Still Remains

* Formed: 2002, Grand Rapids, MI
* Genre(s): Metalcore
* Representative Albums: "The Serpent," "Of Love and Lunacy," "If Love Was Born to Die"

Biography

A metalcore act from the small upper Midwestern city of Grand Rapids, MI, Still Remains avoid the taint of sounding like every similar young band in their chosen style by prominently using synthesizers alongside the unison-riff guitars. As a result, their music has a strong similarity to European symphonic power metal acts such as Nightwish, giving the group a strong following both on the Continent and among North American fans of the style. Still Remains formed in 2002 with an original lineup of singer T.J. Miller, guitarists Steve Schallert and Jordan Gilliam, keyboardist Zach Roth, bassist Evan Willey, and drummer Cameron Macintosh (soon replaced by A.J. Barrett). Following a self-released EP debut, 2003's Dying with a Smile, Still Remains made their full-length debut with 2004's If Love Was Born to Die. A major personnel change followed, with Schallert and Gilliam replaced by new guitarists Mike Church and Jordan Whelan for the band's Roadrunner Records debut, 2005's Of Love and Lunacy. Yet another major personnel shift followed the release of that album, with Barrett leaving to join Christian metalcore act the Showdown, replaced by Adrian Green. Roth and Willey also exited in 2006, replaced by keyboardist Ben Schauland and bassist Steve Hetland, leaving Miller the sole original member remaining. After extensive tours in Europe and the United States, Still Remains worked with producer Steve Evetts to record their second studio album, 2007's The Serpent.

History

Still Remains was a metalcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan signed to Roadrunner Records, that formed out of previous local bands Shades of Amber and Unition. They combined both heavy and melodic death metal in their song writing, also incorporating keyboards and modern pop sounds to create a distinct style that some music review websites have dubbed "post-metalcore"[citation needed]. They released two studio albums, Of Love and Lunacy and The Serpent, both to positive reviews, and had minor UK chart success with the single "Dancing with the Enemy".

In October 2003, Still Remains recorded their EP Dying With a Smile. From that time, Still Remains were touring around local venues (Such as Grand Rapids' Skelletones) to build a bigger name for themselves. A year later another EP was released, titled If Love Was Born to Die. Still Remains were never a part of the Benchmark Records' roster, however the now defunct label funded If Love was Born to Die.

Shortly after this the band signed to Roadrunner Records, on which label they released their debut studio album on May 3 2005, titled Of Love and Lunacy. The album received mainly positive reviews,[citation needed] and the album spawned two singles, "The Worst Is Yet to Come" and "White Walls". The lead single was played on music channels such as Scuzz and Kerrang. The band toured in support of the album; their first tour of the United Kingdom was on the Roadrunner Records "Roadrage" Tour, alongside on Trivium and 3 Inches of Blood. They also joined Bullet For My Valentine, Aiden and Hawthorne Heights on the Kerrang XXV tour. A few months later they started recording their second album, The Serpent.

The Serpent was released on August 7, 2007. The album saw a change in the vocalist Miller's style, with more melodic singing present than on their previous record. The lead single, "Stay Captive", was played extensively on Scuzz. The second single released was "Dancing with the Enemy", which is also played on music channels. In early fall of 2007, they supported Aiden followed by a November tour supporting Atreyu in the UK. For January and February 2008, they replaced 36 Crazyfists in support of Bullet For My Valentine. Their final tour in the spring of 2008 would be dubbed The Serpent Tour and featured Gwen Stacy, Secret & Whisper, and Catherine.

The band also recorded a cover version of Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole" for the release High Voltage: A Brief History Of Rock given away free on the cover of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Kerrang! magazine in 2007.

On March 25 2008, Still Remains posted a blog on their Myspace saying that they would disband in 2008.
"Dear Friends, Fans, and Family,

This is a goodbye letter from us to you. We will be seeing most of you again I’m sure but not from on stage. We’ve decided to make this headlining tour our last as Still Remains and Cornerstone Festival our last show. We want to thank all of the wonderful loving people we’ve met in the past few years for being there for us. It’s been an amazing run but we are done for personal reasons. No we don’t hate each other or want to punch each other in the face. It’s just time for us to move on to different things in our lives. Please come see us on our headlining tour and help us go out with a bang! We are extremely excited to see what the future holds for each and every one of us. So keep your eyes and ears open and God Bless!!!!!!

Much Love, TJ, Bone, Mike, Jordan, Steve, and Ben"

Post-Still Remains

Since Still Remains broke up, keyboardist Ben Schauland has gone on to join glamcore band "Blessed by a Broken Heart".

Guitarist Jordan Whelan has been working on new material with drummer Adrian "Bone" Green.

Vocalist TJ Miller been working on songs as well, and announced recently that the new project would be called 'Black Temple'.

Guitarist/vocalist Mike Church has joined forces with former drummer A.J. Barrette and other Grand Rapids musicians to form the band Juleus.

Bassist Steve Hetland and keyboardist Ben Schauland have joined three other musicians to form the side project Vindicated.

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (May 2008)

* Contrary to popular belief, the video for "Dancing With The Enemy" was shot in Los Angeles, not Grand Rapids.
* Jordan played guitar on several songs for the Roadrunner United record.
* Adrian (a.k.a. Bone) was previously in a band from Lansing, Michigan called Anah aevia, who were supposed to be producing and releasing an EP in 2008.
* Mike hosts an online cooking show called "Cooking With Church."

Band Members

Final line-up

* T.J. Miller – vocals
* Jordan Whelan – guitar
* Mike Church – guitar, backing vocals
* Steve Hetland - bass
* Ben Schauland - keyboards
* Adrian "Bone" Green – drums
* The song "Avalanche" refers to Final Fantasy VII.

Former Members

* Zach Roth – keyboards (Dying With a Smile, If Love Was Born to Die, Of Love and Lunacy)(now in The Sunshine State)
* Evan Wiley – bass (Dying With a Smile, If Love Was Born to Die, Of Love and Lunacy)
* A.J. Barrette – drums (If Love Was Born to Die, Of Love and Lunacy) (was in The Showdown until April 2009, now in Juleus)
* Jason Wood- bass (fill-in for summer 2006) (now in It Dies Today)
* Cameron MacIntosh – drums (Dying With a Smile)
* Steve Schallert – guitar, backing vocals (Dying With a Smile, If Love Was Born to Die)(now in The Tide)
* Jordan Gilliam – guitar (Dying With a Smile, If Love Was Born to Die)

Discography



Albums

* 2005: Of Love and Lunacy
* 2007: The Serpent

EP
* 2003: Dying With a Smile
* 2004: If Love Was Born to Die

Official Website:http://www.stillremains.com/