JESSE LEACH: Everything came crashing down on me, so I literally disappeared on the second-to-last day of the tour. I had my brother pick me up in Seattle, where he lives, and I got a flight straight home. I didn’t even say goodbye to those guys. I went into hiding for a month. Then I had to pay my bills, so I ended up working three jobs and I became a total workaholic.
MIKE D’ANTONIO: I received an e-mail from him about two days after he left saying he didn’t want to do it anymore. We had just started driving back home, and our van broke down in the middle of South Dakota. The wheelbase fell off and we were just sitting there at our lowest point. We had just put out our record on Roadrunner, and all of a sudden we find out we don’t have a singer.
BRIAN FAIR: Back in ’91 or ’92, Overcast played with Howard Jones’s old band, Driven. Howard was actually the first person I suggested to Mike D. when he told me Jesse was leaving the band. At first they thought, “Well, he’s already got a solid band going on with Blood Has Been Shed,” and they didn’t want to steal him away. Then he actually ended up getting in touch with them.
PHIL LABONTE: After Jesse [Leach] left [in 2002], I tried out for Killswitch a couple of times. Once, they had me ride down with them to New York City’s SIR Studios. I had a leg up, and I thought, “Ah, I got this.” I did the tryout. Mike Gitter from Roadrunner was there and he said, “It was great. You nailed it.” But the day before we did that, I heard that Howard [Jones] had called them up and I thought, “Uh-oh.” Because I had heard Howard sing, and he’s really talented. After that, I had another tryout, and a week later I called Adam and he said, “Yeah, we’re gonna go with Howard.” I was like, “Fuck!” But man, I wasn’t mad. Because one thing people may not know about Adam is he’s funny and he’s a jokester, but he’s the most straight-shooting and legit dude that I know. There are no pulled punches and he doesn’t mince words when he has to be straight. You have to respect that.
ADAM DUTKIEWICZ: We auditioned a bunch of people, and several were pretty good, including Phil. But Howard just had that thing, he had the magic. He can sing his nuts off and he’s really great at melody and great at projecting.
MIKE GITTER: When Howard came in, a lot of things about the band and its sound broadened. He’s bigger. His voice is bigger. Physically, he’s bigger. He is the kind of front man that can stand in front of a crowd of fifteen thousand people and be utterly commanding. He’s also spontaneous and is the straight man to Adam D’s tomfoolery.
HOWARD JONES (ex–Killswitch Engage): Adam is hysterical. He’s funny, period, but when he’s drinking it’s even better. I don’t drink. My beverage of choice is protein and soy milk. Adam drinks enough for everybody.
In February 2010, after releasing their self-titled fifth album, Killswitch Engage announced that Jones was taking time off from the band to sort out personal issues. Labonte filled in for a tour. Then, in 2012, Jones announced that he was battling type 2 diabetes and was leaving the band. Moreover, he stated that his heart was no longer in the music. Having worked again with Dutkiewicz in the side project Times of Grace, original Killswitch singer Jesse Leach was invited to rejoin the band. Killswitch Engage wasn’t the only Massachusetts metalcore pioneer to struggle with lineup changes; Unearth also had its share of personnel shake-ups.
BUZ McGRATH (Unearth): In 2002, we had to replace [bassist] Chris “Rover” Rybicki with [bassist] John [“Slo”] Maggard, who used to be in a Western Mass. band called Flatlined. Chris just wasn’t ready to commit to how far we wanted to take the band.
TREVOR PHIPPS: We remained friends with Chris, [who died in 2009 when his scooter was hit by a drunk driver]. He had a really funny, dark sense of humor. And he was a bit perverted. We were shopping the band to get to a bigger label and we were on tour and this label guy put us up for the night. He has a guest house/gym that had a couple couches. I was sleeping the next morning, and this guy’s wife and her friend were working out in the next room and I woke to see Rover filming this label guy’s wife with a video camera. We had to tell him to stop and delete the footage because it could have gotten us in trouble. That wasn’t all he filmed. We had good friends of ours who were girls, and out of the blue Chris would show us videos of him having sex with them. We wouldn’t have thought the girls would do that with him, but sure enough, he could convince them. He used to walk up to a girl in a bar or at a show and say something really dirty that he wanted to do to her. He told us, “If you do that to a hundred girls, you might get slapped ninety-eight times, but there’ll be one or two girls who will be psyched for it.” He’d have sex with these girls in club bathrooms or stairwells. The rest of us were just in awe.
BUZ McGRATH: After we got rid of Rover our original drummer, Mike Rudberg, quit. We had about half of [2004’s] The Oncoming Storm written when that happened. [Drummer] Mike Justian came in around then and learned what we had written and made it his own and wrote the rest. That was a big record for us and it really brought us into our own as more of a thrash band and less of a metalcore group.
TREVOR PHIPPS (Unearth): Mike Rudberg was a very reserved, shy, quiet guy. He wouldn’t do anything crazy, ever. But we were playing this sold-out show at Emo’s in 2003 with Evergreen Terrace, at South by Southwest, and for some weird reason Mike stripped down naked and played the entire set nude. After the show he was psyched for about five minutes. Then he took a long walk and came back and told us he was leaving the band because he didn’t want to tour.
For groups that weren’t already insiders, the Orange County metalcore scene was hard to break into. Ironically, the two acts that had the hardest time being accepted by the metalcore elite, Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold, would later become the most successful bands in the scene. Atreyu, who named themselves after a character from the children’s movie The Neverending Story, formed in 1998 and fought relentlessly to win over metalcore fans with vocals that were alternately acerbic and syrupy, and guitars that combined elements of thrash, post-hardcore, and eighties metal.
DAN JACOBS (Atreyu): I was a big fan of Warrant and Queen back when I was ten or eleven years old. I went off in a punk direction for a while; then when I was fifteen, my friend played me Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and I was like, “Oh, my God, this is awesome.” From there, I discovered Ozzy, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, and the more I looked into it, the more I discovered how over-the-top eighties metal was, how big the live shows were, and how every musician ripped. I manage to get a little bit of that flavor in the music of Atreyu.
ALEX VARKATZAS: Dan and I met in eighth grade. [Drummer] Brandon [Saller] had just started seventh grade, but I knew his older brother Ryan, who introduced me to Brandon, and it just clicked. Our first band practice was me, Dan, and Brandon. We were in a little punk band in high school and we practiced in Brandon’s apartment and covered Black Flag’s version of “Louie, Louie.”
BRANDON SALLER (Atreyu): When we started Atreyu, I was kind of scared because Alex and Dan were both older than me, and Alex was this gnarly punk dude who knew so much more about music than I did. I was like, “Shit, what if we play and they think I suck?” But it worked out. I had been playing drums for two years at that point. I was not good by any means. I could work my way around some Green Day songs; it wasn’t anything special, but it was good enough.
ALEX VARKATZAS: We started out as a crappy punk band. And we realized that wasn’t what we wanted to be, so we changed our sound and became more hardcore metal-y. We liked the change and became determined to be one of those bands that constantly evolves.
BRANDON SALLER: Our high school was in Anaheim, California, right on the border of Yorba Linda. Once a year they had a battle of the bands called “Creative Impulse.” You’d pay to get in, and we’d play those shows and only our friends would understand what we were doing. Every other band was ska or pop, and then we’d get up there and people were like, “What the fuck?” Once we got to play at lunch at school on this square cement 2-foot platform. There were a lot of people watching us, but a big
portion of the school were thugged-out dudes and jocks and preppy girls, and they all thought we sucked. Alex had a cordless mic and he left the stage and walked around the school screaming. He’d go 100 yards away to the bathroom and take a piss in the middle of our songs. Everyone saw him as this weird tattooed guy with big ear plugs, lip rings, and painted nails screaming at people while they were eating lunch.
ALEX VARKATZAS: I got picked on a lot, which is where a lot of my anger came from. When I was a freshman I got pushed into the pool at a big party. And once, I was running to class because I was late, and this big dude tripped me and I fell flat on my face. That kind of shit really formed who I am now. But I look at what most of those people are doing now and I’m like, “Fuck you guys. Who’s laughing now?”
BRANDON SALLER: When we started our first demo CD [1999’s Visions], a lot of our songs were pissed-off, screamy kind of stuff. But as we evolved, I realized that I could actually sing, which I never knew because I had never done it before. There weren’t a lot of bands doing that screaming and singing mix; I’m not saying we pioneered it, but we took our own approach to it.
ALEX VARKATZAS: We started as a metalcore band, but we changed. People have compared us to Poison the Well and Killswitch Engage, which is really funny to me because we were around just as long as both of those bands. They just got more well-known first. I had sent our first demo CD to the owner of Tribunal Records, Matt [Rudzinski], and he e-mailed me back making fun of the name of our band. And I was like, “Look, we have a four-song EP done. It’s mastered, it’s mixed. All you have to do is put it out. It’s mint for you. Just duplication.” He agreed but said he wasn’t going to do shit to promote it. So we pressed a thousand in 2001 and it took us a year to sell those.
DAN JACOBS: I was the only guitarist back then and we were getting way more into hardcore and metal. We went, “Gosh, all these bands have two guitar players and they just sound so much heavier live and can do so much more.” So we got Travis [Miguel] to fatten up our sound.
TRAVIS MIGUEL (Atreyu): I joined in early 2001. Alex and I used to work at Hot Topic together. He pulled me aside one day and said, “I think we need another guitar player, so if you want to come by and jam with us, you’re more than welcome.” The next thing I know, I’m signing a record contract [with Victory]. I had a semester of college left to finish. So it was kind of either do the responsible thing, finish up school and lead the normal life, or sign this record contract, which could go down in flames. I haven’t been back to school since.
JAMES HART: Our relationship with Atreyu was not great at first. Their old bassist [Chris Thomson] liked to talk a lot of shit and was constantly running his mouth about us, Avenged Sevenfold, Bleeding Through, Throwdown, and Adamantium, who we got along with really well. It got to a point where none of our bands would play local shows with them.
ALEX VARKATZAS: We were really on the outside of the Orange County scene. A big fight happened at one of our early shows between some of our friends and some dudes from Eighteen Visions. People had beef from it for years. Afterwards, a lot of people didn’t like our band and we had a hard time getting shows because I knew that none of those bigger bands were gonna put us on a show.
BRANDON SALLER: It was extremely annoying. We were just like, “Why? What makes these other bands so special? What makes it so difficult for us to be accepted?” But we kept pressing on, and little by little we started seeing results. We didn’t get a lot of shows until our first record, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, came out in 2002. After that we’d book shows at Chain Reaction in Anaheim and put on our own shows at parties.
DAN JACOBS: When we started getting more popular than bands like Eighteen Visions, I think people started to hate on us, and I think a lot of that came from jealousy. People who weren’t necessarily our biggest fans in the beginning saw us starting to do okay, and they said, “Why is this band, which I don’t really like, doing really well, and these other bands that I love are not doing as well?” I think that pissed people off and fueled their fire.
ALEX VARKATZAS: I found out about this supposed rivalry with Avenged Sevenfold through Kerrang! They sent me an e-mail saying, “This is what this band said about you in an article.” They accused us of stealing a song from them. I got mad about it for a second and then I thought about it a little. It was curiously right around the time the Avenged record City of Evil came out [in 2005]. I think that was an interesting maneuver and a total fantasy. We never stole a song. If you’re cool with Atreyu, thank you, and if you’re not, go fuck yourself.
M. SHADOWS (Avenged Sevenfold): All that shit gets so blown up in the press. We never had a real problem with Atreyu. Those guys are our friends. But I will say this: Atreyu get more shit talked about them than anybody.
BRANDON SALLER: We decided that since we weren’t a part of the cool scene, we weren’t going to even try to be. We don’t want to be a metalcore band because that puts limits on you. We don’t want people to be able to put a name on us, so the more we can do to be able to make that happen, the better for us.
In the early 2000s, Atreyu had more pressing concerns than squabbles with metalcore bands. Having suffered through a series of dysfunctional relationships that left him disillusioned and bitter, Varkatzas became a problem drinker. His spirits improved considerably after he hooked up with current wife Hollie Anne; they got married on October 4, 2009. But back in 2004, the singer felt ready to burst.
ALEX VARKATZAS: I had a couple of really big betrayals from people that were supposed to be my friends. It hardened my heart to everyone. I had this inner anger and mistrust towards anyone I didn’t know. At the time, I was drinking a good amount every day, and I lost it. I punched a palm tree and really messed up my left hand. I didn’t break any bones, but I ripped up all my knuckles and fingers and I poured Jack Daniel’s on it afterwards, which was stupid and hurt like a motherfucker. I was running away from some bad shit and I realized it’s hard to run when you’re drunk. I wasn’t performing how I should and I was letting my band down, the kids down, and myself down. The last straw came after we played a show at Carnegie Mellon [University, in Pittsburgh], with Taking Back Sunday. I had way too much to drink before we went on, and when we played, I couldn’t talk between songs. The songs come off from memory, so I just do it naturally. But afterwards, I was practically incoherent and puking all over the place. I stopped drinking pretty much right after that and found other ways to deal with my anger, like martial arts.
TRAVIS MIGUEL: When I party too hard, something stupid always happens. We played a show in Ottawa, Canada. It was freezing cold, and like clockwork, I ended up at the bar after the show. The next thing I know, I’m in this apartment at this party and I didn’t recognize anybody there. I lost my jacket. I had no cell phone. I didn’t know the name of the venue or how to get back. I’m in a daze, and this girl comes up to me and goes, “Who the fuck are you?” I’m like, “Well, sorry, I thought I was invited.” She’s like, “No, no, fuck that! Lock the door behind him! Make sure he doesn’t leave.” And she storms into another room. I was like, “Fuck, what did I do?” This guy next to me whispers in my ear, “Dude, you better get out of here while you still can.” So I left real quick and ran down this totally empty street. By some divine act of God, I was able to hail a cab. I couldn’t tell him where to go. But as luck turned out, I saw our bus while we were driving and said, “Oh, my God, stop. We’re here.”
Atreyu released their last straight metalcore album, A Death Grip on Yesterday, in 2006, then harnessed their creativity in more creative directions. Varkatzas screamed less and sang more on 2007’s slicker, more experimental Lead Sails Paper Anchor (which included pop-punk riffs, horns, cowbell, and handclaps), and 2009’s Congregation of the Damned (which featured storming riffs and crushing breakdowns but lacked the clawing intensity of the band’s first three albums). At the same time, Avenged Sevenfold was evolving from a Maiden-obsessed metalcore band into a hybrid of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Mötley Cr
üe, and Dream Theater. Unlike Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold wanted to be rock stars from the moment they started jamming together in 1999, and they were largely motivated by the promises of celebrity—free booze, abundant drugs, and decadent sex. But while they earned the key to the backstage liquor cabinet while they were still young, their success came from their talent as players and songwriters, not their antics (some of which rivaled those of their heroes). Actually, the members insist they were more deviant before they formed the band.
JIMMY “THE REV” SULLIVAN (1981–2009) (Avenged Sevenfold): I was a psychotic child. I was fucked-up when I was young. When I was eight, I used to kill cats, and now I love them more than anything, so when I think about it, it makes me sick. I’d beat them or run over them with my bike. Throwing them in the air used to be funny. I watched my friend James put his dog on the stove and turn it on. I broke my neighbor’s leg for fun because we were playing WWF. Then I turned into kind of a psychopath and did a bunch of acid and thought I was the smartest kid in the world.
SYNYSTER GATES: If I had to do anything else in the world, I would be a failure. I couldn’t hold a job, I couldn’t stay in school. But one thing I never let up on was music. I was an honors student until fourth grade, when I got a guitar in my hand. Then I quickly became an educational failure. This is all I can do now and I want to be the best.
DAVE PETERS: Matt [M. Shadows] and Jimmy went to Huntington High School with [Eighteen Visions members] James, Ken, and I. I actually went to middle school with Jimmy, too. Back then his nickname was Boner. One day, Boner brought his whole drum kit to school and set it up on the baseball diamond and played during recess. People went out and watched this sixth-grader shredding on the kit. Then the teachers came out. Everybody thought, “Oh, well this must have been approved. There’s no way he just came here with his drums,” which is exactly what he did. Finally, somebody figured out he didn’t have permission and they made him stop.
Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal Page 59