and formerly known as Ice Nine) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, who are signed to Fearless Records. Best known for i ...
(Ferret Music) and
Stray from the Path
Stray from the Path is an American hardcore punk band formed in 2001 in Long Island, New York. They have released ten full-length albums. Their first three records were independently released – ''People Over Profit'' in 2002, ''Audio Prozac'' ...
(Sumerian Records). They are scheduled to open for Haste The Day with support from
Amarna Reign on a short run in December.
Departure of TJ and breakup (2010)
Original drummer and one of the founding members of Gwen Stacy decided to leave the band in late May 2010 to pursue school and other interests. In early June, they attained members Brett Sibley, who would replace TJ on drums and Matt Strahl (both formerly of the band Venable), who would finally take the position as a permanent second guitarist. They then set out to tour with
Inhale Exhale and
This or the Apocalypse
HAWK (formerly This or The Apocalypse) is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania that formed in 2005.
History ''Monuments'' (2005–2009)
In 2008 the band signed to European metal label Lifeforce Records, and released the ...
as the new lineup.
Gwen Stacy also toured with
A City Serene
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''ae ...
and
Lower Definition
Lower Definition is an American post-hardcore band from San Diego, California, United States, formed in 2002. The band released two studio albums and six EPs before disbanding in 2009. After that they released an EP in 2011 called 'The Infinite ...
on the No Bummer Summer tour in July.
September 2 kicks off the start of a mini-tour with another Indianapolis based band, Amarna Reign. As of November 7, 2010, Gwen Stacy officially announced they were splitting up via the band's Myspace. They played their last show at Rhino's in
Bloomington, IN on November 20, 2010.
Reunion and other projects (2014–present)
In April 2014, the band announced that the original lineup would be reuniting for a show at the Irving Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 14 with friends Deadera, Once Nothing and SpeedGod. The band also launched an indiegogo account to fund the show. Members of the band have stated via social media that this is a "one time event" and that they have no intention of continuing the band after the show.
Longtime guitarist Patrick Meadows joined local Indiana band Barricades as their guitarist in 2015.
Members
Final lineup
*Geoff Jenkins – lead vocals (2008–2010, 2014), rhythm guitar (2008–2010)
*Brent Schindler – bass, clean vocals (2004–2010, 2014)
*Patrick Meadows – lead guitar (2006–2010, 2014), rhythm guitar (2005–2006)
*Brett Sibley – drums (2010, 2014)
*Matt Strahl – rhythm guitar (2010, 2014)
Former
*Cole Wallace – lead vocals (2005–2008)
*Chris Suter – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2004–2005)
*Josh Rickard – lead guitar (2004–2006)
*Mike Bryant – rhythm guitar (2006–2007)
*Bobby Oakley – lead vocals (2008), rhythm guitar (2007–2008)
*T.J Sego – drums (2004–2010)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Music videos
* "The Fear in Your Eyes" ''The Life I Know''
* "The First Words" ''A Dialogue''
* "A Dialogue" ''A Dialogue''
References
{{Authority control
Christian hardcore musical groups
American Christian metal musical groups
Heavy metal musical groups from Indiana
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical groups disestablished in 2010
Musical groups from Indianapolis
Musical quintets
Solid State Records artists
Ferret Music artists
Metalcore musical groups from Indiana