The Beast in the East Tour Announced!
January 6, 2012 | Author admin
It is my pleasure to announce the Beast in the East Tour 2012 with our friends Ark of the Covenant. You can see all of the dates for the tour on our Shows/Tours Page .
I’d also like to take this opportunity to let you all know that we will be performing “Dissimulation” from front to back, completely gapless as it is on the CD. We’ve put a lot of work into getting this together for you guys, so come on out and show your support!
Brendan’s Departure and Drummer Auditions
August 26, 2011 | Author admin
Hey all,
This is a hard post to write but it is news we must inform you of. Our drummer and good friend, Brendan, will be resigning from his position as drummer. He’s always had a heart for studio work and more of a home life, and touring definitely makes that difficult to achieve. Once we find a replacement, he intends to attend school and better himself as a recording engineer … an endeavor we sincerely support.
There are no hard feelings, and Brendan has decided he will stay with the band until we find a suitable replacement….no matter how long that takes. That means NO CANCELED TOURS OR SHOWS WILL RESULT FROM HIS DEPARTURE! He will also be highly involved in the audition process. Not to mention, he will continue practicing and working with us until we have a new drummer. We have a Sept/Oct tour to announce as well as a November and January tour…these tours are DEFINITELY HAPPENING, and will not be affected by this.
That all being said, we are now accepting auditions for drummers. Those interested should see the box below for more information..
Drummer Audition Requirements/Suggestions/Information:
We play Christian music, meaning our music is inspired by and written for Jesus. This is something you should be on board with completely before considering an audition. Ministry through our music is priority one.
You must be 18 or older. This is not to be considered as any sort of age discrimination, it is simply due to the fact that you cannot be enrolled in high school and manage a spot in the band effectively. If you are in college, online classes are doable from the road…mandatory attendance classes are not. We will not encourage anyone to stop pursuing school in an attempt to join the band.
You must be completely comfortable with playing to a click track. You will also be operating a laptop that controls the entire backing track to our show. Be prepared, download a trial of Cubase, and play around with it. We will provide a sample of the click track for the 3 audition songs
Your gear does not need to be worth thousands, we only ask that it sound and look professional. It should also be dependable. Tuning your drums is a must. Brendan plays a 6 piece set, 3 high toms and 1 floor tom. If your setup is not identical, it’s not a HUGE deal, but please do your best to emulate the parts on your setup. You should also have some way to protect your drums in the trailer…you’ve been warned!
DRIVE IS IMPORTANT. You must have ambition. This band is not at the level of sustaining any sort of income for it’s members, so we all work hard and take care of our own business/personal life. Do not come into this expecting a paycheck! You will have to work, just like everyone else.
You must have dependable transportation to/from practice. If you are auditioning from another state we will talk about practice schedules and how we would work out arrangements for your travel. We’d love to have someone local to our area, but we will not limit this audition to locals only. Any and all are welcome.
THE AUDITION PROCESS
The Audition will consist of 3 songs: Vacillation, Orison, and Transcend. We cannot provide free copies of these songs, so please acquire them from iTunes, Facedown Records, Amazon, or your local Hot Topic. We CAN provide tempo and time information for these songs. We will offer a couple of options for auditions, but all auditions will consist of two stages…preliminary audition, and in person (full band) audition. For the preliminary audition, we will accept videos (youtube, vimeo, downloadable, etc). The video should consist of you playing the song Transcend (no backing tracks on videos, please). Audio quality does not need to be perfect, but we need to be able to hear what you’re doing. If you are local to the Carbondale, IL area, we can setup a time to have you come down and perform the preliminary audition if you prefer to not do the video. If we get past the preliminary audition phase, we will ask you to come audition in person and perform with the band at our practice space in Jonesboro, IL. At this audition you will play all three songs to the click and backing track along with us. Brendan is not in a hurry to leave, and has agreed to stay until we find someone who can play the parts note for note! From initial contact, we’d like to see your preliminary video within 1 week.We look forward to hearing from those interested in this position. It will take HARD WORK and DEDICATION. Serious inquiries only please!
We may change requirements a bit as auditions commence…if you have ANY questions contact Josh via email at josh@hopeforthedying.com
Vacillation Tab added!
August 16, 2011 | Author admin
If you follow us on facebook, you may know this already, but if not be sure to check out our ‘Official Tab/Score’ page to view and/or download PDF files for the song Vacillation. We uploaded tab for two guitar tracks, as well as tab for the bass track.
A couple notes for you Read the rest of this entry »
“Transcend” (Track 4) Lyrics and Explanation
July 18, 2011 | Author admin
Hello again, let’s start off with the lyrics to “Transcend” and then we’ll go into the meaning..
How could you, spit in the face of God
This is an all out war
The hatred you preach wont stand any longer
We’ve come to rectify
The years of abuse and pain,
The bitter taste, endured
Till we can celebrateRevere the glory of your demise,
Your words will not prevail, and we will not stray
The time has come for all the wrongs, to be turned into rights,
It won’t be longHow dare you, condemn in the name of God,
This is your final chance
For He will send the wicked down for their liesThe pit of destruction awaits
Oh, deceptive tongue,
For your folly, you will payThe final hour approaches
Of sorrow and despair,
And soon enough, you’ll beg for death to comeThese days will come
Come to an end and so will you
The words you’ve said,
Depicted a voice that you
Were never givenTime for reformation
Has arrived
Background
This song addresses a few events/people in particular, but should be considered with broader implications. A few years ago a good friend of mine was killed while serving his country and fighting for our freedom. The day of his funeral should have been a quiet time to celebrate his life, and show our respects to his family while offering up prayers for healing. However, the day was rudely interrupted by a group of radicals protesting “in the name of God.” The problem I see, in today’s day and age ,is the fact that it is far to often these “radicals” that make the news. This particular group has been on the Fox News, ABC News, and hundreds of local news stations. They spread hatred, in words and in actions, that they claim is in the name of Jesus. There are plenty more organizations out in the world, preaching (and teaching to their children for that matter) hatred.
“Transcend” is two things:
1. Transcend is a call to fellow Christians to rise above (hence the title “Transcend”) those who falsely represent Jesus. Not in a physical sense or in any retaliatory manner, but to put forth a light that outshines the darkness these organizations broadcast. I thought about John 4:1-6 a lot when writing, not only this song, but the entire album.
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
2. Transcend is a reminder to those misrepresenting the name Jesus that, in the time of judgment, no amount of pleading will make up for the people who have turned from God as a result of their actions. I pray for these people and organizations, that they may see the error of their ways and repent.
In Closing
That pretty much wraps up “Transcend”. I would, however, like to send my condolences to all those who have lost a friend or family member serving in the military. My friend, Brian Romines, will remain a hero in our community for years to come, and his sacrifice will not be forgotten. For those of you currently serving, our prayers go out to our troops every day. Thank you for your dedication and sacrifice.
I urge you all to seek the truth in God’s word and rise above the absurd teachings of ridiculous radicals.
Thanks for reading this, and thanks for adding “Dissimulation” to your music collection,
Josh Ditto
“Dissimulation” reviewed by Teeth of the Divine
July 18, 2011 | Author admin
Checkout the latest review of our new album, “Dissimulation!”
Teeth of the Divine reviews “Dissimulation”
“Orison” (Track 3) Lyrics and Explanation
April 8, 2011 | Author admin
Hey guys,
This it my first post explaining the lyrics to the new album. The song in this post is called “Orison” which by definition means “a prayer.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Track listing for “Dissimulation”
April 1, 2011 | Author admin
A lot of people have been asking us lately about how many songs are on the album, track names, song lengths and other stuff like that, so here ya go!
Read the rest of this entry »
Facedown Fest 2011 Sampler available now!
March 31, 2011 | Author admin
This year for Facedown Fest, Facedown Records is releasing a special edition music sampler featuring a song from all the bands at this year’s festival! You can pick up the album for FREE over at amazon.com. If you download the free sampler, you will be among the first people to own the first single off of our new album, Dissimulation, called “Transcend” (currently streaming on Facebook, Myspace, Purevolume, and more).
The other bands… Read the rest of this entry »
Facedown Fest + West for the Fest Tour
March 25, 2011 | Author admin
So Facedown Fest 2011 is coming up in exactly two weeks (April 8 & 9) and we’re obviously really stoked to be apart of it again this year! We had such an amazing time at FDF 2009 getting to meet all of the other bands and chill out on the beach for a day with the whole Facedown Familly, and I know this year is going to be even better getting to catch up with everybody.
We’re playing on opening night, I believe right after Saving Grace (but I’m not totally sure). Whatever you do, make sure you’re there both nights for all of the bands! Get there early… Read the rest of this entry »
Dissimulation CD Release Show…
March 25, 2011 | Author admin
…is happening April 23 (that’s right, 3 whole days before the official release!) in Cape Girardeau, MO, at the Upperdeck Dockside venue (4 N. Spanish St)! For whatever reason, even though we only live 30 minutes east of Cape, we’ve probably only played over there maybe 5 times so we’re really excited to be doing our CD release show in Cape for all our friendsm fans and family across the river!
There are several places around the internet to find information about the show, but we’re primarily using facebook these days so I would recommend checking out the official event page. Once you RSVP, don’t forget to invite all of your friends (especially those in southeastern Missouri!) to help us spread the word about this show!
The first 50 people at the door on the night of the show will have the opportunity to purchase the new album for just $5 so get there early and save a few bucks! We’re also working on some other cool giveaways and merch deals that will only be available at this show so you don’t want to miss out!