Not long after recording their half of a split EP with labelmates Training for Utopia in California, Detar left the group in 1999 to focus his energy on his rock side-project The Juliana Theory, who would sign to Sony and have a successful career before disbanding in 2006. With a rockabilly look and Smith's oddly engaging habit of setting up his drums facing away from the audience, their live reputation grew large in the underground. The band set stages ablaze with their raw emotion and Weyandt's personal storytelling, which detailed the hardships that informed their songs. When it came time to embark on tour for the band's new lineup, Moran, who had continued with the band up until this point, departed, which led to the band touring without a bassist. The group played fewer and fewer songs from the old version of the band as Blood and Fire took hold. Smith would drive several hours to Greensburg, where all these new members lived, to co-write and rehearse what would become the first (and in many ways, defining) album from the new Zao, Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest. Both Cogdell and Weyandt had played in Christian hardcore band Seasons in the Field, who had released a split EP with Pensive. Detar suggested a pair of his friends, guitarist Russ Cogdell and vocalist Dan Weyandt.
In 1998, Smith recruited Brett Detar, guitarist of Pennsylvania emocore band Pensive, to help him build a new incarnation of Zao. JSTOR ( October 2016) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful.įind sources: "Zao" American band – news This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification.
All of the band members, except for drummer Jesse Smith, quit Zao following the 1997 Cornerstone festival and a couple of shows they played on the way back home. Ron Gray also joined the band as a second guitarist after the recording of The Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation. Jonas left the band after recording two albums and is now a youth pastor at New Life Church in West Virginia original bassist Mic Cox left the band, and Kevin Moran took his place. Reeder (who appeared on Zao's Author and Sustained demos, as well as a split with Outcast) left before Zao recorded All Else Failed and was replaced by Shawn Jonas, who went on to form Symphony in Peril. Most of their early songs, which appeared on their first two full-length albums, All Else Failed and The Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation (which saw the band re-recording much of the All Else Failed material), contained explicit references to God and centered on the theme of the peace of God.
Calling their sound "Christ-centered hardcore", they sought to reach an audience that they felt has been pushed away from the organized church. Zao vocalist Eric Reeder has been credited with coming up with the band's name. The band's name comes from the Greek word (ζάω), which means "alive" or "to have life". The founding members of Zao, were vocalist Eric Reeder, guitarist Roy Goudy, bassist Mic Cox, and drummer Jesse Smith. To date, Zao has released 12 full-length albums, 9 EPs or splits, a two-disc DVD documentary and embarked on numerous concert tours, garnering a limited but global fan base and earning critical praise in the process. Former drummer Jesse Smith, vocalist Dan Weyandt, and guitarists Scott Mellinger and Russ Cogdell are seen by some fans as the "core" of Zao, with the current line up being the longest running in the band's history.įor a time, the band featured Christian themes in their music and was regarded as a Christian band, however this theme was eventually met with debate among the members and the band currently no longer considers themselves a "Christian band" with only bassist Martin Lunn identifying as a Christian. Founded in March 1993, Zao has hosted several musicians and endured numerous roster changes to the point where no original members remain. oʊ/) is an American metalcore band founded in Parkersburg, West Virginia and later relocated to Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
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