The reality of harsh existence, the promise of eternal peace: the dichotomy of deception mankind has for centuries endured. That hard work and a hard life will only in death be rewarded; that to take pleasure in earthly delight is to burn in damnation forever - and so a sorrowed, pained existence is the punishment due to repent the sin of being born of mortal flesh. Blinded by illusions, exploited by greed, and held down by ignorance, the weighted spirit breaks under laws of hypocrisy - of nation, of religion, of birthright and rank. The church of hope; the dirt of truth. The consequence of th ...

The reality of harsh existence, the promise of eternal peace: the dichotomy of deception mankind has for centuries endured. That hard work and a hard life will only in death be rewarded; that to take pleasure in earthly delight is to burn in damnation forever - and so a sorrowed, pained existence is the punishment due to repent the sin of being born of mortal flesh. Blinded by illusions, exploited by greed, and held down by ignorance, the weighted spirit breaks under laws of hypocrisy - of nation, of religion, of birthright and rank. The church of hope; the dirt of truth. The consequence of thinking.

The four comprising Dirt Church have known the life their name was chosen to symbolize. A life where the work is hard, the challenges are many, and the rewards are less abundant than they deserve to be. But their will is strong, and music is the voice and the vehicle they have chosen both to release the bitter side of their lives and explore the positive, the hopeful side. The expressive yet tense and driving sound of Dirt Church is the result of the members' collective expulsion of psychological toxins, embodying a range of dark emotions beyond the affected angst of many of their musical colleagues. From the search for identity to unexplained desire to unmitigated frustration to alienation and confusion, the songs speak from personal experience about fears, needs, and feelings that are most difficult to face. And to listen to the music is to hear the same story as the words tell, with guitar, bass, and drums weaving an intricate web that is both separate and together, twining and joining and stopping and starting, a sonic simile to the meanings behind the songs.

Together the band has, apart from the personal satisfaction of what they have created, achieved a great deal since their formation in 1993. When the remnants of once-proud units Stormfire and Soundstorm (eerily similar in name and strikingly similar in attitude) melded into one, it was clear that the members shared an unfaltering desire to create something new, something worth attaching to and believing in with every ounce of their souls. Dirt Church was created with a purpose in mind, and to it they have remained committed. To reach people through their music, to find others who believe in their vision and relate to their songs, to get off on the energy rush of onstage adrenaline exchange - these are their goals; they will leave saving the world to those more capable of such an unpalatable task. Through continuous exposure to the cynical eyes and ears of the oversaturated New York market, Dirt Church has risen above the pack, gaining the attention of a legion of loyal fans who have taken to riding buses and imbibing of beverage as they follow the band from one venue to the next. Usually landing the most choice gigs available in the current excuse for a heavy music scene, Dirt Church has played the prime time slots alongside such luminaries as Overkill, Testament, Life of Agony, Prong, Biohazard, Dog Eat Dog, Deicide, Flotsam and Jetsam and ProPain, with their drawing power growing as the word about their fresh style of thrashpowerdeathgroove continues to infect the region.

In fact it did not take the band long to catch the attention of Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth, lead singer of Overkill and revered metal god. Impressed with their stage presence as well as their recorded material, Ellsworth expressed interest in working with Dirt Church in the studio, and the band did not hesitate to take him up on his offer to produce their next effort. And so earlier this year, Utica, New York was the setting for Dirt Church to unleash their energy, with Blitz in attendance to help channel that energy into a positive and beautiful thing; keeping enough of the raw chaos to make the sound lively but drawing on his vast experience to bring out the best in the individual players. And soundly reminding them that music may be a cool job but the studio is a place to work - and he would have his time put to good use, and get some serious results. One play of these new tracks is proof enough that Ellsworth's efforts, and those of the band, were quite successful.

But long before there was Dirt Church, there were four guys who loved rock and roll. Guitarist Chris, bassist Pat and drummer Rob Youells are all highly trained, accomplished musicians who have been playing so long they can't remember life without their respective instruments. Vocalist Rob Marcazo has also been utilizing his vocal chords for some time too, and has worked the music scenes on both East coast and West. And although all of the guys have played in numerous projects, Dirt Church is the one they will see through to the success they have worked long and hard for - that they are already achieving, and will strive to expand across the oceans and to corners of the globe they can hardly wait to conquer.