Divine Heresy

Divine Heresy is an American metal band formed by founder of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares. Although the band's origins trace back to 2002, Divine Heresy was officially formed in 2006. The band currently consists of guitarist Cazares, former Vital Remains drummer Tim Yeung, and former Nile bassist Joe Payne. Tommy "Vext" Cummings was fired from Divine Heresy following an onstage altercation on April 26, 2008. Auditions have been held for a new frontman for the band.

The band's debut album Bleed the Fifth was released on August 28, 2007, and sold 2,700 copies in its first week. Receiving generally positive reviews, Eduardo Rivadavia of All Music Guide commented the album "strikes a near-perfect balance between confirmation and innovation", while Dom Lawson of Metal Hammer commented "All in all, the portly pioneer [Cazares] has hit the bull's-eye".

History

Following his departure from Fear Factory in 2002, guitarist Dino Cazares was looking for a drummer that "fit in" with the band. First he tried drummer John Sankey from Australia. But, he had to "go back home" (expired visa). Then, he tried Nicholas Barker from the bands Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. Yet he also had to "go home". He then met former Vital Remains drummer Tim Yeung. And Tim committed his time to this new band. In 2005, Cazares started writing material for a new project and contacted Yeung. The pair began jamming and writing material in June and July 2005. A search for a vocalist ensued and Tommy "Vext" Cummings was recommended by Century Media Records president Marco Barbieri, and vocal coach Melissa Cross, whose resume includes Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Randy Blythe from Lamb of God and Philip Labonte from All That Remains. Cazares and Yeung recorded the material they wrote and sent tapes to Cummings for his vocal audition. Cazares comments "We heard passion and anger in his voice, which was something we wanted. It was also very aggressive." Divine Heresy held auditions for a permanent bassist — Tony Campos of Static-X played bass on three songs and Cazares acted as bassist on the remaining songs. Following unsuccessful auditions, Cazares was contacted by former Nile bassist Joe Payne. Cazares knew Joe Payne from seeing him play live with Nile. After auditioning Joe Payne joined Divine Heresy as the permanent bass guitarist.


Bleed the Fifth
The band recorded its debut album, Bleed the Fifth in early 2007 with production duties handled by former Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader. The title of the album is a play on words, Cazares comments "You have the right to keep your mouth shut, but on this record we believe we’re saying a lot". Cummings wrote the majority of the lyrics, which are about personal strifes and how people overcome them. Much of the lyrical content was influenced by the Book of Revelation, natural disasters, war, and terrorism. Cazares stated the album is a "big F#ck you" to the people who want his projects to fail.

Released on August 28, 2007, in the United States, Bleed the Fifth sold 2,700 copies in its first week. Dom Lawson of Metal Hammer summarized his review by saying "All in all, the portly pioneer has hit the bull's-eye and it's going to be fascinating to see what happens next", awarding an 8 out of a possible 10. Eduardo Rivadavia of All Music Guide felt the album "strikes a near-perfect balance between confirmation (reminding fans of Cazares' abilities and unique vision) and innovation (he even plays a few guitar solos!)". Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net summarized his review claiming the album is "one tough son of a B1tch that may still have you humming melodies long after you've ejected the disc." Chad Bowar of About.com commented "Great musicianship, good songs and excellent production make this a very respectable debut."

After recording was completed, Cazares announced the band signed a North American deal with Century Media Records, and a licensing deal with Roadrunner Records in Europe. His decision to choose Century Media was based on the creative freedom the label gave him, where as Roadrunner would ask him to produce radio and commercial songs when he was in Fear Factory. However, Yeung claims Roadrunner were not interested and said he did not want to be on a label that is "sort of interested".


Touring
Following the release of the album, Divine Heresy held auditions for a permanent bassist — Tony Campos of Static-X played bass on three songs and Cazares acted as bassist on the remaining songs. Following unsuccessful auditions, Cazares was contacted by former Nile bassist Joe Payne. Cazares knew Payne from seeing him play live in Nile. As he is able to play bass and guitar, Cazares hired him as the band's permanent bassist. The band embarked on a tour with Static-X and Shadows Fall called Operation Annihilation, a tour with Chimaira, and a European tour playing ten shows. Starting in May of 2008, Divine Heresy will tour with Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, and Firewind.


Members
Jake Veredika - touring live vocals
Dino Cazares – guitar, bass on Bleed the Fifth
Joe Payne – bass
Tim Yeung – drums

They're definitely worth a listen. The album rocks.