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40 Below Summer is an American
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
band from
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. Formed in 1998, the band broke up seven years later in 2005. After two small reunions in 2006 and 2010, they permanently reformed in 2011. Their latest album, ''Transmission Infrared'', was released in 2015.


History


Beginnings (1998–2000)

40 Below Summer came together after drummer and Peruvian native Carlos Aguilar met singer Max Illidge in a band named Alien. Joey D'Amico met Max Illidge in late 1997, and later joined the duo playing guitar. Pete Savad joined soon after playing bass at first, then moving to guitar with the addition of Jordan Plingos on bass. The self-released ''Side Show Freaks'' (1999) was recorded with these lineups at their rehearsal location in the Music Building, NYC. Savad left the band as they got close to signing their first record deal. Moving Plingos to guitar, the band added Steve Ferreira who was soon replaced by Puerto Rican-born Hector Graziani on bass. Soon after, ''
Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...
'' (2000) was self-released.


''Invitation to the Dance'' (2001–2002)

In late 2000, the band's self-released CD ''Side Show Freaks'' found its way to No Name Management (known for acts such as
Slipknot The slip knot is a stopper knot which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end). The slip knot is related to the running knot, which will release when the standing end is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slipp ...
and
Mudvayne Mudvayne is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records wor ...
). After partnering with No Name, numerous record label showcases on both coasts followed, with up to fifteen prominent labels showing interest in the band. They eventually signed with
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
's London-Sire, although at one point they were close to signing with
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's
Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label ( Maverick Records), a film producti ...
, another Warner label. In March 2001, 40 Below Summer travelled to Los Angeles to commence recording their major label debut '' Invitation to the Dance'' with famed heavy metal producer
GGGarth Garth "GGGarth" Richardson, (born ), is a Canadian record producer and sound engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson. He has worked with such musical acts as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crüe, Nickelback, Rage Against the ...
(
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
, Mudvayne,
Kittie Kittie is a Canadian heavy metal music, heavy metal band from London, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist Fallon Bowman and drummer Mercedes Lander, with guitarist and vocalist Morgan Lander and bassist Tanya Candler joining the ...
). Prior to the album's release, the band embarked on a poorly attended tour with
Chimaira Chimaira ( ) is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the band's name is derived from the word Chimera (mythology), Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology. Throughout its history, ...
and
Ill Niño Ill Niño (Spanish for "ill child"; stylized as ill niño) is an American nu metal band formed in Union City, New Jersey, in 1998 by drummer Dave Chavarri, who remains the band's sole original member. They have released seven studio albums, two ...
that was headlined by
Factory 81 Factory 81 were an American nu metal band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Formed in 1997, the band was active until 2003. Biography The band had not initially decided on a name until Nathan Wallace wore a shirt bearing a patch which re ...
. After several delays, ''Invitation to the Dance'' was eventually released on October 16, 2001 (some sources state September 11, 2001). Two months after its release, London-Sire went out of business due to a
corporate merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
. This led to the band being briefly signed to parent label
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
during 2002.
Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...
/Warner Bros. subsequently re-issued ''Invitation to the Dance'', although the band elected to leave the label in December 2002. Regarding their departure, Max Illidge stated "The label ondon-Sirefolded. which essentially meant all our funding was cut. But we couldn't go sign another deal, because Warner Brothers owned London-Sire so Warner Brothers owned our contract. They didn't even know who the fuck we were. They folded a lot of other labels too. For literally like a year they had to sift through probably a thousand different acts that were on all these labels and say 'keep them, dump them'. We were like playing phone tag talking to this guy and that guy for like a year before we finally just said please let us go." After performing on the
Jägermeister Music Tour The Jägermeister Music Tour was a hard rock, hardcore punk, and heavy metal music tour that was held twice a year in the United States between 2002 and 2012. It was owned by the American importer of Jägermeister, Sidney Frank Importing. Hist ...
with
Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie ...
,
Coal Chamber Coal Chamber is an American nu metal band formed by Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón in Los Angeles in 1992, initially under the name She's in Pain. The original lineup also consisted of bassist Rayna Foss and drummer Jon Tor. Mike Cox replaced Tor ...
and Ill Niño, they started to write material for their second album. While the band started writing almost immediately after the release of their previous album, they threw out some fifteen songs before coming up with 21 that they reduced down to the final ten (plus a bonus track, "The Day I Died").


''The Mourning After'' (2003–2005)

Unsigned at this point, Razor & Tie Records saw the band in February 2003 when they played in New York City with E.Town Concrete. A deal was signed in June just as the band entered the studio. The band would later strike a licensing deal with
Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is a Dutch–American record label focused on Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as ...
for the album's UK release. Their second album '' The Mourning After'' was released on October 28, 2003. Two singles were released from the album in "Self-Medicate" and "Taxi Cab Confession". The video for the former received a fair amount of airplay on
MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...
's ''
Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consists of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obsc ...
''. The band negotiated a release from their contract in 2004. Illidge stated "We had trouble with Razor & Tie. They really had no experience at the time putting out rock albums. They were known for like kids pop, shit like that. They just didn't know what they were doing, they had no clue. That shit was doomed. We ended up actually getting the rights to ''Mourning After'', and we got a little money out of the deal." Not long after this Jordan was temporarily replaced by Ty Fury. The band then recruited Ryan Juhrs (formerly of Flaw) to fill the spot officially and Carlos left soon after.


''The Last Dance'' (2006)

Despite breaking up, 40 Below Summer released '' The Last Dance'' on October 31, 2006, via Crash Music Inc. The album features nine demo versions of songs intended for their third LP, as well as a bonus DVD featuring footage of the band's "last" performance at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey (September 2005). The album sold 1,095 copies during its first week of release, according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
. In October 2006, there was speculation that the band had reunited. This was later dismissed by guitarist Joey D'Amico who stated that the band was just going to do a few shows to promote the release of ''The Last Dance''. However, D'Amico also stated that there was a possibility that 40 Below Summer would record a new album in the future. The band filmed a music video for the single "Relapse" with director Frankie Nasso. The song was originally written by 2005 guitarist Ty Fyhrie (Fury). Ty Fyhrie also played the 2nd guitar parts on "The Last Dance." Ty went on to work with the bands Murder Of Crows,
Dirty Little Rabbits Dirty Little Rabbits was an American alternative rock band formed in 2007 in Johnston, Iowa. They are often referred to as a side project of Shawn Crahan, a member and founder of heavy metal band Slipknot. The band has not been active since 20 ...
, FOMOFUIAB and Trapt. In a radio interview with ''All Knowing Force'', Illidge stated that he expected 40 Below Summer would tour and play 5-10 shows a year. Although his main priority was with his new project Black Market Hero, he didn't rule out the possibility of the band one day recording another album. The band did however re-issue their independently released EP ''
Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...
'' on July 31, 2007, via Crash Music. In addition to the five songs originally released, seven demo tracks were also included, as well as all new cover artwork. ''Sideshow Freaks'' was also re-released on July 15, 2008, by ex-
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
guitarist Brian "Head" Welch's record label Driven Music Group.


Break-up (2006–2010)

Ali Nassar replaced Carlos, and after playing two shows under the 40 Below Summer moniker, they decided to rename the project ''Black Market Hero''.Apar, Corey " Black Market Hero Biography, ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation They were soon joined by 2 members of Flaw, drummer Micah Havertape and Ryan Jurhs. In January 2006, Graziani was forced to leave the band due to severe hearing loss he had suffered after years of performing. Former Confliction bassist Matt Fortin joined in August 2006. In 2008, guitar virtuoso
Angel Vivaldi Angel Vivaldi (born June 13, 1985) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He began his solo career in 2003. Vivaldi has self-released five records, ''Revelations'', ''The Speed of Dark, Universal Language, Away with Words: Part 1'', ...
replaced Ryan as their permanent lead guitarist and quickly began to write fresh material for a full-length record. Black Market Hero's first single, "Freedom Dealer," was released in summer 2007. ''With Daggers Drawn'' was the newest project consisting of former members of 40 Below Summer. Angel Vivaldi performed live in With Daggers Drawn while actively in Black Market Hero during most of 2009. This was before the addition of Joey D'Amico and Max Illidge at which point he delved further into his solo instrumental career. With Daggers Drawn consisted of Max Illidge, Joey D'Amico, Ed Schiro, Tommy Costello, and Greg Telfeian. Despite 40 Below Summer's status of being broken up at this time, Max would occasionally reunite the band to play shows at the Starland Ballroom. These shows were done as a way to draw attention to his other projects, as well as projects by friends and significant others of his (all of whom would open these "one-off" shows).


Reformation and Fire at Zero Gravity (2011–2014)

On July 12, 2010, it was announced that 40 Below Summer would play a reunion show on Saturday, October 2, 2010, at Starland Ballroom in New Jersey.
God Forbid God Forbid is an American metalcore band formed in East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. Initially breaking up in 2013, they have been semi-active since reuniting in 2022. History Early career (1996–2004) ...
and With Daggers Drawn played support. 40 Below played "Invitation to the Dance" from cover-to-cover. On February 27, 2012, it was announced that Max and Joey had parted ways with the project With Daggers Drawn. Soon after, the other members of the group disbanded to form rock band Pralaya, while Max and Joey returned to focusing on 40 Below Summer. On April 3, 2012, Max Illidge posted a track list for an upcoming album entitled ''Fire at Zero Gravity'' on the band's Facebook. He also stated that "this album will f**k you sideways". It was announced on June 12, 2012, that Joey D'Amico would play drums instead of Carlos Aguilar. Prior to the release of the album, the band released two songs, "Bottom Feeder" and "My Name Is Vengeance" for free download. On December 1, 2012, 40 Below Summer was scheduled to perform an album release show at Starland Ballroom, although it was canceled due to damage to the venue from
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
. Fire at Zero Gravity was officially released on April 30, 2013, via Super Massive Music Group. Derrick Klybish and Anthony Devizio were confirmed as the new bassist and drummer respectively. In 2013, Illidge stated "Our goal is to just make music. We have fans. Because you don't need a record label anymore, we can keep making music for a long time."


''Transmission Infrared'' (2015–2022)

In February 2015, the band announced on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
that they were recording a new album. The production of the album was mostly funded by a
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
campaign. On August 31, 2016, the band premiered a music video for the song "Snake Charmer," which is included on ''Transmission Infrared'' and is one of the three songs streamed prior to the album's release. In September 2017, the band parted ways with bassist Derrick Klybish and recruited Scare Don't Fear and Beyond Visible guitarist Tom McNamara as their new bass player. McNamara played his first shows with the band in October 2017. Derrick Klybish passed away on November 11, 2020. He was 39 years old.


New album (2023–present)

It was reported in December 2023 that the band had begun recording 11 songs for a new album, with the vocal work to be completed the following year. On May 11th 2025, the band teased a small preview for the song King Ghidorah, to be released on May 23rd.


Musical style and influences

Although the band are frequently labeled a
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...
band, vocalist Max Illidge (in an interview) insisted otherwise and describes 40 Below Summer as an "aggressive rock band" which "explores a little bit of everything." 40 Below Summer's influences include
Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
,
Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...
,
The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...
,
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and tu ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Monster Magnet Monster Magnet is an American rock music, rock band formed in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (musician), John McBain (guitar), and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums). The band has since undergone severa ...
,
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
,
Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...
,
Candiria Candiria is an American band from Brooklyn, New York, mixing progressive metal, metalcore, jazz fusion and hip hop. They are part of the precursors of the mathcore genre with bands like Deadguy or Lethargy.Kevin Stewart-Panko, "The Decade in N ...
,
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
and
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...
.


Members

;Current * Max Illidge – vocals (1998–2005, 2006, 2010, 2011-present) * Joey D'Amico – rhythm guitar (1998–2005, 2006, 2010, 2011-present) * Anthony Devizio – drums (2012–present) * David Mondragon – lead guitar (2014–present) ;Former * Peter Savad – bass guitar (1998) guitar (1998–2000) * Carlos Aguilar – drums (1998–2005, 2006, 2010) * Steve Ferreira – bass guitar (2000) * Jordan Plingos – lead guitar (2000–2004, 2006, 2010, 2011–2014), bass guitar (1998–2000) * Hector Graziani – bass guitar (2000–2005, 2006, 2010) * Ty Fury – lead guitar (2004–2005) * Ryan Jurhs – lead guitar (2005, 2006, 2010) * Ali Nassar – drums (2005) * Derrick Klybish – bass guitar (2012–2017, died in 2020) * Tom McNamara – bass guitar (2017–2019) ; Timeline


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Side Show Freaks'' (1999) * '' Invitation to the Dance'' (2001) * '' The Mourning After'' (2003) * '' The Last Dance'' (2006) * ''Fire at Zero Gravity'' (2013) * ''Transmission Infrared'' (2015)


EPs

* ''
Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...
'' (2000)


Videography


References


External links

* {{Authority control American alternative metal musical groups American nu metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 American musical quintets 1998 establishments in New Jersey Razor & Tie artists Warner Records artists Reprise Records artists