"Originally formed in 2006 as a grindcore band by guitarist Jeremy Carroll, Chicago's Oceano went through a revolving cast of players until settling on a new lineup and a new sound in 2007. The final lineup, consisting of Andrew Mikhail (guitar), Danny Terchin (drums), Adam Warren (vocals), and Kevin Colabuono (bass), would go on to develop the group's current sound. Pushing the limits of extreme music and influenced by Behemoth and the Acacia Strain, the band transitioned into a heavier, more technical death metal sound. This change was helped along by adopting the severely detuned "dropped A" from one of Mikhail's past bands, creating a guitar sound that was as thick and murky as Warren's anguished growls. In 2008, the band signed to Earache Records, and began a heavy touring schedule. That year also saw the departure of Carroll and Colabuono and the arrival of bassist Jason Jones. In 2009, the band released its full-length debut, Depths, on Earache Records." - AllMusicGuide

New England post-hardcore group Vanna have spent the last several years on a personal journey, and it's the experience of living on the road that has helped them to discover who they truly are. After years of relentless touring and musical growth, the band has found balance with A New Hope, both literally and figuratively.

Since the bands formation in 2004 Vanna – Chris Preece (vocals), Nick Lambert (guitar/vocals), Evan Pharmakis (guitar/vocals), Shawn Marquis (bass) and newcomer Chris Campbell (drums) – have built a strong following based on their killer live shows, which helped garner attention from Epitaph Records. The band signed with the label in 2005 and released their debut EP, The Search Party Never Came, the following year. With the EP's release came extensive touring until it was time to release their full length album, Curses, in 2007. Signaling growth sonically from the EP, Curses highlighted the band's metalcore side establishing them as one of the most interesting up-and-coming bands in the post-hardcore scene.

After almost two years of touring in support of Curses, the band returned to their roots and entered the studio with producer Steve Evetts (Every Time I Die, Story of the Year) to record A New Hope. With widening musical vision and hard-won experience under their belts, Vanna tackled the writing and recording of A New Hope with an added perspective and understanding.

"The writing and recording process naturally becomes more dialed and decisive with each record," explains Preece. "This record was approached with more of a group mentality. We talked a lot about what we liked and disliked about our last two releases, and each one of us were able to express ourselves in every step of the process."

"Steve Evetts was honestly just a great fit for us," adds Pharmakis. "For me personally it was great because I feel my relationship with the producer is important. If we mesh well it shows in the recording. The more comfortable you are the better you perform, the better you can concentrate and the better ideas you come up with as a team, as far as harmonies and melody ideas. And Steve was a great mentor. Chris Preece and I really meshed our lyric and vocal ideas together in a different way on this album and it worked out great. We definitely got to show a more melodic side on the record. I'd like to think this new record is like the perfect mix between our last two releases but with the sound we always wanted...and the skill it took time to earn."

The result of their collaborative efforts are twelve smartly written tracks that highlight the band's musical evolution, balancing the perfect fusion of emotive rock and perilous hardcore.

"Into Hell's Mouth We March," the first song released from A New Hope, rips the album open with the group's finest mix of melody and hardcore yet. While fans will appreciate Vanna's signature mix of weighty breakdowns and uplifting choruses, they'll also hear a progression in song-writing, gang vocals and more melodic singing from guitarist/vocalist Evan Pharmakis which makes for a much more accessible sound. Anthemic tracks like the first single "Safe To Say" and "We Are Nameless" bring the goosebumps, pushing with trashing guitars and pulling with captivating melody until you are chanting alongside the dueling vocalists.

"I feel like A New Hope is a fresh start," says Pharmakis. "This is exactly where we want to be, and I couldn't be happier with the direction of our music. This is Vanna, we are finally Vanna."

As Vanna looks forward with A New Hope, they continue down their unpredictable path of self discovery, continually growing and evolving with new purpose and A New Hope.

"Recognizing the talent and passion of Massachusetts natives, WITHIN THE RUINS, it's no wonder Victory Records added them to its growing roster. This quintet is armed with a unique take on blending technology and metal together to write music that sets their band apart from the numerous metal bands today. WITHIN THE RUINS have mastered their technique of bringing breakdowns, riffs, tempo and a dash of personality together in order to form one cohesive entity. The development of WITHIN THE RUINS first began in 2002. That was when founding members Joe Cocchi (Guitar) and Drummer (Drums) began taking a more serious approach and started heading out on the road, doing DIY tours from 2006-2009. At that point in time the lineup was comprised of Tim Goergen (Vocals), Mike Beaujean (Bass), and Kyle Marcoux (Guitar), in addition to Cocchi and Drummer. As things progressed for the band, January of 2010 brought change when Jay Van Schelt (Guitar) was brought in to replace Marcoux; this change refueled the band to write their best record to date entitled INVADE." - last.fm

What started as a side-project of former Before Their Eyes (Rise Records) guitarist/vocalist, Landon Tewers, quickly became his main focus.

After parting ways with BTE, a solid line-up for the band was formed and work on their debut EP was underway. "Wife Beater" (InVogue Records) was both heavy as well as haunting, where lyrically Tewers gives you a look inside the lives of people he has come into contact with over the years.
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"That's my favorite part of it. We don't really have a genre. We don't have hooks and we don't have choruses. The mood is just constantly changing and everyone puts in a piece of what they like that just makes craziness."