As Friends Rust (American melodic hardcore band)

As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez, and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, Florida in September 1996. After recording a demo tape but failing to secure a record deal, the band parted ways in February 1997. Following his move to Gainesville, Florida, Moyal reformed As Friends Rust in June 1997, with a new line-up made-up mostly of then-members of his other band Culture, ultimately stabilizing the band with drummer Timothy Kirkpatrick, guitarists Gordon Tarpley and Joseph Simmons, and bass guitarist and backing vocalist Kaleb Stewart. The band released its debut EP, The Fists of Time, via Good Life Recordings in 1998, prior to which Tarpley was replaced by Peter Bartsocas. After an American tour, Bartsocas was replaced by James Glayat and As Friends Rust released a split with Discount, also on Good Life in 1998, supported by a European and British tour. The band signed with Doghouse Records and released the 1999 EP, As Friends Rust, ensuing a series of American, European, and British tours for the next two years, along with reissues of early material. Inner tensions caused line-up changes in 2000, culminating with Glayat, Kirkpatrick, and Stewart quitting. Moyal and Simmons reconstructed the band by recruiting guitarist and backing vocalist Christopher "Floyd" Beckham, drummer Zachary Swain, and bass guitarist Thomas Rankine. The new line-up recorded As Friends Rust's debut full-length album, Won, for Doghouse / Defiance in 2001, and embarked on extensive American, European, and British tours. As Friends Rust signed with Equal Vision Records and released the 2002 EP A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times, by which time tensions had again surfaced, resulting with Moyal quitting the band at the peak of its popularity. Beckham quickly took up lead vocals, until Adam D'Zurilla was welcomed as Moyal's replacement a month later. With D'Zurilla, As Friends Rust toured the United States, Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom several times, before Beckham, too, quit the band. In September 2002, the remaining members of As Friends Rust announced their continuation under the new band name of Salem. As Friends Rust reunited in March 2008, with Moyal, Kirkpatrick, Stewart, Simmons, and Glayat reprising the 1998–2000 line-up. The band embarked on a European and British tour in 2008, followed by a Japanese tour in 2014. As Friends Rust has since performed a series of American and European festival dates in 2015 and 2019, supporting its compilation albums Greatest Hits? and The Porch Days: 1998 to 2000. In 2019, Stewart was dismissed; the band has since been without a permanent bass guitarist. In 2020, As Friends Rust released the EP, Up from the Muck, through Unity Worldwide Records and Stick to the Core Records, containing its first-recorded material in eighteen years. The band's second full-length album, Any Joy, was released via End Hits Records in 2023. The material features contribution by bass guitarist Andrew Seward, who also accompanied the band during its European tour promoting the release. 2024 saw the band release another EP, Lightless, which coincided with another European tour. In September 1996, vocalist Damien Moyal was invited to a band practice in Davie, Florida by guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez, and drummer Matthew Crum; the three had been playing under the name Wayside, originally with vocalist Robert Rudas, since 1994. Moyal had previously been the vocalist in Culture, Shai Hulud, and Morning Again, and was then simultaneously playing in Bird of Ill Omen, and had just rejoined Culture (having originally left that band in April 1995). Moyal named the new melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust, after the lyrics "as days count down and as friends rust from exposure to exposure," penned in early 1996 while in Shai Hulud, planned for a song titled "Now Ruin Is". Instead of using Moyal's lyrics, Shai Hulud guitarist Matthew Fox wrote new lyrics and the song became "My Heart Bleeds the Darkest Blood" (originally sung by Moyal, but later recorded with vocalist Chad Gilbert). After being kicked out of Shai Hulud, Moyal took the unused lyrics to his next band, Morning Again. While Morning Again did write a song titled "Now Ruin Is" using Moyal's lyrics, it was thrown out shortly after Moyal was kicked out in June 1996. Moyal again re-used the abandoned lyrics for a Bird of Ill Omen song in August 1996, and a month later As Friends Rust was formed. Bird of Ill Omen later recorded the song "Now Ruin Is" for its debut album, Self, Dare You Still Breathe?, but with vocalist William Shane Post, who replaced Moyal in April 1997. Moyal later described the meaning behind the band's name: "It's basically about relationships coming and going. Sometimes you place a lot of energy and focus on your relationships or friendships with the wrong people. Or sometimes you don't place enough focus or attention on your relationships with the right people, and people just come and go out of your life". As Friends Rust played its first show on September 19, 1996, at Cheers in Coconut Grove, Florida. The event was a Pixies tribute show and As Friends Rust performed covers of the songs "Hey" and "The Sad Punk". After writing nearly a dozen original songs (including some that were never recorded, like "Superheroes," "Kid," and "I Know"), the band entered Wisner Productions in Davie, Florida to record six of them ("Encante," "Ruffian," "Broken Brain," "When People Resort to Name Calling," "The Only Point," and an untitled instrumental acoustic song) with producer James Paul Wisner from November 19–22, 1996. Three of the songs, "Encante," "Ruffian," and "Broken Brain," were used on a demo tape shopped to such record labels as Revelation Records (which had signed Moyal's previous band, Shai Hulud, earlier that year, and would shortly thereafter sign Morning Again, also based on material recorded with Moyal), Doghouse Records, Equal Vision Records, Jade Tree, Art Monk Construction, and Network Sound; however, the band only received rejection letters. By February 1997, this incarnation of As Friends Rust had fallen apart as Moyal dedicated more time to Culture and Bird of Ill Omen. Olmino, Gomez, and Crum opted to continue playing together, renaming the band Red Letter Day and asking Rudas to return as vocalist. After releasing an extended play as Red Letter Day on Eulogy Recordings in October 1997, the same core members later formed The Rocking Horse Winner, while Olmino also played with Anchorman and Dashboard Confessional, Gomez also played with Poison the Well, and Crum also played with Helado Negro and Damien Done. The idea to reform As Friends Rust was brought up in June 1997, by Culture's guitarist, Stephen Looker, who had been a fan of the band's demo. Unbeknownst to Moyal, Looker had been approached by Olmino earlier that year as a potential second guitarist for As Friends Rust shortly before its first break-up. Moyal was still commuting from Miami, Florida to rehearse with Culture, but had made plans to move to Gainesville, Florida in August 1997, following the band's first European tour. To complete the second incarnation of As Friends Rust in Gainesville, Moyal and Looker invited Culture's new drummer, Jason Dooley, and Culture's bass guitarist, Gordon Tarpley, the latter of whom agreed to play guitar in the side-project. Looker then approached Hot Water Music's bass guitarist, Jason Black, who agreed to take up the same position in As Friends Rust. Inspired by the band's proposed line-up, Moyal dubbed a new batch of As Friends Rust demo tapes with updated liner notes announcing its new members, to take with him on Culture's first European and British tour and secure a record deal. Culture's Belgian record label, Good Life Recordings, showed immediate interest in signing As