Art of Dying

Formed in 2004 by lead singer Jonny Hetherington and lead guitarist Greg Bradley, Art Of Dying's first full line-up came together shortly after Hetherington and Bradley decided to form the band, when they recruited guitarist Chris Witoski, bassist Matt Rhode and drummer Flavio Cirillo to join them. Wisely, the band didn't debut immediately afterwards, taking the rest of 2004 and all of 2005 to rehearse, write and work on their live show. The band first found legitimate success in the UK, where they built up such a following that they were able to form Thorny Bleeder Records and self-release their self-titled debut album in October 2006. The album made such an impact there that they were able to sign a licensing deal with Revolver/Universal, and release it all over the world in February the following year.

However, in 2008 the band replaced Witoski, Rhode and Cirillo with Tavis Stanley, Cale Gontier and Jeff Brown respectively, and by that point, the band had such forward momentum that they were able to do what many bands haven't been able to, and thrive after so many of their founding members left. After touring extensively with this new line-up, the band signed to Intoxication Records, a subsidy of Reprise that was formed by David Draiman and Dan Donegan of Disturbed, for the release of “Vices And Virtues”, their second album. The record was preceded by “Die Trying”, the band's biggest hit on rock charts all over Canada and North America, and ever since then the band have remained hugely respected, collaborating with the likes of Three Days Grace's Adam Gontier and supporting bands like Shinedown and Avenged Sevenfold. Art Of Dying are one of rock music's great survivors, and for that, they come highly recommended.