He Is Legend

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North Carolina band He Is Legend emerged in the mid-2000s with a blistering though surprisingly buoyant hybrid of metalcore and screamo before shifting into tones of rugged stoner metal and psych-infused hard rock. Signing with the Tragic Hero label for 2009′s It Hates You, they became a consistent presence on the back half of the Billboard 200. Critically lauded releases like 2014′s Heavy Fruit and 2019′s White Bat further bolstered their reputation as a creative, if underrated powerhouse. They returned in 2022 with their seventh long-player, Endless Hallway.
The band formed in 2003 as its members were graduating from high school in Wilmington, North Carolina. Singer Schuylar Croom, lead guitarist Adam Tanbouz, rhythm guitarist McKenzie Bell, bassist Matt Williams, and drummer Steven Bache cycled through a variety of band names and musical approaches before establishing themselves as He Is Legend. After a self-released demo, A Kiss That Killed the One We Love (No One Wins), the band signed with the small indie label Tribunal Records to release their first EP, 91025, in the summer of 2004. Following that, He Is Legend signed with the more established label Solid State Records to release their full-length debut, I Am Hollywood, later that same year. After a two-year break during which they released a split EP, Black Unicorn, with the Chapel Hill band Classic Case, He Is Legend issued their second full-length, Suck Out the Poison, in the fall of 2006. Guitarist McKenzie Bell left the group shortly after its release and was replaced first by Classic Case axeman Mitch Marlow, then in 2007 by Worth Weaver. In May 2009 the band issued the single “The Primarily Blues,” in anticipation of the release of their third studio long-player It Hates You, which dropped later that July.
Following a two year hiatus, He Is Legend returned in 2011 for a reunion show in their hometown of Wilmington. More lineup changes followed, with drummer Steve Bache leaving the fold to be replaced by Sam Huff. In 2014′s Heavy Fruit, their fourth LP, the band achieved a creative, if not commercial breakthrough, earning critical acclaim from a number of prominent publications. Like its two predecessors, it made it to the upper reaches of the Billboard 200, serving the group’s die-hard fan base. Having completed their Tragic Hero contract, He Is Legend moved over to Spinefarm Records which released 2017′s Few, the band’s first entirely crowd-funded record. It marked the first appearance for drummer Jesse Shelley who replace Huff a year prior. For 2019′s highly rated White Bat, a conceptual effort inspired by Michelle McNamara’s best-selling true crime memoir I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, they dug into the dankest, grubbiest corners of L.A. to tell the gnarly, sweaty tale. A three-year gap preceded the November 2022 release of He Is Legend’s seventh album, Endless Hallway. ~ Stewart Mason & Timothy Monger