The Famine
Encyclopedia
The Famine was a heavy metal band that formed in 2007 in Arlington, Texas
. The band was signed to Solid State Records
.
in former lead vocalist Kris McCaddon, drummer Mark Garza and guitarist Andrew Godwin. While McCaddon previously played guitar in Demon Hunter
he, along with Nowell, also played guitar in Society's Finest. During the fall of 2006 the band recorded 3 songs that would later become a self-released EP.
) and released in May 2008. The Famine performed on the Stronger Than Hell tour with Demon Hunter
and Living Sacrifice
in the summer of 2008. They toured with Rose Funeral and The World We Knew during October 2008 and with The Devil Wears Prada
, Saosin
, and Underoath
in November 2008. During this time they were also picked up for management by Anthony "Yogi" Allgood of Outerloop management(Emery,Darkest Hour) based out of the Washington, DC area.
The Famine's video for the song Consume, Devour, Repeat premiered virally on MTV
's Headbangers Blog on Thursday, November 6 and was subsequently televised on MTV2
's Headbangers Ball
on Saturday, November 8.
The band's studio burned down in February 2010. It contained all of their equipment and tracking for their new album. Only one song, We Are The Wolves, from these sessions made it on to the new album. Solid State rented out a house for The Famine to record in. The band stated that if the label had not done this it would have taken a much longer time for the album to be recorded. "The Architects of Guilt" was released February 15, 2011 through Solid State Records. A video for the song "Ad Mortem" was released soon after the album was released.
The announcement read as follows:
The Famine never should have existed. I don’t mean that like when a jealous brother screams “I wish you were never born!” at his little sister. What I mean is that we came together as a group of married thirty-somethings with kids and small businesses. Our singer lived on the other side of the country. It was a cumbersome proposition, but we made it work. Most of you are familiar with the fire that claimed most of our equipment and the departure of our vocalist about a year ago. We should have never been able to make our last record, but we did. This brings us to the present day.
As of this past Saturday, The Famine is no more. In my mind, bands break up because Courtney Love kills their singer or because they can’t stand each other. Neither of those circumstances is descriptive of our situation. For us, life simply got in the way, as it often does. Mark and Andy both have families for which they are the breadwinners, and Jon has been putting off going to graduate school. Instead of trying to simultaneously satiate Mark’s drive and Andy’s inability to tour and my distance from the band and Jon’s webbed toes (sorry, Jon), we came together and decided as a group that it is time to lay The Famine to rest.
Words cannot express how thankful we all are to have had these experiences, and without those of you who are reading this right now, none of this would have been possible. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you for the support and kindness you have shown us for the past four years. Thank you for allowing us in to your lives, and for giving us the opportunity to connect, even though most of us have never met. You’ll see us around. You might not see the same faces or the same names, but I know that music means too much to all of us to let it die with this moniker. So, this is goodbye for now.
-Love,
Nick
• The Famine performed their last concert on August 12, 2011 at Tomcats West in Fort Worth, Texas. Andrew Godwin, Nick Nowell, and Jon Richardson were the only active members from "The Architects of Guilt" performing at the show. Touring guitarist Jon Tooley and fill-in drummer Brad Fincher were also there to perform the show.
However, in a 2011 Facebook posting, vocalist Nick Nowell stated that the band is not, nor were they ever, a Christian band. Nowell went on to say that he himself is an Atheist
.
Other Members
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
. The band was signed to Solid State Records
Solid State Records
Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,...
.
Formation/3-song EP
The band initially formed with three of the original members of EmbodymentEmbodyment
Embodyment was a Christian alternative metal band from Arlington, Texas which formed in 1993 and were first known by the name "Supplication".-History:...
in former lead vocalist Kris McCaddon, drummer Mark Garza and guitarist Andrew Godwin. While McCaddon previously played guitar in Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. All of Demon Hunter's members are Christians and express their love for Jesus in many of their songs. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, Don Clark...
he, along with Nowell, also played guitar in Society's Finest. During the fall of 2006 the band recorded 3 songs that would later become a self-released EP.
The Raven and The Reaping
The Famine's first album The Raven and The Reaping was recorded in November and December 2007 with Andreas Magnusson (The Black Dahlia Murder, The Agony SceneThe Agony Scene
The Agony Scene was a metalcore/deathcore band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. On October 8, 2008, frontman Mike Williams confirmed that the band had broken up in the spring of that year...
) and released in May 2008. The Famine performed on the Stronger Than Hell tour with Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. All of Demon Hunter's members are Christians and express their love for Jesus in many of their songs. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, Don Clark...
and Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band that formed in September 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. The band has released seven studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnson as a more thrash metal and death metal...
in the summer of 2008. They toured with Rose Funeral and The World We Knew during October 2008 and with The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada (band)
The Devil Wears Prada is an American metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio. Formed in 2005, they are currently signed to Warner Music Group...
, Saosin
Saosin
Saosin is an American rock band originally hailing from Newport Beach, California. The band was formed in 2003 and recorded its first EP, Translating the Name, that same year with original singer Anthony Green. Green left Saosin following the band's decision to sign with a commercial label,...
, and Underoath
Underoath
Underoath is an American Christian metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida...
in November 2008. During this time they were also picked up for management by Anthony "Yogi" Allgood of Outerloop management(Emery,Darkest Hour) based out of the Washington, DC area.
The Famine's video for the song Consume, Devour, Repeat premiered virally on MTV
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
's Headbangers Blog on Thursday, November 6 and was subsequently televised on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
's Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball
Headbangers Ball is a music television program consisting of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV2, MTV Australia, MTV Two , MTV Adria , MTV Brand New, MTV Portugal, MTV Finland, MTV Arabia, MTV Norway, MTV Sweden, MTV Denmark, MTV Greece, MTV Türkiye, MTV...
on Saturday, November 8.
The Architects of Guilt and Departure of Kris McCaddon
The band announced the departure of vocalist Kris McCaddon via MySpace on January 9, 2010. Bassist Nick Nowell took over vocals, and bass duties were quickly filled by new addition Jon Richardson as announced on the 15th.The band's studio burned down in February 2010. It contained all of their equipment and tracking for their new album. Only one song, We Are The Wolves, from these sessions made it on to the new album. Solid State rented out a house for The Famine to record in. The band stated that if the label had not done this it would have taken a much longer time for the album to be recorded. "The Architects of Guilt" was released February 15, 2011 through Solid State Records. A video for the song "Ad Mortem" was released soon after the album was released.
Disbanding
On April 12, 2011, Nick Nowell announced via a Facebook post that The Famine had disbanded.The announcement read as follows:
The Famine never should have existed. I don’t mean that like when a jealous brother screams “I wish you were never born!” at his little sister. What I mean is that we came together as a group of married thirty-somethings with kids and small businesses. Our singer lived on the other side of the country. It was a cumbersome proposition, but we made it work. Most of you are familiar with the fire that claimed most of our equipment and the departure of our vocalist about a year ago. We should have never been able to make our last record, but we did. This brings us to the present day.
As of this past Saturday, The Famine is no more. In my mind, bands break up because Courtney Love kills their singer or because they can’t stand each other. Neither of those circumstances is descriptive of our situation. For us, life simply got in the way, as it often does. Mark and Andy both have families for which they are the breadwinners, and Jon has been putting off going to graduate school. Instead of trying to simultaneously satiate Mark’s drive and Andy’s inability to tour and my distance from the band and Jon’s webbed toes (sorry, Jon), we came together and decided as a group that it is time to lay The Famine to rest.
Words cannot express how thankful we all are to have had these experiences, and without those of you who are reading this right now, none of this would have been possible. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you for the support and kindness you have shown us for the past four years. Thank you for allowing us in to your lives, and for giving us the opportunity to connect, even though most of us have never met. You’ll see us around. You might not see the same faces or the same names, but I know that music means too much to all of us to let it die with this moniker. So, this is goodbye for now.
-Love,
Nick
• The Famine performed their last concert on August 12, 2011 at Tomcats West in Fort Worth, Texas. Andrew Godwin, Nick Nowell, and Jon Richardson were the only active members from "The Architects of Guilt" performing at the show. Touring guitarist Jon Tooley and fill-in drummer Brad Fincher were also there to perform the show.
Christianity
While the band is signed to a Christian label, the band has stated in several interviews that they do not wish to be addressed simply as a Christian band. "You can call us whatever you want. We are a metal band and wouldn’t label ourselves anything but and honestly don’t care what people label us."However, in a 2011 Facebook posting, vocalist Nick Nowell stated that the band is not, nor were they ever, a Christian band. Nowell went on to say that he himself is an Atheist
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
.
Band members
Final Lineup- Mark Garza - Drums (2006–2011) (EmbodymentEmbodymentEmbodyment was a Christian alternative metal band from Arlington, Texas which formed in 1993 and were first known by the name "Supplication".-History:...
) - Andrew Godwin - Guitar (2006–2011) (EmbodymentEmbodymentEmbodyment was a Christian alternative metal band from Arlington, Texas which formed in 1993 and were first known by the name "Supplication".-History:...
, Chase Pagan) - Nick Nowell - Bass (2008–2010), Vocals (2010–2011) (Society's Finest, The Monarch, Thorn vs. Side, Sunrise Cemetery)
- Jonny "Christmas" Richardson - Bass (2010–2011) (Saboteur, The Monarch)
Other Members
- Brad Fincher - Drums (2011) (Devourment)
- Jon Tooley - Guitar (2010-2011) (Touring)
- Kris McKaddon - Vocals (2006–2010) (EmbodymentEmbodymentEmbodyment was a Christian alternative metal band from Arlington, Texas which formed in 1993 and were first known by the name "Supplication".-History:...
, Demon HunterDemon HunterDemon Hunter is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. All of Demon Hunter's members are Christians and express their love for Jesus in many of their songs. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, Don Clark...
, Society's Finest)
Discography
- The Famine (Independent, 2007)
- The Raven and the ReapingThe Raven and the ReapingThe Raven and the Reaping is the first album by the Death Metal band The Famine. It was released on May 27, 2008 on Solid State Records. The song "Killing for Sport" was written in 10 minutes before being recorded.-Track listing:#"Scar the Earth" - 3:01...
(Solid StateSolid State RecordsSolid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,...
, 2008) - The Architects of GuiltThe Architects of Guilt- Personnel :*Nick Nowell - Vocals*Andrew Godwin - Guitar*Mark Garza - Drums*Jonny "Christmas" Richardson - Bass*D. Braxton Henry - Production*Ryan Clark - Artwork*Jason Suecof - Mixing- External links :* * * *...
(Solid StateSolid State RecordsSolid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,...
, 2011)
External links
- Myspace
- Purevolume
- Solid State Records
- [ All Music]
- Last.fm