FEEDING HILLS – On May 4, Madd Muzik Booking will present a music performance featuring Dead By Wednesday, Disguise The Curse, Hero And The Horror, Let Us Prey, Rival Cinema and Panda at the Wilson-Thompson American Legion Post 185 in Feeding Hills.

Reminder Publishing spoke with Dead By Wednesday, Disguise The Curse and Hero And The Horror to discuss their music and what is next for them.

Dead By Wednesday

Dead By Wednesday formed in 2005. The group released their debut CD, “Democracy,” which sold 3,000 copies out of the box. Following the release of their second album in 2008, the music video for the band’s single “Pawns” appeared on MTV2’s program “Headbanger’s Ball” as well as Music Choice, Havok TV on Demand, Sirius Liquid Metal, Rock Band and Touch Tunes.

After the release of their third album “The Last Parade” in 2011, the New Haven, Connecticut natives toured and won the Best Metal award two years in a row at the Connecticut Music Awards.

The band parted ways with original vocalist Joe Morbidelli in 2015, but vocalist and Massachusetts native Rob Roy joined soon after and they have continued to create metal, punk and hardcore music. The band is now Rob Roy, drummer Opus, guitarist Dave Sharpe and bassist Mike Modeste.

As a response to the departure of Morbidelli, the band recorded a full-length guest vocalist album entitled “The Darkest of Angels,” featuring vocals by artists such as Brian Fair of Shadows Fall and Sean Danielsen of Smile Empty Soul.

Roy described the music of Dead By Wednesday as being a mix of different rock and metal genres. “Our music is for the rock and metal listener who wants to hear different flavors of the metal and rock genres. One song might be mostly clean vocals with a soaring chorus with the next could be heavy. We try not to corner ourselves into a ‘sub’ genre and just call ourselves ‘straight up metal,” Roy said.

Roy first toured with the band during the release of “Darkest of Angels,” which he admits was a challenge due to each song being performed by a different artist with different vocal styling. Roy laughed, sharing, “I took over on vocals in 2015 and toured our guest vocalist album in 2016 [and] had to sing a different style on every song because each song was sung by a different vocalist. I grew from that and am better now because of it.”

Sharpe joined Dead By Wednesday in 2018. “We found Dave after having trouble finding the right fit on guitar for some time but he is definitely our guy for the long haul and he’s so professional, talented and helpful,” Roy said.

Roy said he is looking forward to a new chapter in his life and is ready to perform material he has written with his band mates. “This being my debut album with the band on vocals [because] I’ve never released an album, I’d have to say I’m just stoked to be here. I have a BS in Biomedical Science. I’ve sacrificed so much in my life to have this opportunity to tour and I’m just looking forward to seeing it come to fruition. [It] sounds corny, but as much as I’ve loved playing with these guys the past four years, it’s another level when you’re performing material that you’ve written and poured your soul into. [I’m] looking forward to that,” Roy shared.

Dead By Wednesday’s fifth full-length album is being released on April 19 through Dave Ellefson of Megadeth’s Combat Records/EMP Label Group. The album can be ordered on empmerch.com. Starting May 10, Dead By Wednesday will embark on a US tour with Flotsam & Jetsam.

“We’ll be back mid-June and who knows what’s to come? That’s why we need the support of our amazing fans to spread the music like wildfire and support. Nowadays, none of this happens unless people get to the record store, get on our label website, get on iTunes, whatever it might be. You have to buy the music of a T-shirt or something, anything to support because unfortunately, all the free streaming services don’t keep the train rolling the same way buying an album does,” Roy shared.

For more information on Dead By Wednesday, visit the band’s website at deadbywednesday.com.

Disguise the Curse

When asked how he would describe his band’s music, Disguise the Curse vocalist Michael Merrill said “Disguise the Curse is all about crushing riffs and slow bluesy grooves layered with vocals that are commonly compared to bands such as Deftones, Pantera and Corrosion of Conformity,”

But iconic heavy metal acts aren’t Disguise the Curse’s only inspiration. “Our music is inspired by anthems of horror fiction, such as Frankenstein’s Monster, Kraken and much more,” Merrill said.

The group formed in Springfield in 2013 with Merrill on vocals, bassist Brian Haggins, guitarist Joshua Bednarski and drummer Jamie Cross. In 2017, Disguise the Curse released their first full-length album, entitled “Echoes of the Dying Light.” Disguise the Curse have earned several opportunities over the last few years, including performing at the Rock and Shock Horror Movie and Music Convention and performing alongside major acts such as Gwar and Avatar.

Merrill said that being longtime friends has contributed to the success of the group. “We are first and foremost longtime great friends. That is the secret sauce that makes music special. Don’t let anyone tell you different. We have all been in other projects with each other over the years but eventually came together to create this band in 2013. We have since made an EP, a full-length album and three professional music videos. We put a lot of hard work and heart into this band and I think it shows,” Merrill said.

Merrill said he enjoys performing as part of Disguise the Curse. “Performing with Disguise the Curse is a two fold treat for me personally. I get to connect with fans doing what I love and I get to perform the thing I helped create with my best friends in the world,” Merrill said.

The band is currently working on writing new music and will continue performing following their Feeding Hills show. “We are currently in the process of writing new material, which we hope to release this summer and have some special shows lined up too, including taking part in a well known summer festival in the area, RPM Fest. [It’s] a festival we are very proud to be a part of because it is run by people we respect a lot and who do great things for music in the Pioneer Valley. It’s in it’s fourth year at this point and it’s starting to grow and gain a lot of attention, which is awesome,” Merrill said.

For more information on Disguise the Curse, visit facebook.com/DisguisetheCurse.

Hero And The Horror

Hero And The Horror calls Massachusetts their home. With Dean Dewey on vocals, Ray Pronovost and Phil Bonk on guitar, Slo on bass and vocals and Sam Gaulin on drums, the band has been performing together since 2017.

“We were all acquaintances through the music scene. I first spoke with Ray about coming out of retirement and putting a band together. He had already been talking to John about the project. We rounded it out with Sam and then Dean by the close of the year,” Bonk shared.

When asked to describe their sound, Bonk said, “I think it’s a mix of all of our influences, of heavy rock. There’s still a lot of hardcore [and] metal influences, just in a rock format.” Bonk also shared that Hero And The Horror’s sound is comparative to rock bands Tool and Deftones.

Bonk said performing alongside his band mates is always a good time. “Honestly, I just love being up on stage with my brothers having a good time. Five dudes who are all on the same page, no egos, just good times, having fun, trying to reunite people and the music scene around here again,” Bonk said.

Following their Feeding Hills performance, Hero And The Horror will hit the studio to start working on an EP. “We’ll be heading into the studio down in Brooklyn with producer Kia Eshghi to start work on an EP. Then in June, we take off for a few days with City of Homes to do a run that starts in Brooklyn, then through to Jersey for a few dates, then back up to Florence at the Thirteenth Floor.” Bonk shared.

For more information on Hero And The Horror, visit facebook.com/heroandthehorrorband.

Check out Dead By Wednesday, Disguise The Curse, Hero And The Horror, Let Us Prey, Rival Cinema and Panda at the Wilson-Thompson American Legion Post 185 in Feeding Hills on May 4. The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased via Brown Paper Tickets at www.facebook.com/events/1984679661586654.