In partnership with Disturbed’s label Intoxication Records, Reprise Records is pleased to announce that it has signed Vancouver hard-rock band Art of Dying to its roster. Intoxication Records was launched in 2004 by Disturbed singer David Draiman and guitarist Dan Donegan. Its first release was the band’s live CD/DVD Music as a Weapon II.
Art of Dying is a five-piece rock band fronted by Jonny Hetherington. The Vancouver-based group, which includes guitarist Greg Bradley, guitarist Tavis Stanley, bassist Cale Gontier, and drummer Jeff Brown, has built a dedicated international following since 2006 touring with Disturbed and Seether, as well as performing at such international festivals as Download and The Virgin Festival alongside Tool, Metallica, and The Deftones.
“We’ve been fortunate enough over the last two years to get to know Dan Donegan and David Draiman as friends, performers, and musicians,†says Hetherington. “We knew that if and when an opportunity ever presented itself with them we would be willing to take it in a heartbeat. When you make music your life and you decide to throw everything you have into it, it’s a huge commitment to yourself. Sometimes all you need is a break. For us the break was a phone call from Dan and getting our music into his hands. We are thankful to Disturbed in so many ways for letting us tour with them and attend their ‘school of rock’ while out on the road. We are so honored in every way, shape, and form to have their support.â€
“I’d never seen a band with the same work ethic and hunger as Disturbed until I met Art of Dying,†says Donegan. “These guys live music 24/7. They are non-stop, 100 percent committed to their music and their fans. They have a way of connecting and interacting with a crowd not only onstage but off as well. They are regular down-to-earth guys who love what they do and it shows.â€
Art of Dying released its self-titled debut in 2007 through iTunes. They are now hard at work on their debut for Intoxication/Reprise with producer Howard Benson in Los Angeles. “We are very excited to see how the songs will sound once they’ve been through the ‘Howard Machine,’†Hetherington says.
Disturbed, which Draiman, Donegan, and drummer Mike Wengren formed in Chicago in 1996, have sold nearly 11 million albums worldwide. Their most recent release, 2008’s self-produced platinum album Indestructible, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart and remained in the Top 10 for five weeks. It is the band’s third consecutive No. 1 album, following the platinum-sellers Believe (2002) and Ten Thousand Fists (2005), making Disturbed one of only six rock bands in history to score three consecutive No. 1 debuts with studio albums. Disturbed’s 2000 debut album, The Sickness, has been certified quadruple-platinum by the R.I.A.A.
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