Adjacent To Nothing
Adjacent To Nothing | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
|
| Origin | Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts |
|
| Website | adjacenttonothing |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
Adjacent To Nothing, often shortened and abbreviated as ATN, is an American heavy metal band from Salt Lake City, Utah. Formed in 2001 by vocalist Mike Shumway, and then guitarist Spencer Walker, the band also consisted of guitarist Dan Hathaway, bassist Curtis Walker, and drummer Nick Walker. The band has undergone multiple lineup changes over the years, including Spencer Walker moving to the bass guitar when the opportunity arose to recruit Jacob Merril, and they've had their current lineup since 2011.
Adjacent To Nothing's debut album Adjacent To Nothing was released in 2005, after garnering the attention of legendary producer Sylvia_Massy. Self Released and distruted through CDBaby, their self titled album saw moderate success.
Their eventual signing to Song Haus and 2017 follow-up album Lessons and Lesions is further increasing their popularity, getting rotation on various physical and online radio stations nationally. It was co-produced and engineered with Travis Montgomery (Threat Signal, Meytal, Jeff Loomis), Stetson 'Bucket' Whitworth (Chelsea Grin, Living in Fiction), and Joel Pack (Royal Blis, Broke City).
History[edit]
Formation and Adjacent To Nothing (2001–2006)[edit]
Adjacent To Nothing was founded in 2001 by vocalist Mike Shumway, and then guitarist Spencer Walker. Spencer was already writing music with fellow guitarist Dan Hathaway, bassist Curtis Walker, and drummer Nick Walker, but they were auditioning vocalists when he met Mike and asked him to come audition. The raw emotion Mike conveyed, and his ability to poetically articulate the themes they were all passionate about sealed the deal.
The band's name[1] was concocted as part of a joke. "Mike was working for an engineering firm at the time, and one day he came to practice in one of his company's trucks, parking right in front of a huge waste bin by all the construction going around. Our drummer took note and started making fun of the verbose terms engineers use, and said something to the effect of how in engineering terms Mike had just 'stationed his transportation apparatus adjacent to the waste disposal receptacle.' There was a certain ring to the term 'adjacent to,' and after some thought, we soon added the 'nothing,' as it seemed appropriate to us."
Their logo is an artistic representation of their name... an equal sign centered in a zero.
Shortly after gigging with other local acts, the opportunity came to recruit Cameron Jacobs on the drums. Cameron had been playing with another act at the time, and his drumming impressed everyone in ATN. Nick was gracious enough to recognize the improvement Cameron brought to the band, both in skill and commitment, and even helped transition his replacement into the band.
Not long after, Curtis Walker, who was born with Spina bifida and walked on his hands, as his legs never developed, decided he wanted to pursue life in Las Vegas working in a freak show act. He was replaced by Jacob Birchall for a time, but there were personality conflicts within the band and he was released as ATN's bassist.
Finding it hard to find a bassist who was both decent, and committed, Spencer Walker decided to move to the bass when Jacob Merril became available to step in on guitar. Jacob had fronted and played in a progressive instrumenal band, Valhalla, and his phenominal skills were something ATN wanted to incorporate.
From there, working with local and regional concert promoters, Adjacent To Nothing was able to build a following and share the stage with acts such as Soulfly, Drowning Pool, Type O Negative, Days of the New, and Flaw (band). They eventually earned the attention of legendary producer Sylvia_Massy (Tool, System of a Down, Sevendust, Powerman 5000), and recorded their self titled album over the winter at her studio in Weed, California from December 2004-January 2005. Originally intended to be released through Warner_Bros._Records, the band's manager kept putting off and postponing meetings with the label, until ATN eventually learned through outside sources their manager had been black listed for unscrupulous deeds. It was a harsh reality check on how the business works, and they self released in August 2005 through CDBaby.
The album, though with no marketing budget, proved to resonate with listeners everywhere, and word of mouth led to the band getting devout fans worldwide.
Linup Changes (2008–2012)[edit]
There were several more line up changes as the band struggled to recover from the lost record deal, write new material, and all the while promoting the album and performing locally and regionally. Cameron Jacobs was released as their drummer to recover from an increasingly destructive drug habit. He was replaced by Craig Baker, who had played in 'Valhalla' with Jacob Merril for several years, and Craig's impressive skillset and use of percussion as an emotive instrument instantly added a dynamic the band embraced.
About a year later, Jacob Merril decided to leave the band to pursue family life. The band recruited Brennan Walker, who had also played in 'Valhalla' with Craig Baker as their bassist. While Jacob had a more ethereal and lighter sound on the guitar, Brennan's love of heavy guitar riffs brought a new level of intensity to the band.
A couple of years later after gigging and writing material, Dan Hathaway decided to leave the band to pursue business interests and family life. The band recruited Clint Menlove, who had gigged in other bands ATN had played with in the past. His zeal for new music, coupled with the variety of ways he used the guitar to make sounds, added an entirely unique character to the thick and driving sound ATN had already established.
Lessons and Lesions (2012–present)[edit]
Hardships born, and lessons learned, were poured into writing and recording a new album. With so mutch material written since the last album, it was difficult to narrow down which songs would make it into the new record. What could have been a 25 song double album was eventually narrowed to a 15 song single album; one reflective of the progress the members of ATN had made as musicians, and as a band.
Recording initally started with Stetson 'Bucket' Whitworth (Chelsea Grin, Living in Fiction) doing the tracking, and Joel Pack (Royal Blis, Broke City) engineering and producing. With a limited budget, though, it took many sessions and a great deal of time to get the album finished.
Around this time ATN had begun working with Song Haus. After the initial mix was finished and provided to Song Haus for review, ATN was told the guitars needed more weight and punch. Luckily through networking the band was able to bring in the talents of Travis Montgomery (Threat Signal, Meytal, Jeff Loomis), who not only helped re-amp the guitar tracks, but mastered the album after it was remixed by Joel Pack.
Released on March 31, 2017 through Song Haus, and distributed through Sumthing Distribution, Lessons and Lesions is gaining momentum. A music video for their reinterpretation of Jolene by Dolly Parton has gained traction for this, as well.
Musical style and influences[edit]
Adjacent To Nothing has been described as progressive metal, alternative metal, and hard rock. Stacy Kirby of Nocturnal Hall writes, "Within every song and action these guys make lies aptitude and creativity".[2] Concerning their latest album, Alex Blackburn of SLUG Magazine writes, "Turn the lights down, the volume up, throw this guy into the disc player and prepare for heavy distortion, riffs made of metal, and just generally head banging goodness." "Adjacent To Nothing keeps their rhythms solid and throw in some serious progressive licks that make this an estimable album.".[3]
In their bio, ATN describes their music as "a collision of adrenaline and emotion... embracing both beast and beauty in the pursuit of creative display and emotive release. While their unflinching sound is defined by thick driving guitars, unique percussion, captivating rhythms, and evocative leads, their anthemic vocals soar with devotions of seizing second chances, questioning social norms, unleashing repressed anger, and enduring love and loss. It is music which lures you in, engages your consciousness, and invites you to listen, feel, and perhaps even grow."[4]
Members of Adjacent To Nothing cite an evergrowing and eclectic list of influences. From classic, heavier, groups like Pantera, Korn, Tool, [Lamb of God]], and [Meshuggah]], to newer, alternative, groups such as Twelve Foot Ninja, TesseracT, Karnivool, and Periphery, to acts that aren't considered metal such as Sublime, 311, Run the Jewels, and R.A. the Rugged Man.
Band members[edit]
|
Current members
|
Former members
|
Discography[edit]
- Studio albums
- Adjacent To Nothing (2006)
- Lessons and Lesions (2017)
References[edit]
- ↑ "Adjacent to Nothing moves 'between heaviness and harmony' - Biography". SLCTrib. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
- ↑ "Interview with Adjacent To Nothing". nocturnalhall.com. August 2, 2004.
- ↑ "Adjacent To Nothing Lessons and Lesions". slugmag.com. June 29, 2017.
- ↑ "Adjacent To Nothing Bio". adjacenttonothing.com/bio.html. Feb 20, 2017.
External links[edit]
Media related to Five Finger Death Punch at Wikimedia Commons
This article "Adjacent To Nothing" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Adjacent To Nothing. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
