Bury Your Dead

by Corey AparGrowing tired of their metalcore band, Hamartia, guitarist Slim (aka Brendan MacDonald) and drummer Mark Castillo began Bury Your Dead as a side project in late 2001. Drawing influence from Sevendust and Crowbar, the band was used as a vehicle for the pair to focus more on mosh-worthy hardcore rather than the technical nature of Hamartia. Recruiting bassist Rich Casey (ex-Groundzero) and vocalist Joe Krewko, the Massachusetts-based outfit -- priding itself on blending ferocity with fun -- soon became a full-time gig as the guys began gigging around New England. The brutal intensity and destructive energy of Bury Your Dead's live show started gaining them attention in various East Coast hardcore scenes, eventually coming to the interest of Alveran/Eulogy Recordings. Their debut, You Had Me at Hello, was issued in March 2003 on Germany-based Alveran, but the band imploded about a month prior to the album's release. It was still issued, though the guys went their separate ways -- Castillo went to play with North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me; Casey turned to screen-printing; Slim played with Blood Has Been Shed. A few months later, however, Casey randomly got in touch with Slim to see about getting the band back together. Though they were the only two to initially sign back on, some touring members were gathered and the band started playing again. Down in Florida at the Gainesville Fest, the guys ran into Castillo (who was on tour with BTBAM) and asked him to rejoin, which he did. The rest of Bury Your Dead was eventually rounded out by vocalist Mat Bruso and second guitarist Eric Ellis (ex-Reflux). Re-formed and reenergized, the quintet toured briefly, including stints at 2002's Hellfest and Metalfest. Following an especially intense Hellfest set, Chicago hardcore powerhouse Victory Records approached them; the label formally announced the band joining their roster in April 2004. Bury Your Dead entered the studio that June with Matthew Ellard (Converge, BTBAM) to begin recording their label debut. The resulting Cover Your Tracks, whose song titles all weirdly boasted the names of Tom Cruise movies, surfaced in October. Eulogy reissued the band's debut in May 2005, making it widely available in the U.S. for the first time. The CD/DVD Alive followed in July, while the band spent the summer on the second stage at Ozzfest. Aaron Patrick (aka Bubble) next replaced Casey on bass. Produced by Jason Suecof (Trivium, God Forbid), Bury Your Dead's most focused effort to date -- entitled Beauty and the Breakdown (all song titles this time were fairy tale allusions) -- appeared in July 2006. Around the same time, the quintet could be found on artist Derek Hess' nationwide Strhess Tour, alongside acts like Shadows Fall, Poison the Well, and Throwdown. Bruso left the band in the early days of 2007, forcing Bury Your Dead to drop off a European tour with Killswitch Engage to search for his replacement, eventually found in ex-I Killed the Prom Queen vocalist Michael Crafter. It was back to the drawing board a few months later, however, when Crafter made his exit to return to his native Australia. After Cassius lead vocalist Myke Terry was brought in as a replacement, Bury Your Dead released a self-titled album in March 2008.