Other bandmembers included David Gabbard (vocals, 1994-1995), Jerry Montano (2001, 2005-2007) and Tommy Sickles (2000-2004, 2005-2007).
Formed in 1994, the band's original line-up consisted of vocalist David Gabbard, guitarist Tom Maxwell, bassist Bill Gaal and drummer Chris Houck. They released three tapes with this lineup, until Gabbard left the band. At this point Matt Holt took over singing duties. The band then recorded a self-titled album featuring ten songs. DCide then discovered Nothingface, and they re-recorded the album, with six of the songs featuring on their debut album Pacifier, released February 6, 1997.
The band were often mislabeled as nu metal, however many music critics denied them as nu metal. They also are known for their extremely aggressive and heavy style.
The band's second album An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity was released on September 22, 1998 via DCide/Mayhem Records. The band toured in support of the album throughout the United States with Stuck Mojo,[2] Sam Black Church and Ministry.[2]
Two years later, the band released their third album Violence on October 10, 2000. It was the band's national debut, released via TVT Records. Chris Houck recorded drums for this album but had to leave the group due to medical issues that would prevent him from touring. He was replaced by Tommy Sickles of Ingredient 17 fame (Matt and Tommy's band before Nothingface).
In early 2001, Bill Gaal left the group to pursue a career in music production and engineering. He was replaced by Jerry Montano, formerly of The Deadlights. A few months later, Gaal returned.
The band released their fourth album Skeletons on April 22, 2003 via TVT Records. That summer, the band played on the second-stage of the popular Ozzfest tour.
The group disbanded on February 10, 2004, citing musical differences, inner turmoil, and label troubles. Bill Gaal went on to form Kingdom of Snakes with former members of the band Gunfighter. Their debut EP features vocal work from Matt Holt on one track. Tom Maxwell and Tommy Sickles were in the band Blessed in Black featuring ex-Skrape vocalist Billy Keeton, as well as Jerry Montano on bass.
On November 24, 2005, a posting on the Jägermeister website showed Nothingface as the opening act for Disturbed in a 2006 show. The line-up for this show was Matt Holt, Tom Maxwell, Jerry Montano and Tommy Sickles. The band released two new songs online and went on to do a small U.S. club tour that winter/spring, bringing along Crossbreed and Silent Civilian.
Later that year, guitarist Tom Maxwell and bassist Jerry Montano began a project entitled Hellyeah with Vinnie Paul, formerly of Pantera and Damageplan, as well as Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne. They released their debut album on April 10, 2007 via Epic Records. Following its release, Montano was fired from the band after allegedly assaulting HellYeah producer/engineer Sterling Winfield and making gun threats while drunk at the album release party.
During the first half of April 2008, the band sent out a Myspace bulletin and changed their default profile picture to one of the band in the studio, signaling that they were indeed working on new material. On the 20th of May, they posted a short YouTube clip which features them performing and sent out a Myspace bulletin containing said clip. Four days later, on May 24, it was announced through Blabbermouth.net that original members Bill Gaal and Chris Houck have rejoined Nothingface, with Tommy Sickles now playing drums for the L.A.-based band Noise Within. The band then released several additional "teaser" videos and on February 19, 2009, announced that "the band is at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore MD for the next 2 weeks writing and recording."
The re-release of their self-titled album with remastered songs and new artwork was released on April 8, 2009.
On August 14, 2009, it was announced via Blabbermouth.net that Nothingface would be disbanding,[3] with Maxwell citing Holt's lack of work ethic as the main reason for an unfinished album three years in the making, as well as his decision to leave. Houck would later state that this is "only one side of the story" and that "there were a lot of other factors involved in all of this beyond anything with (Holt)." In a summer 2011 interview, Bill Gaal spoke publicly about the split, stating, "It’s one of those situations where everyone’s story will be different. Broadly, what it boiled down to is that we’re all older now, we all have different responsibilities. Making everything line up time-wise is difficult– I’m in LA, Chris is out in North Carolina, Tom’s out on tour with Hellyeah most of the year, Matt stays home in Baltimore now. And me and Tom have families now, too. You don’t just get together and write a great song, especially with Nothingface. It takes a chunk of time, and we’d always rework songs hundreds of times before releasing them. We only had a couple of intense, 1- or 2-week writing sessions and really, we just ran out of time. We had to get a lot done in a short amount time before we had to get back to other things we had going on. So the timing didn’t work out, but that being said, it doesn’t rule out anything for the future. As pissed-off as Nothingface was back in the day, we’ve definitely all cooled down, and if we could just find one week where all of us were just calm enough and got together, we could do it."
On September 1, 2009, the band released "One Thousand Lies" on their official website. It is a rough "first draft" demo and was recorded in March 2008. On November 13, 2009 the band uploaded "D2" which is another rough "first draft" demo with no vocals.
In early 2011, the band launched their brand new website Nothingface.com. Videos linked to YouTube are present so is a Nothingface wiki, forum, guest book, photo gallery and a section for fans to upload their own videos of Nothingface music. Links to other bands are present also.
Hidden Hands
Nothingface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A piece in games
It sets in slow descend
Just when I thought I saw everything
You showed me something new
You thought that I would never understand
But now I know how to
To see you
To realize the rot inside
You're evil
But placid
I feel sick 'cause I did not see
Nothing at all through all the excess
Destroyed it all and took all the rest
I was misled and nothing less
It's all the same, in love with distress
Somehow the starts retain our innocence
Disappointment in how things have gone
But inside the eyes of every living man
Steep stairways leading down to God
Show your face so you'll convince all of us
You invade daydreams
And ruin everything
Forever, you'll stay the same
Forced us to go insane
There is no place for you in this
Can you find your way back away from us?
Can you adhere and show us strength?
You fucked us all, done nothing straight
Still we won't crawl and we won't fall
Yeah we gave you something to keep
All this again
Not again
Took the long road but got out
I'll show you something
You fucker
Just raise your chin like this
Fuck scrape out his eyes
Yeah, now shave his head and face and ass
Just get him ready
'Cause I want to make this last
It's fucking perfect, show the world
Still we won't crawl and we won't fall
There is no place for you in this
Can you find your way back away from us?
Can you adhere and show us strength?
You fucked us all, done nothing straight
Still we won't crawl and we won't fall
The lyrics to Nothingface's "Hidden Hands" describe a person's realization of the rot that lies within another individual. The singer, at first, thought they had seen everything, but this person showed them something new – a world full of evil and destruction. The singer understands that this person is evil, yet placid and sickeningly calm. The following verses speak of disappointment and disillusionment, with the notion that we are all crawling towards something, but instead, we end up in a dark place with steep stairways that lead us to the opposite of what we thought we were reaching for.
The song's tone is angry, and the lyrics depict a strong feeling of betrayal. The singer feels misled and that all the excess has destroyed everything they knew. They won't hesitate to call out the wrongdoing, and even suggest violence towards the person who caused this destruction. In the end, the singer declares that they won't fall or crawl and that there is no place for the other person in their lives. They end with a challenge to that person, asking them to show strength and find their own way out of the mess they created.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw it all
I have witnessed everything that has happened
A piece in games
My role was like a pawn in someone's game or scheme
It sets in slow descend
The situation gets worse slowly over time
Just when I thought I saw everything
Right when I believed that I could not be surprised anymore
You showed me something new
You revealed something that I did not expect
You thought that I would never understand
You assumed that I lacked the capacity to comprehend
But now I know how to
However, I have figured out how to see through you
Understand you
To know and comprehend your true intentions and actions
To see you
To interpret your facade and discover your ulterior motives
To realize the rot inside
To become aware of the corruption within you
You're evil
You possess an immoral and wicked nature
But placid
Despite your evil nature, you remain calm and unmoved
I feel sick 'cause I did not see
I feel disgusted with myself because I was blind to your deceit
Nothing at all through all the excess
Despite all the overwhelming information, I did not notice anything unusual
Destroyed it all and took all the rest
You ruined everything and claimed everything for yourself
I was misled and nothing less
I was deceived and tricked, without a shadow of a doubt
It's all the same, in love with distress
The outcome is always identical, as we are attracted to misery and chaos
Somehow the starts retain our innocence
Somehow, we manage to retain our purity and goodness, even in the face of adversity
Disappointment in how things have gone
We are disheartened by how things have turned out
But inside the eyes of every living man
However, within the eyes of every individual, there is a certain truth
Steep stairways leading down to God
There are difficult pathways that lead to a higher power
Show your face so you'll convince all of us
Show your true face, so you can persuade us, but we'll still mistrust you
You invade daydreams
You infiltrate our thoughts and dreams, without permission
And ruin everything
And destroy every positive aspect of our lives
Forever, you'll stay the same
Your harmful attributes and nature will never change
Forced us to go insane
You have pushed us to our limits and caused us to go crazy
There is no place for you in this
We want nothing to do with you anymore
Can you find your way back away from us?
Can you escape from our lives and never return?
Can you adhere and show us strength?
Can you demonstrate genuineness and power?
You fucked us all, done nothing straight
You have deceived us and acted immorally
Still we won't crawl and we won't fall
We will not give up, no matter how hard it gets
Yeah we gave you something to keep
We gave you something valuable, but you chose to betray our trust
All this again
You repeat the same destructive pattern once more
Not again
We cannot allow this to happen again
Took the long road but got out
We may have taken a difficult path, but we have found a way to escape from you
I'll show you something
I have something to prove to you
You fucker
I blame you for all the damage you have done
Just raise your chin like this
I want you to face me and take responsibility for your actions
Fuck scrape out his eyes
I want to harm you
Yeah, now shave his head and face and ass
I want to humiliate and torture you
Just get him ready
Prepare him for his punishment
'Cause I want to make this last
I want to extend your suffering as long as possible
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER BRADLEE HOUCK, MATTHEW FRANCIS HOLT, THOMAS, IV MAXWELL, WILLIAM THOMAS GAAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind