Some people reading this may not know what band I am discussing today. Hawthorne Heights is a hard rock/screamo/pop-punk band out of Dayton, Ohio that has been around since 2001. Known for their heavy guitars, catchy chorus, emotional filled lyrics, and using unclean vocals, they have had some commercial success, but they are not as popular as many of the other bands out there today. This is in part due to tragedy at the peak of their climbing success, and some trouble with their record label. On March 19th, 2013 the band announced that they will be recording a new album right here in Nashville, TN titled ‘Zero’ that will be due out in the summer of 2013. In light of this, I decided to write a retrospective on this band to shed some light on a band that has for the most part, only received some of the recognition that they deserve.
Originally called A Day In The Life, Hawthorne Heights had their beginning in Dayton, OH. After recording a demo titled ‘Four Bullets One Girl’ they began to receive recognition from Victory Records, a label known for picking up bands at the beginning of their careers before they are well known. After some major lineup changes, the band changed their name to Hawthorne Heights after author Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom lead singer JT Woodruff was studying in school at the time and was fascinated with his works. Four years later, after a four week recording session, the band would release their first album on Victory records, the LP titled ‘The Silence In Black and White’. At first, the album was slow with sales and it would look like Hawthorne Heights was over before they began. However, after the release of the single ‘Ohio is for Lovers’ and the music video began getting a lot of play on MTV and Fuse, breakout radio success came to the band and they actually became Victory’s highest selling debut album from any of their bands, peaking at #56 on the Billboard charts. The next single off of the album ‘Niki FM’ saw even more success than its predecessor. The song hit big on the radio, with its heavy guitars and catchy chorus, many people became hooked into the band.
After the success of the album, Victory records were quick to get the album back in the studio and recording. A mere two years later, their sophomore album titled ‘If Only You Were Lonely’ was released. The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard charts, with a lot of help from their lead single ‘Saying Sorry’. The lead single surpassed any of the previous singles from the first album, receiving great critical acclaim and being played on MTV, VH1, and Fuse for weeks prior to the release of the album. The album itself takes what was present on the first album and turns it up. This album is a concept album following the long-distance relationship between a young couple who were unwillingly taken apart because of the boy's family moving, dealing with their struggles to keep in touch over phone and emails, and the longing to be together. The next single off of the album also exploded over the mainstream, titled ‘This is Who We Are’ further pushing the band into commercial success.
It was at this point that things began to fall apart. In February of 2006, Victory Records began to make statements aimed at competition for the band’s releases (i.e. R&B singer Ne-Yo, former Victory Records artist Taking Back Sunday), calling for fans to accidently misplace or break their competition’s albums while in the stores. The band was quick to release a statement against Victory, and filed lawsuit against them. The following year, in November of 2007, just as the band was getting ready to play a Warped Tour show in Detroit, Michigan, guitarist and unclean vocalist Casey Calvert was found dead on their tour bus. Autopsy reports state that the death was accidental, and was the cause of two doctors prescribing Calvert two different medicines for different reasons that did not mix well.
Over the next few years, Hawthorne would continue to push on. In 2008, the album ‘Fragile Future’ was released in memory of Calvert. The band’s sound had changed, becoming softer and much more pop-punk then they were before, with no unclean vocals as the band refused to replace Calvert. Despite the lead single ‘Rescue Me’ doing well commercially, the album itself did not match the band’s previous success, and began to falter. In 2009, they tried again with the release of ‘Skeletons’ under their new record label Wind-Up Records. The album did a little better then ‘Fragile Future’, with guitarist Micah Carli stepping in to fill in Calvert’s role on unclean vocals, still keeping with their refusal to replace him as he had been in the band from the start. ‘Nervous Breakdown’ was the first single, and did well commercially. The album itself actually sold less then ‘Fragile Future’ did however, but not from a lack of quality. The band was seemingly unable to recover from their loss. Both albums were actually very well received by critics, and contained some very worthwhile songs. It was just bad luck they fell.
In 2011 however, there was a light. The band struck out on their own, forming their own record label Carboard Empire, and announcing a trio of self-produced EP’s. The first two, Hate and Hope, were released in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Fans of the band gave positive reviews of both EPs, powered by the songs ‘Wasted in NYC’, ‘For White Walls’, ‘New Winter’, and ‘Running in Place (Niki AM)’. Sales for the EPs actually surpassed their sales totals for both of the last two albums. This got them recognition from SONY’s new record label Red. In late 2012, Red contacted the band about signing and releasing their first LP since 2009. Hawthorne agreed, putting the third EP in their self-produced EPs on hiatus. Being the first band to sign, SONY has decided to put everything in this new album, hiring Brian Virtue (30 Seconds to Mars, Chevelle, Audioslave) to produce the album. The band launched their new website in March of 2013, announcing the album and also offering preorders for ‘Zero’, stating that all proceeds after their set goal will be donated to suicide prevention group ‘To Write Love on Her Arms’. Things are beginning to look bright again for the band from Dayton. So while we wait in anticipation for this hyped up new album they are recording here, if you haven’t listened to them in a while or have never heard of them, it is recommended you give them a shot.
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