Abriel (band)

Overview

The band was originally called From Emperor to Citizen and formed at the end of 2008 in San Francisco. Guitarists Sean Hartman and Tim Wrobel, both from Fortuna, California, had moved to San Francisco in August 2007 with songs ready to start a band. After a year of auditions for drummers and vocalists, they found Alexa Rae, a Boston, Massachusetts native who provided both singing and screaming vocals, near the end of 2008. The band then adopted the name Abriel. A two-song demo was recorded, and the first single, "Show Em' Your Hips", was released that December. At that time the band lacked a drummer, so Hartman played drums for the first two shows and recorded albums. The first show with a full lineup—Alex Greenling on drums and Paul Littler on bass—was a San Francisco battle of the bands in January 2009, which the band won. A headlining tour across the West Coast followed, drawing attention and earning the band a spot on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour, where they performed alongside acts such as A Day to Remember, Chiodos, The Devil Wears Prada, and Thrice. After the 2009 Warped Tour, the band went underground after losing their drummer and bassist. They returned in May 2010 after being asked to play main stage at California Metalfest in Pomona with Bleeding Through. That show revived the band and attracted interest from record labels including Century Media Records and Victory Records. Despite having only a vocalist and two guitarists, the band decided to record an album. They chose up-and-coming metal producer Max Karon to record at his studio in Emeryville, California; Karon also played bass on the album and programmed drums written by Max and Sean. After the album was finished, drummer Chad Evans joined, and Max Karon performed bass on tour throughout the year. The album, "This Will Swallow You Whole", was released on August 19, 2010, with a CD release party at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. Chad left the band at the end of the year for personal reasons, and the band then chose to go on hiatus, even though they had just released their debut album.