Bury Your Dead

Bury Your Dead
Vocalist Mat Bruso
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore,[1][2] beatdown hardcore[3]
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Stay Sick Mediaskare Victory Eulogy Alveran
Members	Chris Towning Mat Bruso Mark Castillo Aaron Patrick
Past members	Myke Terry Michael Crafter Mike Nunez Joe Krewko Eric Ellis Dan O'Connor Rich Gaccione Jay Crowe Jesse Viens Chris Cain Rich Casey Matt Lacasse Steve Kent Dustin Schoenhofer Chris Sansone Sean Chamilian Brendan "Slim" MacDonald

Bury Your Dead is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The current lineup is guitarist Chris Towning, lead vocalist Mat Bruso, drummer Mark Castillo, and bassist Aaron Patrick. To date, they have had eight releases: one EP (Bury Your Dead), one live DVD (Alive), and six studio albums (You Had Me at Hello, Cover Your Tracks, Beauty and the Breakdown, Bury Your Dead, It's Nothing Personal and Mosh N' Roll).

In 2001, Bury Your Dead began as a side project of the band Hamartia featuring drummer Mark Castillo and guitarist Brendan "Slim" MacDonald. With the metalcore sound of Hamartia growing tiresome to both of them, they started writing less technical songs in their free time. They recruited Steve Kent to play bass, second guitarist Jesse Viens, and Joe Krewko as vocalist and began playing shows in Massachusetts and Connecticut under the name Bury Your Dead. News of their unbridled energy and destructive live show spread immediately around the East Coast hardcore scenes and the band was courted by Alveran/Eulogy.

The band recorded and released their debut album titled You Had Me at Hello in 2002, borrowed a van, then toured in support of it. After several successful tours, Bury Your Dead decided to go their separate ways. Castillo moved back to Philadelphia and began touring with Between the Buried and Me, bassist Rich Casey went back to running his own screen-printing business and MacDonald began playing guitar in the band Blood Has Been Shed.

After several months had passed, Casey contacted MacDonald and expressed his interest in reforming Bury Your Dead. They rounded up some of their old lineup, with a few others to fill in, and played some shows before heading down to Florida to play the annual Gainesville Fest. After acquiring vocalist Mat Bruso, they ran into their old drummer, Mark, who was touring with Between the Buried and Me, and they discussed their desire to make Bury Your Dead a serious band again. Castillo agreed, and the band did a few short tours as well as appearances at hardcore festivals including Hellfest and The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival.

With their lineup in place Bury Your Dead was approached by Victory Records in July 2003 and they signed a deal with the label the following spring, while on tour with Walls of Jericho and Martyr AD. Bury Your Dead spent the next several months touring and when summer approached they holed up in Massachusetts and did nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe the new Bury Your Dead songs, which would comprise their Victory Records debut titled Cover Your Tracks. "The whole writing process this time around was a lot different than the last", said MacDonald. "We had so many ideas floating around in our heads, so we decided to shut out the outside world and do nothing but get these ideas put together into songs. Literally, for two weeks, we did nothing else but write Cover Your Tracks." They entered the studio in June 2004, choosing to record at Q-Division studios in Somerville, MA with producer Matthew Ellard. "Recording with Matthew was great, he added so much to the record", noted MacDonald. "It was also nice that Matthew already knew Mark from his days in Between The Buried And Me, so it was a really comfortable feeling in the studio right off the bat."

Cover Your Tracks was released October 19, 2004. The band toured heavily in support of the album and on May 10, 2005, filmed a live DVD/CD combo at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California. The DualDisc-format release, titled Alive, hit shelves on July 12, 2005, while the band was touring with As I Lay Dying, Rob Zombie, Arch Enemy, It Dies Today and many other bands on the second-stage of that year's Ozzfest.

On July 24, 2005, actor/rapper Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who fronts Wicked Wisdom, rapped/jammed with Bury Your Dead during the last song of the band's set at Ozzfest 2005 at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia.^[4]

In July 2006 Bury Your Dead released Beauty and the Breakdown, which was produced by Jason Suecof (Trivium, God Forbid). Prior to the making of the album, Aaron "Bubble" Patrick replaced Casey on bass. Around this time the quintet could be found on artist Derek Hess' nationwide Strhess Tour, alongside acts like Shadows Fall, Poison the Well, and Throwdown. In the fall, Bury Your Dead participated in the 2006 Family Values Tour as well as a few co-headlining off-dates with Walls of Jericho.

In January 2007, after a tour with Killswitch Engage and Hatebreed, vocalist Mat Bruso left the band to focus on "more important things like going back to school to become a teacher."^[5]

In March 2007 Michael Crafter, former vocalist of I Killed the Prom Queen and Carpathian, briefly took over vocal duties for the "Don't Call It A Comeback Tour".^[6] In May 2007 he left mid-tour and returned to Australia, citing homesickness at the time.^[7] Crafter later revealed that the "chaos" and "psycho" environment that surrounded the band contributed to his departure.^[8] He said there were "crazy, big fights every night" at the band's shows, and that the band members also regularly got into fights, including with each other.^[8] The frontman added that the tense and violent gang culture that surrounded the band and their associates, who were all heavily armed, made touring "awkward".^[8]

Following Crafter's departure Bury Your Dead quickly appointed Myke Terry, previously of hardcore band Cassius, to perform vocals.^[7]

The band soon announced that Terry had become the permanent vocalist of Bury Your Dead. The band entered on tour with Nonpoint, Machine Head, and Hellyeah on the "More Balls, More Volume, More Strength Tour". After a February 16, 2008 show on the tour, guitarist Eric Ellis was attacked and beaten by six gang members in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ellis received 19 stitches on his head and Bury Your Dead's tour was postponed. The scuffle reportedly occurred after the attackers held up Ellis at gunpoint and stole what was described in the police report as "a bag of jewelry."^[9]

On March 18, Bury Your Dead released their self-titled album. It was the first album to feature Myke Terry on vocals. The album featured Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti, who contributed a guest solo to the track "Year One".

Bury Your Dead opened up for Parkway Drive on a European Tour in the Spring of 2008. Suicide Silence & To Kill also joined on the lineup.

Ellis then left the band due to "medical reasons and personality differences." Later, in 2012, he was sentenced to 20 years in a federal prison for his involvement in a Jacksonville gang responsible for numerous crimes.^[10] In 2013, he released a solo album.^[11] Chris Towning, who has been filling in for several months, was announced as his replacement.

On September 24, 2008, Bury Your Dead was involved in a van accident in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Bassist Aaron Patrick was driving the vehicle, which rolled several times before ending up in a ditch. Guitarist Brendan MacDonald had reportedly undergone surgery to repair lacerations to his leg while Patrick suffered a broken arm and singer Myke Terry broke his hand. Police subsequently charged Patrick with "failing to drive in a marked lane."^[12]

Prior to the May 26 release of Bury Your Dead's fifth studio album, titled It's Nothing Personal, on April 28 they released their new single, "Hurting Not Helping", which became available over iTunes. Weeks later they released another single, "Broken Body". The album has been described by some as having a more melodic feel than the band's previous efforts and was recorded/engineered by Shane Frisby and Peter Rutcho who have worked with acts such as Widow Sunday, Hell Within, and Corpus Christi.

In support of the new album, Bury Your Dead embarked on a few nationwide tours, including Disturbed's Music as a Weapon IV tour (along with bands like Killswitch Engage and Suicide Silence) and The Deathless Tour with Throwdown, For Today, Abacabb, and The World We Knew. A few months prior to The Deathless Tour, Patrick left Bury Your Dead. He was replaced with Chris Cain, the former guitarist of For the Fallen Dreams and Elysia.

On November 24, 2010, Mark Castillo was announced as the new drummer for Crossfade. In January 2012, Castillo left the group and joined Emmure.

On January 17, 2011, it was announced that Myke Terry was leaving the band to pursue a solo career, as former vocalist Mat Bruso rejoined the band. In a recent interview, Terry seemed to indicate that his leaving the band was not necessarily all by choice, stating that "I never thought someone who hadn't sweat, bled, or cried with us would have the power to dictate the inner workings of our band."^[13] It was confirmed by Mediaskare Records that Mark Castillo had recorded drums for the new album, but as of their first returning show (NEHMF, April 15) Mark was noted to have left the band and Mat announced that Dustin Schoenhofer, previously of Walls of Jericho, has taken over on drums. In addition, Aaron "Bubble" Patrick rejoined the band to replace bassist Chris Cain, although his absence on the Over the Limit Tour with Evergreen Terrace and For the Fallen Dreams has yet to be explained. Sean Chamilian of Betrayal filled in for him. The band posted new songs on the official Mediaskare YouTube channel, entitled "Slaughterhouse 5", "Bluebeard" and "Deadeye Dick" prior to the release of Mosh N' Roll on August 2, 2011.

In early 2013, it was announced that guitarist Chris Towning officially joined Devildriver as their permanent bassist. No indication has been made in regards to his current or future associations with Bury Your Dead.^[14][15]

In January 2016, Bury Your Dead announced that they will be playing shows in 2016, with Aaron Patrick and Mark Castillo re-joining the band.

On March 22, 2019, Bury Your Dead released a new single titled, "Collateral", along with the announce of the sign with a new label, Stay Sick Recordings.^[16]

On October 11, 2019, Bury Your Dead released a new EP titled "We Are Bury Your Dead". The album features 5 tracks named after Tom Cruise films.

During the band's set at FurnaceFest 2024, vocalist Mat Bruso announced that it would be his final performance with Bury Your Dead.

Current members

• Chris Towning – guitars (2008–present), bass (2011–present)
• Mark Castillo – drums (2001–2002, 2004–2011, 2016–present)
• Aaron "Bubble" Patrick – bass (2006–2009, 2011, 2016–present)

Former members

• Mat Bruso – lead vocals (2003–2007, 2011–2024)
• Mark Hundley - vocals (2001)
• Steve Kent – bass (2001-2002)
• Rich Casey – bass (2001, 2003–2006)
• Jesse Viens – guitars (2001–2002)
• Joe Krewko – lead vocals (2001–2003)
• Jay Crowe – guitars (2002)
• Rich Gaccione – guitars (2002–2003)
• Matt Lacasse – bass (2002–2003)
• Mike Nunez – lead vocals (2003)
• Dan O'Connor – guitars (2003) (touring 2024)
• Chris Sansone – drums (2003)
• Eric Ellis – guitars (2004–2008)
• Michael Crafter – lead vocals (2007)
• Myke Terry – lead vocals (2007–2011)
• Sean Chamilian – bass (2011)
• Dustin Schoenhofer – drums (2011–2015)
• Brendan "Slim" MacDonald – guitars (2001–2019), bass (2001, 2011–2016), lead vocals (2001)
• Chris Cain – bass (2009–2011, touring 2022-2024), guitar (touring 2021, 2024)
• Mike Mulholland - guitar (touring 2019–2023)

• We Are Bury Your Dead (2019)^[18]

• Bury Your Dead on Facebook
• Bury Your Dead at AllMusic