In This Moment, Hollywood Undead, I See Stars, Vana, and Melrose Avenue

It was when charismatic front lady, Maria Brink and her right hand man, Chris Howorth met through friends, realizing that they have some similar tastes in music, that the dynamic duo began writing songs. They completed their line up adding Jeff Fabb on drums, Blake Bunzell on guitar and Josh Newell on the bass. They are one of those bands that strategically used MySpace as their platform, uploading demos and building up their following exponentially, which ultimately led to a worldwide record deal with Century Media Records.

It was with Century Media Records that they recorded a slew of albums, and by the third, “A Star-Crossed Wasteland” they were an international hit, with their album peaking at #40 in the US Hot 100 Charts. Their fourth album, “Blood” was even bigger, making it to #15 in both US and Canada. The title track from this album has amassed 11.8 million views on YouTube, not a bad accomplishment for a metal band.

They’re an intriguing gift-wrapped metalcore band that has cracked the code on success whilst maintaining their dignity and musicality along the way. The musicality behind what they’re doing is so complex, but it’s counterbalanced with passion and drive, and you can see this in their music videos and their live shows.

The immediately recognizable masked gang formed in 2005 when members J-Dog and Deuce were so impressed with the reaction to a song they had put on Myspace that they recruited friends Shady, Johnny 3 Tears, Charlie Scene, Funny Man and Da Kurlzz to form the group.

Uncommonly the band quickly finished their debut album ‘Swan Songs’ in just one year but it took a subsequent two years to find someone willing to put the album out as they intended. Eventually A&M Records agreed to release the album uncensored and were pleasantly surprised when the album shot to 22 in the charts shifting over 21000 copies in its first week.

They followed up the album by touring with Skrillex and by releasing a CD/DVD called Desperate Measures. All not was well though as around this time one of the group’s founding members Deuce left the band. Whilst the circumstances of his departure remain unsure, they filled his role by bringing in former American Idol contestant Daniel Murillo who has carried on strong since.

Reformed they began to work on album number two which became ‘American Tragedy’, an album that continued to improve on the group’s existing successes after it sold over three times as many copies as ‘Swan Songs’ in its first week and peaked at number 4 in the album charts.

Constant touring and more successful albums have cemented Hollywood Undead’s position as the premiere Rap Rock group of the modern day. Whilst their masks continue to change, the group remain committed to their unique sound and will no doubt remain popular for years to come.