HAWK (formerly This or The Apocalypse) is an American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band from

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

that formed in 2005.

History

''Monuments'' (2005–2009)

In 2008 the band signed to European metal label

Lifeforce Records Lifeforce Records is a German heavy metal independent record label that specializes in metalcore and death metal. Their roster contains bands such as Confession, This or the Apocalypse, Omnium Gatherum and Last Leaf Down, and they have helped ...

, and released the album ''

Monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

'' later that year. The band went on several tours throughout 2008 and 2009 with acts such as Kingston Falls,

For Today For Today were an American Christian metalcore band from Sioux City, Iowa, formed in 2005. They released two EPs, ''Your Moment, Your Life, Your Time'' and ''Prevailer'', and six full-length albums: '' Ekklesia'' in, 2008, ''Portraits'' in 2009 ...

August Burns Red August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's lineup of guitarists John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker and Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist Jake Luhrs and bassist Dustin David ...

A Skylit Drive A Skylit Drive is an American post-hardcore band from Lodi, California. The band has released one DVD, one EP and five studio albums: '' Wires...and the Concept of Breathing'' (2008), '' Adelphia'' (2009), '' Identity on Fire'' (2011), '' Rise'' ...

Sky Eats Airplane Sky Eats Airplane was an American electronicore/post-hardcore band from Fort worth, Texas. The band was signed to indie label Equal Vision Records and most recently released their self-titled full-length album through the label in July 2008. In ...

, and

Greeley Estates Greeley Estates was an American metalcore band from Maricopa County, Arizona. Formed in 2002, the band released five full-length studio albums and four EPs. The group initially had an emo-influenced post-hardcore sound, but later shifted to the ...

across North America and Canada to promote Monuments.

''Haunt What's Left'' (2009–2011)

The band was featured on season 1 episode 4 of the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

show Silent Library, which aired January 2010 with members Rick, Rodney, Jack, Sean and Grant. On June 22, 2010, This or the Apocalypse announced their second studio album ''Haunt Whats's Left'' which was released on Good Fight/Road Runner Records. The album was recorded by Josh Wilbur and produced by

Chris Adler Christopher James Adler (born November 23, 1972) is an American musician, best-known as a founding member and the longtime drummer of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God from 1994 to 2019. He was also a Grammy A ...

Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...

at Spin Studios in New York. Following the release of the album bassist Sean and drummer Grant both left the band for other projects. Sean left to focus on his band Bells with former August Burns Red vocalist Jon Hershey. Grant embarked on a career in music production and mastering, and joined the band

Century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

which also features This or the Apocalypse vocalist Ricky on bass. This or the Apocalypse toured throughout 2010 to support ''Haunt What's Left'' with bands such as

Impending Doom Impending Doom is an American Christian deathcore band from Riverside, California. The group has released six full-length studio albums and are currently a four piece with lead vocalist Brook Reeves as one of the two original remaining member ...

, and MyChildren MyBride, and headlined a tour with Affiance, Last Chance to Reason and Deception of a Ghost.

''Dead Years'' (2011–2018)

In June 2012, the band signed with

eOne Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series. The company began on June 1, 1973 ...

and released ''Dead Years'' on September 25, 2012. In 2013, the band released a new single titled "Damaged Good".

Name change to HAWK and upcoming album (2018-present)

In 2018 the band was renamed to HAWK and on March 22, 2019, released a new song titled "Mileage". Since then they have also self-released 2 more videos, "Counter-Ops" and "Alibi". On December 4, 2020, HAWK released their first LP titled "Tolerance's Paradox" which included the previous 3 singles and 3 yet unreleased tracks. On September 30, 2024, HAWK announced their comeback and welcomed Drew Hansen, Mike Monto and Cody Nierstedt into the band, stating that Jack Esbenshade and Bernard Stabley would be pursuing their own life and endeavors moving forward. Their first new single "Justify" was released on October 10, 2024. Another new single called "Break Bread" was released in cooperation with Neural DSP on November 24, 2024. On December 9, 2024, the band announced a tour supporting the German band Ghostkid on their East Coast tour in early 2025. Another tour for September and October 2025, supporting the German band Future Palace has recently been announced.

Musical style

This or the Apocalypse fall into the metalcore genre. Their music is characterized primarily by a heavy emphasis on melody and technical ability. The band's music features frequent use of technical or odd time signatures, complex

polyrhythm Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...

s, and some songs have been described as having a

prog-rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

structure.

Members

;Current * Ricky Armellino −

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

(2005–present) * Adam Reed −

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(2018-present) * Mike Monto −

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

(2024-present) * Cody Nierstedt −

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(2024-present) * Drew Hansen −

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(2024-present) ;Former * Robert Rivera Jr. –

(2005–2006) * Toby Pool –

(2005–2006) * Jacob Belcher – rhythm guitar (2005–2007) * Kevin Bakey –

(2006–2007) * Sean Hennessey −

(2007–2010) * Grant McFarland −

(2006–2010) * Brent Caltagirone –

(2010–2011) * Matthew Marcellus −

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

(2010–2013) * Aaron Ovecka −

(2011–2013) (currently in

Breather In physics, a breather is a nonlinear wave in which energy concentrates in a localized and oscillatory fashion. This contradicts with the expectations derived from the corresponding linear system for infinitesimal amplitudes, which tends towards ...

) * Aaron Maloney −

(2013–2014) * Rodney Phillips −

(2007–2014) * Jack Esbenshade −

(2005–2024) * Bernie Stabley –

(2018-2024) Timeline

Discography

as This or the Apocalypse: ;Studio albums * ''Sentinels'' (Red Sea Records, 2006) * ''Monuments'' (

, 2008) * ''Haunt What's Left'' ( Good Fight Entertainment, 2010) * ''Dead Years'' (

, 2012) ;Extended plays * ''Drunken Billionaire Burns Down Home'' (Self-released, 2006) as HAWK: ;Extended plays * ''Tolerance's Paradox'' (Self-released, 2020)

References

External links

This or the Apocalypse on Lifeforce RecordsThis or the Apocalypse on Good Fight RecordsThis or the Apocalypse official FacebookHAWK Official WebsiteHAWK Official Instagram
{{Authority control Heavy metal musical groups from Pennsylvania Metalcore musical groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups established in 2005 Musicians from Lancaster, Pennsylvania