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.
In Avernus
Nothingface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Murderers watching every step
Ignorance - oblivious to all the evidence
Repent - for all that were innocent
Forget - so we all can rest
Hey it's the end of time
We all will see it our lifetime
It's painted in the sky
We all can see it
But ignore it...& live our lives
The fear of dying
It finds us
No matter where we hide ourselves
Hide - some place in hell
In spite of living
The dead men
Know where we can hide away
Far away
Hey it's the end of time
We all will see it our lifetime
We all will die......Violently
It's painted in the sky
We all can see it
But ignore it...& live our lives
We all enjoy the blood
It calms the rage within
Ingest deceit to cope
We never wanted this
We never saw the risk
We never wanted this
If we could only see the past the shit
And learn the truth
Maybe someone could adapt
And show us how to change things
We invented the way to terrify en masse
And we all wonder why
When someone wants to kill us
Hey it's the end of time
We all will see it our lifetime
We all will die......Violently
It's painted in the sky
We all can see it
But ignore it...& live our lives
Hate is nothing new
Murderers watching every step
Ignorance - oblivious to all the evidence
Repent - for all that were innocent
Forget - so we all can rest
Nothingface's song "In Avernus" is a powerful look at the human condition and the choices we make in our lives. The song examines the themes of hate, violence, and ignorance and how they impact our lives. The first verse discusses how hate and violence have been a part of human history for centuries and how murderers lurk around every corner. The lyrics also touch on how people can be oblivious to the evidence around them and how they need to repent for the innocent lives that have been lost. Finally, the verse encourages people to forget the violence so that we can all rest.
The chorus of the song then highlights the fact that we are all going to die someday, and that death will not be peaceful. The lyrics point out that the end of times is upon us, and we can see it in the sky, but we tend to ignore it and go on living our lives. The second verse of the song continues to explore the themes of violence, fear, and death. The lyrics suggest that no matter where people hide, death will eventually find them. The chorus of the song is then repeated, emphasizing the inevitability of death and how we tend to just ignore it.
The final verses of the song touch on the idea that humans have created much of the violence and destruction in the world. The lyrics suggest that if we could learn from the past and see the truth about our actions, we could change and adapt. Instead, we have invented ways to terrify others, and we wonder why people would want to hurt us. The song ends by repeating the same themes that are found throughout the song, emphasizing how hate, violence, and ignorance continue to haunt us.
Line by Line Meaning
Hate is nothing new
Hatred is not a novel experience, but it flourishes in our society.
Murderers watching every step
Dangerous individuals are lurking on every corner, ready to hurt us.
Ignorance - oblivious to all the evidence
People are unwilling to accept the overwhelming proof that contradicts their beliefs, resulting in ignorance.
Repent - for all that were innocent
Ask for forgiveness for all the wrongs that have been committed, especially against people who were innocent of any wrongdoing.
Forget - so we all can rest
Let go of all the things that happened in the past, so that we can finally get some peace and rest.
Hey it's the end of time
The end of the world is approaching.
We all will see it our lifetime
The apocalypse will happen while we are still alive.
We all will die......Violently
We will all die in a brutal and savage manner.
It's painted in the sky
The signs of the end times are there for anyone to see.
We all can see it
The impending doom is not something we can ignore.
But ignore it...& live our lives
We try to ignore the dire fate that awaits us and carry on with our lives as usual.
The fear of dying
The fear of death haunts us.
It finds us
Death is inevitable, and it will come for us all.
No matter where we hide ourselves
Regardless of where we try to hide.
Hide - some place in hell
Seek refuge in the deepest and darkest depths of Hell.
In spite of living
Despite being alive and breathing.
The dead men
The spirits of those who have passed away.
Know where we can hide away
They know of a place where we can escape our inevitable fate.
Far away
A distant and remote location.
We all enjoy the blood
People are fascinated by and delight in violence and gore.
It calms the rage within
The voyeuristic pleasure from bloodshed quells the anger and frustration within people.
Ingest deceit to cope
Sometimes people take comfort in lies and deceit to escape reality.
We never wanted this
This fate was never our intention or desire.
We never saw the risk
We never realized the perilous situation we were in or the potential consequences of our actions.
If we could only see the past the shit
If we only knew the truth about the past mistakes, errors, and missteps that we made.
And learn the truth
If we finally learned the actual facts of what happened.
Maybe someone could adapt
Perhaps someone could change the way things are.
And show us how to change things
Demonstrate how to alter the course of events for a better outcome.
We invented the way to terrify en masse
We have created the means to intimidate and frighten the masses.
And we all wonder why
The irony is that we are surprised when someone retaliates and threatens us.
When someone wants to kill us
When someone decides to use violence against us.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind