The Color Morale

The Color Morale

The Color Morale performing in 2011
Background information
Origin Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Genres Post-hardcore, metalcore
Years active 2007–present
Labels Fearless, Rise
Associated acts The Killer Apathy
Members
  • Garret Rapp
  • Steve Carey
  • Devin King
  • Aaron Saunders
  • Mike Honson
Past members
  • John Bross
  • Ramon Mendoza
  • Justin Hieser
  • Ryan Pulice

The Color Morale is an American metalcore band from Rockford, Illinois. The group is currently signed to Fearless Records.[1] The band has released five albums to date: We All Have Demons, My Devil In Your Eyes, Know Hope, Hold On Pain Ends, and Desolate Divine.

The Color Morale's sound is influenced by a variety of post-hardcore and metalcore bands such as Glassjaw, Beloved, Misery Signals and Poison the Well. Major themes in The Color Morale's music include religion, mental illness, and a message of positivity.

History

Formation and We All Have Demons (2007–2010)

The band was formed in 2007 by Garret Rapp, Justin Hieser, Ramon Mendoza, John Bross and Steve Carey after their previous bands broke up. All of them, excluding Justin Hieser, were in a band called The Killer Apathy, with Bross on bass and Bryce on the unclean vocals, as Garret performed clean vocals and played guitar.[2] They explained that their name "was a title that says what the band's mission statement is and states what the band does.".[3] On June 9, 2009, The Color Morale was signed to Rise Records with an expected release of September 1 for their debut studio album. The band's debut album, titled We All Have Demons was recorded at Foundation Studios in Connersville, Indiana with producer Joey Sturgis.[4] In 2010, they set out on the Rise Records Tour with The Bled and also came out with a music video for the song "Humannequin" off the album.[5]

My Devil in Your Eyes (2010–2012)

In late 2010, The Color Morale began writing their sophomore album and headed into the studio once again, with Joey Sturgis resuming position as producer.[6] The Color Morale's second album entitled, My Devil in Your Eyes, was released on March 11, 2011.[7] Shortly before the release, bassist Justin Hieser left the band for personal reasons. Shortly after his leaving, they recruited a replacement by the name of Anthony Wick to take over duties as bassist.[8] While on tour, Hieser reunited with The Color Morale and Wick stepped down as bassist.[8] Then, shortly after leaving for the "Scream It Like You Mean It 2011 Tour", guitarist John Bross left the band due to getting engaged and wanting to settle down to start a family, as well as focusing on his clothing line. Hieser took over duties as rhythm guitarist, and bass was tracked during live performances.[8] During the 2012 Fire & Ice tour, they recruited bassist Ryan Pulice, formerly of the band Rosaline, to take over bass duties.[8] In August 2012, it was quietly announced that lead guitarist Ramon Mendoza would be taking up a reduced role within the band in order to care for his newborn child. Former touring member and merchandise manager Devin King was confirmed as his replacement.

Know Hope (2012–2014)

By mid-2012, The Color Morale were in the process of writing their third album, believed to be entitled Know Hope, and originally expecting a 2012 or 2013 release.[9][10] The band wrote 22 songs, 12 of which were finalized into the album.[11][11] Josh Schroeder of Random Awesome! Recording Studio in Bay City, MI produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered the record from October to December 2012.

Aaron Saunders will be the new rhythm guitarist, replacing founding rhythm guitar player John Bross. Bassist Ryan Pulice was also kicked from the band in favor of Justin Hieser desiring to switch his position from guitar to playing bass.[8] On January 31, 2013, the band released a lyric video for the song "Learned Behavior" through Alternative Press; also revealing their album artwork, track listing, and release date of March 26.[12] On March 20, 2013, Rise Records released the album stream for Know Hope on YouTube.[13]

On January 1, 2014, It was announced that The Color Morale would be playing in the 2014 Vans Warped Tour.[14]

Signing to Fearless Records and Hold On Pain Ends (2014–2016)

On April 10 it was revealed by Fearless Records that they have signed The Color Morale, and they also announced that the band's label debut, titled Hold On Pain Ends, will be out later in 2014.[15] On April 11, The Color Morale announced Mike Honson as their new official bass guitar player via Facebook, replacing Justin Hieser.[16] On May 27, the band announced that they completed recording their album after two months.[17] On June 23, 2014 the first single, "Outer Demons", from their upcoming album was released on iTunes, along with a promotional lyric video.[18]

On July 2, the album artwork and track-listing for Hold On Pain Ends was made public with accompanying pre-orders.[19] The band released their second single “Suicide;Stigma” which features guest vocals from We Came as Romans' David Stephens two weeks later.[20]

'Hold On Pain Ends' was officially released on September 2, 2014. The album was released under Fearless Records and was produced by Mike Green. It features guest vocals from Chiodos' Craig Owens and We Came As Romans' Dave Stephens.[21]

Desolate Divine (2016-present)

On June 23 2016, The Color Morale announced their new album 'Desolate Divine' and that it would be released on August 19th, they released the lead single 'Walls' the same day. [22] In an interview, vocalist Garret Rapp revealed that he is not doing the unclean vocals on the new album and that the position would be filled by rhythm guitarist Aaron Saunders.

Christianity

The Color Morale have generally expressed that they are not a Christian band. In an interview with Jake Denning (now with Absolutepunk.net), bassist Anthony Wick said this on the issue: "Most of us are Christians. I think the label 'Christian Band' is more related to marketing and sales than it does an actual belief in something. You see so much of this 'We’re a Christian band, this and that' sort of thing, and you just don’t know what people are like outside of that setting. You can be Christian as you want to be on stage, but off-stage, it’s a whole different ball game with people. I think before you say anything like that, I think you need to live your life according to what you believe, or you’re just a hypocrite and it doesn't matter what you say on stage. I wouldn’t label us a Christian band, but we’re guys that believe in Jesus, and that’s our beliefs — but we like to talk about it in a different sense, different from the idea of “Evangelical Christian Metalcore.”"

Vocalist Garret Rapp caught up with Jake Denning (of Absolutepunk.net) in March of 2013, in which he mentions the following: "I think I was in 2011 during Scream It Like You Mean It Tour. I think in the last year in my life I've really taken a step back. I can feel it when I talk...I'm in a grey area right now, I'm unsure of where I am and where I'm going, it's feel like I'm walking with quicksand beneath me half the time, it's a very unstable time of life right now. I'm just trying to do the best thing I can with what I've got given to me or I've came to do what I've tried to earn I guess...I'm just trying to do something positive for someone else, and that re-affirms a purpose in me for something right now." [23]

Band members

Current members
Former members
  • John Bross – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2007-2011)
  • Ramon Mendoza – lead guitar(2007-2012)
  • Justin Hieser – bass guitar, vocals (2007-2011, 2012-2013), rhythm guitar (2011-2012)
  • Ryan Pulice – bass guitar (2011-2012)
Former touring members
  • Anthony Wick – bass guitar (2011)
  • Ricky Thomas – bass guitar (2013)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Label Chart positions[24][25]
Top 200 US Heat US Christian US Indie
2009 We All Have Demons Rise – – – –
2011 My Devil in Your Eyes – 11 20 44
2013 Know Hope 106 1 - 22
2014 Hold On Pain Ends Fearless 28 – – 6
2016 Desolate Divine[26][27] 155

Music videos

Year Song Album Director Type Link
2010 "Humannequin" We All Have Demons Unknown Narrative
2013 "Smoke and Mirrors" Know Hope Live performance
"Learned Behavior" Dan Kennedy & Rasa Acharya Performance
"Strange Comfort" Narrative
"Steadfast" Brendan Donahue Live
2014 "Prey for Me" Hold On Pain Ends Dan Centrone Narrative
"Between You and Eye" Eric Richter Performance
2016 "Walls" Desolate Divine Samuel Halleen Narrative

Collaborations

Year Song Album Artist
2012 "Inertia (The Hermit)" (featuring Garret Rapp) Divination In Hearts Wake[28]
"Holy Smokin O's" (featuring Garret Rapp) The Call Out EP Boys Of Fall[29]
2013 "Fractures" (featuring Garret Rapp) The Greatest Of These Sinners To Saints[30]
"Man of the House" (featuring Garret Rapp) Pandoras Box Our Imbalance[31]
"The Loyal Ones" (featuring Garret Rapp) Beacon EP Witness[32]
"Persona Ex Machina" (featuring Garret Rapp) Indigo On Blast EP Indigo On Blast[33]
"Scarred" (featuring Garret Rapp) Single Oh, Infamous City[34]
"Elevate" (featuring Garret Rapp) Elevate Silence Is Broken[35]
2014 "Empty Eyes" (featuring. Garret Rapp) Rebel Revive Jamie's Elsewhere
"Voodoo Blues" (featuring Garret Rapp) I Have Become A Corpse Illuminate Me[36]
"Dream Eater" (featuring Garret Rapp) Heavy Hearts For the Fallen Dreams[37]
"Season of the Dead" (featuring Garret Rapp) Season of the Dead Chasing Safety[38]
2015 "The Oil, the Canvas" (featuring. Garret Rapp) Honesty Abyss, Watching Me[39]
2015 "People Like Us" (feat. Garrett Rapp) Mind Games Palisades
2015 " DreamWeaver" (feat. Garrett Rapp) DreamWeaver EP Made From Myths
2015 "Soulless" (feat. Garrett Rapp) Sounds of Sorrow DEADSPEAKER
2015 "The Hearts of Our Broken" (feat. Garrett Rapp) "Routine Breathing" Slaves
2015 "Dead Society" (feat. Garrett Rapp) Dead Society EP We Were Giants[40]
2016 "Stepping Stones" (feat. Garrett Rapp) Past Is Prologue A Greater Danger[41]

References

  1. ↑ "The Color Morale Sign To Fearless Records And Announce New Album - Under the Gun Review". Under the Gun Review. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Killer Apathy on Pure Volume". Purevolume.com. Pure Volume. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Indievisionmusic interviews The Color Morale". Indievisionmusic.com. Indievisionmusic. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rise Records signs The Color Morale". Lambgoat.com. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Color Morale's new video for "Humannequin" is now online.". Lambgoat.com. LambGoat. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Color Morale - My Devil in Your Eyes credits". Allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "My Devil In Your Eyes - The Color Morale". iTunes. The Color Morale. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Color Morale kicks out bassist". Lambgoat.com. Lamb Goat. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Color Morale Begin Recording". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Knowing Hope". Crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  11. 1 2 "2012.12.08 Interview with Garret Rapp from The Color Morale (Live in Palatine, IL)". YouTube. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Exclusive: The Color Morale unveil "Learned Behavior" lyric video, upcoming album details". Alternative Press. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "ALBUM STREAM: THE COLOR MORALE – 'KNOW HOPE'". Underthegunreview.net. Under the Review. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Color Morale". vanswarpedtour.com. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Akomanyi, Sarah. "The Color Morale join the Fearless Records family". AltSounds.com. AltSounds. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Everyone say 'Hello' to Mike!". Facebook.com. The Color Morale. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Our new record #holdonpainends is finished!". Facebook.com. The Color Morale. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Whitt, Cassie. "The Color Morale - "Outer Demons" lyric video premiere". Altpress.com. Altpress. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  19. ↑ Kraus, Brian. "The Color Morale announce 'Hold On Pain Ends' album details, launch pre-orders". Altpress.com. Altpress. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  20. ↑ Kraus, Brian. "The Color Morale stream new single, "Suicide;Stigma" (ft. We Came As Romans' Dave Stephens)". Altpress.com. Altpress. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "The Color Morale announce 'Hold On Pain Ends' album details, launch pre-orders - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "The Color Morale announce new album, release new song". Alternative Press. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Color Morale - 03.08.13". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  24. ↑ My Devil in Your Eyes - The Color Morale | Know Hope
  25. ↑ "Know Hope - The Color Morale - Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  26. ↑ https://twitter.com/thecolormorale/status/762672042332172288
  27. ↑ http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/the_color_morale_announce_new_album_release_new_song
  28. ↑ "In Hearts Wake official music". InHeartsWake.com. In Hearts Wake. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  29. ↑ "Boys Of Fall - Holy Smokin O's (Ft. Garret Rapp of The Color Morale)(New Song 2012) HD". YouTube. ReprogrammedToHate. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  30. ↑ "LYRIC VIDEO: SINNERS TO SAINTS – "FRACTURES" FEAT. GARRET RAPP". Underthegunreview.net. Under the Gun review. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  31. ↑ "Our Imbalance - Man Of The House (ft. Garret Rapp of The Color Morale) [DEMO]". YouTube. Our Imbalance. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  32. ↑ "Witness - The Loyal Ones (Ft. Garret Rapp of The Color Morale)". YouTube. Witness. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  33. ↑ "Indigo On Blast - "Persona Ex Machina" feat. Garret Rapp of The Color Morale". YouTube.com. Indigo On Blast. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  34. ↑ "Oh, Infamous City - Scarred (Ft. Garret Rapp)". YouTube.com. BeheadingTheTraitor. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  35. ↑ "Silence Is Broken - Elevate (Ft. Garret Rapp)". JamisonSIB. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  36. ↑ "Illuminate Me - Voodoo Blues (Ft. Garret Rapp)". tragicherorecords. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  37. ↑ "For the Fallen Dreams - Dream Eater (Ft. Garret Rapp)". riserecords. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  38. ↑ "Chasing Safety - Season of the Dead (Ft. Garrett Rapp)". outerlooprecords. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  39. ↑ "Abyss, Watching Me - The Oil, The Canvas (Ft. Garrett Rapp)". abysswatchingme. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  40. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvP3P9VzgrE
  41. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZh78bSL_wg
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