Brand-new band Bury the Crown celebrates the release of its debut EP tonight at Fitzgerald's. When they take the stage, don't be surprised if you recognize a few familiar faces (and tattoos).
That's because Bury the Crown is the new group comprising the members of Houston Press Music Award-winning hardcore heroes A dream Asleep. Or is it just the same band with a new name? Frankly, we were confused. So we asked 'em.
"It hasn't been the same band for a couple years actually," says AdA founding member and Bury the Crown bassist Ryan Girth. "After the departure of guitarist Erik Girth, my little brother, we've been in the lab toying with some things. About a year ago, we chose Rikki Youngblood to step in and start playing second guitar. Since then, it's been an avalanche of ideas and developments."
OK, so the new chemistry with Youngblood has been profound enough to produce an entirely new musical organism. Sounds pretty righteous. But is this a real rebirth, or some kind of side project?
"A dream Asleep is dead now, officially," Girth says. "It's been put to rest. With this unit, we were performing as A dream Asleep up until just a few months ago, but since we decided to make the break, we've dropped all A dream Asleep songs completely. You won't hear us play them at all."
What fans will hear tonight instead are songs from the band's new self-titled EP, a tidy slab of crushing riffs and tortured howls intended to serve as a proper introduction to the group's new direction. It's streamlined a bit from AdA's sound, but this music will still feel familiar to veterans of that band's kinetic live shows.
