The Word Alive

The Word Alive is an American metalcore band from Phoenix, Arizona. Formed in 2008, their debut EP Empire was released via Fearless Records on July 21, 2009, through the same label the group released their debut full-length album, Deceiver on August 31, 2010.

History

Formation (2008)

The Word Alive was founded in 2008 by Craig Mabbitt with Zack Hansen and Tony Pizzuti who were former members of the band Calling of Syrens in 2008. The band members recruited for The Word Alive were Mabbit (vocals), Tony Pizzuti (guitar, vocals), Zach Hansen (guitar/vocals), Dusty Riach (keyboards), Tony Aguilera (drums), and Nick Urlacher (bass). They recorded an EP that was never released, and then the band was forced to ask Mabbit to leave later on for personal reasons. On November 27, 2008 the band gave the following statement regarding why Mabbit left:

"...we decided we'd move forward without Craig, [and] the search began for the right member to help us pursue our dreams with. That search is over, and we've never felt more complete as a band. He definitely brings our band to a new level and steps up to the challenge, like we feel only he could. We want all of you to know that we love Craig, and that under different circumstances we'd be happily touring together. This wasn't how the vision of the band began, however, it's one we are very happy with. We support Craig completely, and have no bad feelings towards his decision. We do hope that you can accept and love us for being willing to follow our dreams no matter what."

The day after, Mabbitt posted a message to his fans via his official MySpace saying,

"Leaving the band was never my decision, they pretty much replaced me while I was on the road due to the fact that they wanted to tour and couldn't until I was available, I started that band with those guys and I'm very hurt at how they replaced me while I was touring...it's bullshit."

On December 3rd, the band officially announced via MySpace that Tyler "Telle" Smith joined The Word Alive as their new frontman, stating:

"We couldn't be more greatful to have Telle be a part of TWA. It's been a very hectic past couple weeks trying finish writing, recording, and now posting a new song but we hope you love it, we hope you love Telle, and we can wait to see you out on the road this week and beyond!"

Feeling a bit stagnant in their progression beforehand, the addition of vocalist Tyler “Telle” Smith (ex- Greeley Estates, In Fear and Faith) catapulted the band’s ambitions to the forefront. With this initiation, their goals and aspirations were much more a reality, and they set to work on what would become their debut EP, Empire.

Empire (2008-2010)

Empire was recorded with producer Andrew Wade in Ocala, Florida and was released on July 21st, 2009 which reached #15 on the Billboard's Heatseeker chart.

“We all feed off of each other really well,” Smith said. We take a little bit of everything we like and put it together to try and give the listener at least something to grasp onto when they hear a song for the first time. We consider ourselves a metal band who enjoy singing a lot. As much as we love being brutal, we love being referred to as ‘epic’ and ‘beautiful’. It works for us.”

After their EP debut, the band went on multiple tours with bands such as Alesana, A Skylit Drive and Silverstein. The Word Alive headlined with We Came As Romans on the Dreams & Empires tour during the summer of 2009 from late July to mid-August. In October 2009, the band went on tour with Silverstein, Madina Lake and I See Stars. Shorty after that tour they played on the You'd Be Way Cuter In A Coffin Tour with labelmates Alesana and again on The Emptiness Tour in 2010 from February to March. Then in spring they were one of the many bands that performed at the Bamboozle Music Festival in New Jersey on May 1, 2010 and following Bamboozle, The Word Alive played a headlining tour with Stray From The Path for two weeks in May.

Signing to Fearless Records

In March, the band announced to their fans that they were signed to a new label. On March 26, 2009 the band posted a new blog and a video on their MySpace profile, officially announcing that they were signed to Fearless Records.

Smith stated "We hope to just keep touring, touring, touring... we couldn't be happier or more appreciative to be on tour right now, I think despite having some of the worst luck in the early beginnings of being a touring band yet never missing a show, we always have a positive attitude and that will make us a stronger band.".

The Word Alive's single "Battle Royale" off of their Empire was hugely successful, leading the song to be featured in the popular Tap Tap series as well as it being featured in Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360. In January 2010.. The song is also featured on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour Compilation.

On March 23, 2010, a live music video for the song "The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules" premiered on AOL's Noisecreep:

"Metal-hardcore act the Word Alive have finally unveiled the video for 'The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules.' "We couldn't be happier," vocalist Tyler 'Telle' Smith told Noisecreep on the finished look of the band's first video. For the heavy driven track from the sextet's 'Empire' EP, the obvious choice was to bring eyes and ears to their live show -- which has been getting the band quick success for only being a little over a year old. "Our live performance has become a staple of that growth," commented Smith. Rather than having the song play over a performance at the Glasshouse in Pomona, Calif., a full effect approach was taken. "Our director had the idea of filming the set and intertwining live audio to spice up the clip."

Deceiver (2010-present)

In April 2010, The Word Alive entered the studio in Ocala, FL with Andrew Wade to record their debut full-length album, Deceiver. Frontman Tyler "Telle" Smith notes:

"The new album (which is still untitled) is going to be amazing. Recording a 2nd time around with Andrew Wade has been awesome because he really knows the band and understands our sound. We wanted to step it up in every aspect of our songs compared to Empire. When we're heavy, it's heavier. When we do things big, they are huge! When we slow it down, it's something beautiful enough our parents even enjoy it. There's undoubtedly going to be something for everyone on this full-length, and no TWA fan will be disappointed."

On June 23, 2010 the band premiered their first single "Epiphany" as streaming media online,. The following day, Fearless Records released their 2010 Summer Sampler which also featured the track "Epiphany" a week later, the album's album art and track listing was released. Zack Hansen, the guitarist and vocalist, authorized a blog on the band's MySpace profile explaining parts of the process and the concept for Deceiver.

"As many of you know, we are finished recording our debut full length "Deceiver" and it is set to come out August 31. We recorded the cd in Ocala, FL at the Wade Studios. We all felt like that was going to be the best choice considering how comfortable the recording process is with Andrew. The tracking was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time. We got the opportunity to stay in a house while we recorded and surprisingly we didn't party as much as I thought we would haha. That house was a life saver and gave everyone the chance to practice and have some alone time.

In my opinion this was key in the recording process. Recording is personally my favorite part about playing music. Not only does recording give you the chance to get better at your instrument, but it gives you a chance to be a part of something that hopefully won't fade away. Everyone got along great while we recorded and we are extremely proud of the finished product. We wrote the majority of the cd at our home base in Phoenix and on the road. Writing on the road gave us a new perspective on how to make music. Some of the people and places we saw on tour enabled us to get a fresh perspective as we wrote and recorded the new cd.

Deceiver is a 10 song cd, the latest song we released, "Epiphany", is one of the faster, heavier songs on the album. Don't be fooled just yet, we have some tricks up our sleeves and tried a few "new" things including a song without screaming and some dub-step mixed in with a little bit of rock and roll. My personal favorite on the record is "The Hounds of Anubis" which we will release before the record hits stores. Tony and I wrote this song with an "egyptian" feel to it and I think we got our point across."

Later in July, their second single "The Hounds of Anubis" premiered on the official Revolver website along with an explanation that the theme of the song is how the members overcame their hardships that they face with the help and support from their fans.

The Word Alive performed on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour along with Alesana, Artist vs. Poet, Sparks the Rescue and Motionless in White.. They are expected to attend The Anti-Hero Tour where they will be performing with Bleeding Through, After the Burial, Stray From the Path and Dead & Divine from September through October.

Deceiver was released on August 31st.

The band will be featured in the compilation album Punk Goes Pop 3 covering the Kayne West song "Heartless". It will be released on November 2, 2010.

Members

Current members

• Zack Hansen - guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
• Tony Pizzuti - guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
• Dusty Riach - keyboards (2008–present)
• Justin Salinas - drums (2010–present)
• Tyler "Telle" Smith - lead vocals (2008–present)
• Nick Urlacher - bass guitar (2008–present)

Former members

• Tony Aguilera - drums (2008–2010)
• Craig Mabbitt - lead vocals (2008)

Discography

Studio albums

Release date	Title	Label	Peak chart position
			Billboard 200	Top Heatseekers
August 31, 2010	Deceiver	Fearless	97	—
"dash" denotes a release that did not chart.

Extended plays

• Empire (Fearless Records, 2009) #15 on Billboard Top Heatseekers

External links

• Vorlage:MySpace