Liferuiner

History

Liferuiner started as a joke aimed at mainstream straight edge bands, trading their positive messages for lyrics about hate and death. Their first show happened on July 16 in Waterdown, Ontario, where they surprised the crowd as a guest after a set by Numbers and Revolt. They didn’t play again until later that fall, when Jonny came back from touring with The End. Their next gig was at the Rockit Club with Ion Dissonance, and they recorded a live demo there that became their first public release. From July 22 to August 27, 2005, the band went on their first major tour, Mission:Prohibition 2005, alongside fellow Ontario metalcore act In This Defiance. Both bands were unsigned at the time, selling demo CDs and merch as they traveled from central Canada to western Canada, down the U.S. West Coast, through the Midwest, and back up the East Coast. Liferuiner signed a one-record deal with Tribunal Records to distribute No Saints. In June 2007, they announced a deal with Rise Records, but were dropped after just over a month. They then signed another one-record deal with Uprising Records, which led to the 2008 album Taking Back The Night Life. O’Callaghan, the last original member, left in mid-2008. Tour manager Greg Moore, acting on the label’s initiative, copyrighted the band name and songs so he could keep running the group regardless of who was in it. He eventually removed the remaining Canadian members and replaced them entirely with musicians from the U.S. In August 2008, this U.S. lineup announced a multi-album deal with Uprising Records and planned a March 2009 album, but no recorded material ever came out. The U.S. version became known for a revolving-door membership that reached into the hundreds, earning a kind of comedic infamy among longtime fans. The band went through several teased breakups before quietly ending in 2010. Earlier that year, O’Callaghan had announced a reformation of the Canadian lineup, which many fans considered the rightful one, and they toured across the country with bands like Doom Cannon and Gates.