Music Style Hardcore

Musical Influences Slayer/Cave In/Coalesce/Will Haven/Converge

Artist History Countervail started slowly in the late months of 1996 with only one of the current members in the original line-up. Singer Mike Hartley took a few months to completely overhaul the line-up to feature Ray Blanco on drums and Gabe Garcia playing guitar. A full U.S. tour followed in the summer of 1997 with no releases to rely on. After that outing, Countervail fine tuned its musical direction and started over with the addition of the brothers. Nick Strauser playing guitar and messing around with samples, and Chris Strauser on bass. The first release was a CDep that came out in early 1998 on Phyte Records entitled "an empty hand for a heart". Countervail found great satisfaction in touring and sharing their deeply personal music with people all over the U.S. and Canada, completing another full U.S., and two West Coast tours in 1998. 1999 turned out to be an important year in the band's history. Their first full length CD was recorded in the early months of the year with Eric Stenman (Will Haven, Far, Deftones, Training for Utopia), and released on New Age Records in July. It is entitled "the most abused word". They played over 100 shows in 1999, including a full U.S. and Canada tour, three West Coast tours, and a tour of Hawaii. This year they had another change in members when Gabe Garcia left the band, and was eventually replaced by Nate Stephens. Countervail kicked off the new millenium with another West Coast tour and the support for "the most abused word" just keeps growing and growing. Drummer Ray Blanco called it quits shortly after to pursue his other band full time. Since then they have been focusing on writing new songs with new drummer Seth Brown for an upcoming CDep to be released on Status Recordings in the late summer. This summer Countervail gets to bring their music to the ears of a whole new continent as the gear up for their first European tour. In the past they have had the pleasure of touring with many great bands, a few on that list are Bane, Himsa, Derail, and Unearthed. They have also played shows with The Locust, Converge, Today is the Day, Bloodlet, Death By Stereo, Hatebreed, Far, Good Clean Fun, Eighteen Visions, The Nerve Agents, The Missing 23rd, Adamantium, Ensign, Elliot, No Motiv, Reflector, Aus Rotten, Stretch Armstrong, Disembodied, Harvest, Brother's Keeper, One King Down, Unruh, The Sheist, Silent Majority, Strife, Eyelid, Trial, Casket Lottery, Grade, Curl Up and Die, Coalesce, Ink and Dagger, and the list goes on.

Group Members Seth Brown, Chris Strauser, Mike Hartley, Nick Strauser, Nate Stephens.

Instruments Seth Brown (drums), Chris Strauser (bass), Mike Hartley (vocals), Nick Strauser (guitar/samples), Nate Stephens(guitar)

Albums The Most Abused Word

Press Reviews "Countervail uses the metal overtones of Will Haven and Converge with brutally emotional music and vocals that grabs you by the balls. The music combines with the lyrics to create a wall of sound that go beyond the labels of hardcore, metal or emo".-Skratch Magazine

Location Thousand Oaks, CA - USA

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