The Indianapolis-based Christian metalcore band
Haste the Day formed in 2001. Guitarist/vocalist
Brennan Chaulk, his brother drummer
Devin, and bassist/vocalist Mike Murphy originally gigged as a three-piece, but six months after the group's inception they added longtime friend
Jason Barnes as a second guitarist, and after a series of auditions, named Jimmy Ryan their lead vocalist. After self-releasing That They May Know You in 2002,
Haste the Day signed to the Tooth & Nail label's Solid State subsidiary to issue their breakthrough LP,
Burning Bridges, in the spring of 2004. They spent the year on shows with bands like
As I Lay Dying and
Zao, and their next album,
When Everything Falls, appeared the following summer. In late 2005, Ryan announced his pending marriage and quit the band, playing his last show with them that December. A few months later, the remaining members of
Haste the Day added new vocalist
Stephen Keech, formerly of
New Day Awakening.
Pressure the Hinges arrived in March 2007, and the guys supported it on dates with
From Autumn to Ashes and Maylene & the Sons of Disaster. After touring, the band found the time to head into the studio with producer
Andreas Magnusson (who also produced albums for
the Black Dahlia Murder and Sleeper) and began working on new material. The result was
Haste the Day's fifth studio album,
Attack of the Wolf King, which was released in 2010. The frequent personnel turnover and heavy touring schedule finally took its toll, and by early 2011, the band had announced their official breakup and embarked on a farewell tour. Later that year a live album called
Haste the Day vs. Haste the Day was released, and it featured both the original lineup and the final one performing together at a 2010 Bloomington, Indiana show. After a three-year break, it was announced that
Haste the Day would re-form, featuring members from both the early and later lineups with vocalist
Stephen Keech set to produce their new album.
Coward, the band's sixth studio album and first since their breakup, arrived in May 2015. ~ Jason Ankeny & Timothy Monger