Wikipedia

Dark Sermon

Dark Sermon was an American blackened death metal band from Tampa, Florida. The band was formed in 2009 under the name "In Reference to a Sinking Ship" and later changed their name to "Dark Sermon" in 2012. The band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2017.

Dark Sermon
Dark Sermon in 2012, left to right: Bryson St. Angelo (drums), Austin Good (guitar), Johnny Crowder (vocals), Austin Chandler (bass) and Neal Minor (guitar).
Background information
OriginTampa, Florida
GenresBlackened death metal, deathcore, melodic death metal[1]
Years active2009–2017
LabelsGood Fight Entertainment, eOne Music, Nuclear Blast Records
Past membersJohnny Crowder
Austin Good
Neal Minor
Paul Stellmach
Jordan Jensen
Evan Miller
Bryson St. Angelo
Austin Chandler
WebsiteDark Sermon on Facebook

History

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In Reference To A Sinking Ship (2009-2012)

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Dark Sermon was formed in early 2009 in Tampa, Florida as In Reference To A Sinking Ship (IRTASS) by Austin Good, Bryson St. Angelo, Evan Miller, Austin Chandler, and Johnny Crowder. As teenagers, the band released a demo in 2009 and their first EP, Aimless, in 2010. Both were received well by many underground blogs and publications such as Duckcore, Total Deathcore, Chugcore, and thelastdisaster. As an unsigned band, they drew national attention to the Tampa scene and shared the stage with bands such as Obscura,[2] Evergreen Terrace, Stick To Your Guns, Norma Jean, and Shai Hulud,[3] as well as playing the 2010 editions of the Summer Slaughter Tour and Vans Warped Tour.[4] This immediate success in the Tampa metal scene led them to their first tours in early 2012 with King Conquer, Forty Winters, and Abiotic.[5]

Name Change, Signing to eOne Music/Nuclear Blast, In Tongues (2012-2013)

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The band changed its name to Dark Sermon in 2012. In an online interview, vocalist Johnny Crowder discussed the band's reasoning for a name change: "There are a lot of reasons why we changed our name. A six-word band name is too much. It's hard to remember, and I feel like people weren't taking us as seriously as they should. Our music and our name didn't match. People would see our name and scoff, but then we'd play and then they'd say, 'Oh, why is that band called that?' I feel like our new name represents our sound much better."[6]

Following their name change, the band toured for the first time as Dark Sermon for several tours with King Conquer, The World We Knew, Sirens and Sailors, and Abiotic. Music videos were shot for two upcoming singles, "In Tongues"[7] and "Hounds",[8] that would eventually make their way onto their debut album. On November 12, 2012, Dark Sermon announced that they had signed a worldwide deal with eOne Music and would be releasing their new album the following year.[9] The band ended that year with a last-minute slot to play Barge to Hell, an extreme metal boat cruise, from December 3–7, 2012, playing with bands such as At The Gates, Exodus, Sepultura, Vital Remains, Soilwork, and more.[10]

The band announced that their debut album In Tongues would be released on March 26, 2013 through eOne Music in North America.[11] They also signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Records to release their record through Europe on April 12, 2013.[12] The band released the first new single off of their upcoming album, "Imperfect Contrition" on March 5, 2013.[13] The band toured throughout North America in 2013, including their first visits to Canada in March 2013.[14]

The Oracle (2014-2017)

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In 2014, the band announced a U.S headlining tour as well as the news of a brand new single. They released "Starve," the first single from their to-be-released second album on June 18, 2014. Following this tour, the band took some time off to work on the new album. This was followed by a fall tour with Suffokate, Reformers, Blood of the Martyrs, and Colossus. The band continued to complete their new album for the next few months and it was slated for a 2015 release.[citation needed]

Dark Sermon was later announced as a last-minute addition to 70000 Tons of Metal from January 22–26, 2015; a four-day cruise with over 60 bands which featured acts such as Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Venom, Behemoth, and Arch Enemy.[15] This was followed by a couple of announcements for back-to-back tours with Sworn Enemy / Wretched and Aborted / Fit For An Autopsy / Archspire. On May 28, it was announced by the band that their new album, The Oracle, would be released on August 21, 2015 through eOne Music.[16]

The band toured and released several singles in support of The Oracle. The first music video off of the album was filmed for the single "Rat King" and was released on September 8, 2015.[17] Dark Sermon spent the fall on tour supporting Cattle Decapitation throughout North America and released a second music video for the song "The Eyeless Needle."[18]

Following the release of The Oracle, Dark Sermon's touring cycle continued throughout North America well into 2016 in support of major metal acts like Thy Art Is Murder, Rings of Saturn, and Rivers of Nihil. This cycle also included a full US headlining tour with support from Canadian hardcore band Exalt.[citation needed]

In 2017, vocalist Johnny Crowder announced that Dark Sermon would go on hiatus indefinitely due to the fulfillment of their contracts with eOne and Nuclear Blast along with multiple members retiring from touring altogether. At the same time as the announcement, Crowder formed a new band, Prison.[19]

Tours

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2012

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  • East Coast tour from February 1 to February 19 with Forty Winters and A Fight For Life.[20] (as IRTASS)
  • Shredded to Pieces tour from April 15 to April 22 with King Conquer, Abiotic and Forty Winters.[21] (as IRTASS)
  • Brief run from August 5 to August 11 with The World We Knew and Sirens and Sailors.[22]

2013

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2014

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  • Headlining tour from June 1 to June 25 with Kingmaker, Villains (Yüth Forever), and Widow (Darke Complex).[26]
  • The Thrill of the Kill tour from September 6 to September 19 with Suffokate, Colossus and Reformers.[27]

2015

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  • No Mercy No Surrender tour from April 7 to May 1 with Sworn Enemy, Wretched and Hammerfight.[28]
  • Spring tour from May 8 to June 7 with Aborted, Fit For An Autopsy, and Archspire.[29]
  • The North American Extinction tour from September 15 to October 7 with Cattle Decapitation, King Parrot, and Black Crown Initiate.[30]

2016

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Members

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Discography

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Albums
EPs
  • Aimless (as In Reference To a Sinking Ship, 2010)

Videography

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Title Year Director Album
"In Tongues" 2012 Jeffrey Moore In Tongues
"Hounds" 2013 Kevin J. Custer In Tongues
"Rat King" 2015 Joey Durango The Oracle
"The Eyeless Needle" 2015 Joey Durango The Oracle

References

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  1. ^ Lambert, Aaron (30 June 2015). "Aborted Extirpate Denver and Prove Death Metal Is Alive and Well". Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  2. ^ Polk, Leilani. "Obscura Review" Archived 2016-03-25 at the Wayback Machine. Creative Loafting Tampa. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  3. ^ Van Pelt, Doug. (2011-06-05)."Bringing It Back For the Kids Fest review". HM Magazine. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  4. ^ (2012-03-13)."In Reference To A Sinking Ship Interview" Archived 2016-03-25 at the Wayback Machine. The Core of Brutality. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  5. ^ Kraus, Brian. (2012-04-02)."Abiotic Sign to Metal Blade Records". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  6. ^ Nabi, Owais. (2012-07-11). "Interview:Dark Sermon"[permanent dead link‍]. Metal Wani. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  7. ^ Kraus, Brian. (2012-09-01)."Dark Sermon Release Video for 'In Tongues'". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  8. ^ (2013-03-29)."Dark Sermon 'Hounds' Music Video". The Circle Pit. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  9. ^ Swanson, Dan. (2012-11-14."Dark Sermon sign to eOne/Good Fight". "Straight Edge World Wide". Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  10. ^ Harvey, Jamie. (2012-12-11). "Barge To Hell: The World's Most Extreme Metal Cruise". Grammy.com. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  11. ^ (2013-02-11)."Dark Sermon to release debut album in March". Lambgoat. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  12. ^ (2013-02-13)."DARK SERMON Signs European Deal With NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS". Blabbermouth. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  13. ^ (2013-03-05)."Dark Sermon Release 'Imperfect Contrition' Lyric Video". The PRP. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  14. ^ Gonda, Christopher. (2013-02-11)."DARK SERMON Announce New Album Details for 'In Tongues'; Touring with AEGAEON" Archived 2016-03-11 at the Wayback Machine. Puregrainaudio. Retrieved on 2016-03-10.
  15. ^ Frederick, Carl. (2015-01-21). "2015 Roster For 70,000 Tons Of Metal Nearly Finalized". Metal Underground. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  16. ^ Sharp, Tyler. (2015-05-28)."Dark Sermon to release new album, ‘The Oracle’". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  17. ^ Bonazelli, Andrew. (2015-09-08). "Dark Sermon's 'Rat King' Doesn't Scurry When Something Bigger Comes Its Way". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on 2016-03-17,
  18. ^ Kennelty, Greg. (2015-11-10)."DARK SERMON's Music Video For "The Eyeless Needle" Is A Lot Like Being In A Graveyard At Dusk". Metal Injection. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  19. ^ Zukowski, Zenae (4 May 2017). "Dark Sermon breaks up as frontman goes to Prison". Metal Insider.
  20. ^ "Forty Winters, A Fight For Life tour dates". Lambgoat
  21. ^ Martin Ken. (2012-03-20). "King Conquer, Abiotic, Forty Winters announce Shredded To Pieces tour!" Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. Highwire Daze. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  22. ^ (2012-07-16). "The World We Knew, Sirens and Sailors tour dates". Lambgoat. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  23. ^ Divincenzo, Alex. (2013-01-14). "The World We Knew Farewell Dates". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  24. ^ Gonda, Christopher. (2013-02-26). "Abiotic announce Metalfest Invasion tour with Dark Sermon" Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  25. ^ Srisavasdi, Greg. (2013-06-14). "Chimaira Unveil 2013 ‘Crown of Phantoms’ North American Tour'". Noisecreep. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  26. ^ (2014-05-01). "Dark Sermon, Kingmaker, Villains & Widow Reveal June US Tour". The PRP. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  27. ^ Sharp, Tyler. (2014-08-11). "Suffokate announce headlining tour dates with Reformers, Colossus, Mouth Of The South, more". Alternative Press. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  28. ^ (2015-02-26). "SWORN ENEMY ANNOUNCE DATES FOR NO MERCY NO SURRENDER TOUR 2015 WITH WRETCHED, DARK SERMON, HAMMER FIGHT". Brave Words. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  29. ^ Murphy, Sarah. (2015-03-27). "Aborted and Fit for an Autopsy Team Up for North American Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  30. ^ Falina, Melanie. (2015-08-26). "Cattle Decapitation is on fire in 2015". AXS. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  31. ^ Gonda, Christopher. (2015-12-17). "RIVERS OF NIHIL Announce Winter 2016 U.S. Headlining Tour with BLACK FAST and DARK SERMON" Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine. Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
  32. ^ (2016-02-26)."Rings of Saturn Announce Tour Dates with Thy Art Is Murder, Fit For An Autopsy, Dark Sermon". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved on 2016-03-17.
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