Daughters is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in 2002, in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
. The band's most recent lineup consisted of vocalist
Alexis Marshall, guitarist Nick Sadler, drummer
Jon Syverson, and bassist Samuel Walker.
The band started out as a
mathgrind outfit, developing their sound with each album, with later albums often described as
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
. Daughters disbanded in August 2009 after Marshall left the band, and their
self-titled third album was released in 2010 while the band was broken up.
The band reunited in 2013. In 2018, the band signed to
Ipecac Records
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999, by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH (band), DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton ...
and released the album ''
You Won't Get What You Want'', which released to universal critical acclaim, with many critics naming it one of the best albums of the year. It marks a significant departure from the band's earlier style, with relatively more conventional song structures and vocals.
The band went on hiatus in 2021 following allegations of domestic violence against the group’s frontman, Alexis Marshall, made by his ex-girlfriend,
Kristin Hayter.
History
Formation and ''Canada Songs'' (2002–2003)
Prior to forming Daughters, vocalist Alexis S.F. Marshall, guitarist Jeremy Wabiszczewicz and drummer Jon Syverson played in the American
grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...
band As the Sun Sets. Following its disbandment, Marshall, Wabiszczewicz and Syverson went on to form Daughters along with guitarist Nicholas Andrew Sadler and bassist Pat Masterson.
As the Sun Sets' final release, ''8949'', contained an insert which had a message from the band on it. The message said "...This is As the Sun Sets' final recording. March 21st, 2002, the sun set for the last time. March 22nd, 2002, we begin anew as Daughters". Marshall has since revealed that the announcement in ''8949'' was a mistake and it was not meant to be put into the EP's liner notes, since he saw Daughters as a new band and he didn't want people to see Daughters as a continuation of As the Sun Sets.
On March 25, 2002 (only three days after the band officially formed) Daughters released their debut EP, ''Daughters'', through City of Hell Records. Daughters played their first show in late May at the Munch House in Providence, RI. Daughters played alongside
Backstabbers Inc. and Dead and Gone. In October, 2002 Daughters focused on writing new material for their debut album. On August 12, 2003, Daughters released their debut album ''
Canada Songs
''Canada Songs'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Daughters, released on August 12, 2003 through Robotic Empire.
Re-release
In 2016 Robotic Empire reissued a limited edition version of ''Canada Songs'' on cassette. The track list a ...
'', through
Robotic Empire
Robotic Empire is an American independent record label based out of Richmond, Virginia, specializing in hardcore punk, heavy metal, and alternative rock. Some of the most popular bands signed to the label over the years have been pg.99, City o ...
.
''Hell Songs'' (2004–2006)
In June, 2004 Daughters released its first live album, ''Live at CBGB'', through City of Hell. The album contained a new song, "Boner X-Ray". In July 2004 "Boner X-Ray" was later released for free as a download from Daughters' website, a studio version of the song would also appear on Daughters' upcoming album, ''
Hell Songs'' under the title "X-Ray". In mid-2005 Daughters signed to
Hydra Head Records
Hydra Head Records was an independent record label specializing in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experimental ...
. While touring throughout 2004 and 2005 Daughters played many early versions of the songs that would appear on ''Hell Songs'', such as, "Feisty Snake-Woman", "Boner X-Ray", "Fiery Wolves", "Crotch Buffet" and "Fuck Whisperer". Daughters entered the studio in March, 2006 to begin recording their next album at
Mad Oak Recording Studios. In May, 2006 the band released details about the album such as its title, producer, recording studio and the track list. On August 8, 2006, Daughters released their second album ''
Hell Songs'', through Hydra Head.
''Daughters'' and break-up (2007–2010)
The writing process of the band's third album started three years prior to the album's release, Sadler has said he would take song ideas and riffs to bandmate Syverson "to hash them out".
Recording for Daughters' third album began in late April, 2009, and the tracking process was finished by June.
In August, Daughters had abruptly broken up.
After finishing recording for the album, Marshall and Sadler got in an argument, resulting in Marshall leaving the band.
The rest of the band decided to call a hiatus, expecting Marshall to re-join the band at some point.
Sadler continued with mastering the record, finalizing the artwork and worked with artist Dave Fisher on a trailer video. Sadler said that he "was essentially trying to keep the band alive for who-knows-what" and "hoping
arshallwould come back or maybe in few years we would start playing again."
Marshall decided that he wanted to rejoin the band, but that Sadler should be replaced.
This caused bassist Samuel M. Walker to leave the band.
This led to the band's break-up.
The disbandment was never officially announced, and no one outside of Daughters knew about the breakup before the end of 2009.
Some months after the disbandment, Marshall and Syverson reconnected and decided to continue with the band.
Stating "We started this band and we're the only two people who have been through it consistently, so there was no reason to stop altogether and throw the whole thing away."
Marshall continued to say the pair have "no plans to replace anybody, but we're not ruling out the idea that people could come in here and if it works out, they'll stay."
Sadler has said "From my perspective, I don't think I'll ever play with Daughters again - I've been through way too much stress and I'm in a way better place with writing and being in a band with
Fang Island
Fang Island was an American indie rock band formed in Providence, Rhode Island, and based in Brooklyn, New York City. The group consisted of the guitarists Jason Bartell and Chris Georges, the bass guitarist Brock Hengin and the drummer Marc St. ...
. With the new album, I think we ended on a really good note with Daughters and if
arshallcarries it beyond that then I'm happy for him and that's cool. So I didn't really leave, the band just fell apart. In some way, I guess I was kicked out by the guy who quit. (laughs) I don't know where that leaves me or the band, but I'm using that as an excuse to step out officially."
The band performed a one-off secret show at
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...
in Providence, where they played most of the songs from their upcoming album.
This was the first and only time Daughters played songs off their self-titled album before their reunion in 2013.
Despite the "break-up", Daughters released their third album ''
Daughters
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show re ...
'' on March 9, 2010, through Hydra Head. The band's management announced there would not be any tour in support of the album.
Looking back on the album Sadler said "This album really caught up with us. People were getting a little older, the whole band was extremely poor from touring over the years, so life outside the band really caught up with us and it became hard to really do anything. I'm very proud of this record just because we were able to make it, you know? It was a real struggle."
Reunion and recording sessions (2013–2014)
Marshall has credited Andy Low of Robotic Empire for reuniting Daughters. While Marshall and Sadler were not speaking to each other, Low told them both that one wanted to see the other. However, neither member had actually expressed any feelings to Low about wanting to see the other. Not knowing this, they both reluctantly agreed to have dinner together. They found out during the dinner that Low had tricked them to get them to talk to each other again.
The situation was described by Marshall: "We sat down and had dinner and within 15 minutes we started talking about plans. We just needed to be in the same room I guess." He then went on to say, "It felt that enough time had gone by that any issues that Nick and I had had been not necessarily forgotten but they didn't seem that important anymore."
Speaking about Daughters' reunion Marshall stated the band had been talking about it for a while. He also mentioned how fans would regularly ask him "what was going on with Daughters" while he was on tour with his other band Fucking Invincible. He stated "It's crazy. People are actually still into it" referring to Daughters.
When Marshall got home from touring with Fucking Invincible he sent out a group text to the other members of Daughters saying, "People are interested in us doing something. We shouldn't fuck around. We should just go out and play some shows, because this writing thing is taking way longer than it was supposed to. Let's not concern ourselves with that; let's just play some shows and things will happen after that. Everything will happen by itself once we get in the mindset of being in Daughters and being with each other."
On September 13, 2013, Daughters reformed for one show in Rhode Island. Owing to popular demand, a second show was added on September 15. Although at the time no further official statements had been made, ever since the reunion the band has had heavy activity on social media and had been recording "bits and pieces" and making demos.
In the summer of 2014 the band started recording at Providence-based studio, Machines With Magnets. In July, 2014 during these recording sessions the band hinted at new material on Facebook. However, all recordings from this session were shelved because the band were unhappy with the outcome, with Marshall claiming they "forced it" and that the recordings ended up sounding "unfinished".
Sadler has said the recordings were shelved so the band could "experiment with new ideas."
''You Won't Get What You Want'' and hiatus (2015–2021)

In 2015, Daughters posted a photo on Facebook of its members at recording studio Machines With Magnets. In September 2016, the band announced via
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
that they will "Record, once again, during
heir upcoming tourwith no real agenda nor timeline for release." On this tour, Daughters played the new song, "Long Road, No Turns". In a June 2017 interview Marshall said he expects Daughters to release their fourth studio album by the end of the year.
On December 28 and 29, Daughters and
Code Orange supported
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of Consonance and ...
on their final two shows. In April 2018, Daughters reported that the recordings of the guitars for their upcoming album were complete.
On July 13, 2018, Daughters released "Satan in the Wait", the lead single from their upcoming album on
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999, by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton (Faith N ...
. Its title, ''You Won't Get What You Want'', was revealed on August 17 along with its second single, "The Reason They Hate Me", which was described as "noisier and more abrasive" than the lead single. The third single, "Long Road, No Turns", was released on October 2, which ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' praised for being "another unique beast: off-kilter rhythms pierce through a seething veneer of distortion and Marshall, his voice sounding crystal clear, sings about making mistakes and coming undone."
''
You Won't Get What You Want'' was released on October 26. It received universal critical acclaim and placed on numerous publications' year-end lists. The band's first career music video, for "Less Sex", came out on January 14, 2019 and was directed by former Daughters guitarist Jeremy Wabiszczewicz.
In October 2021, Marshall was accused of abuse by his ex-girlfriend
Kristin Hayter, who performed under the alias Lingua Ignota at the time. Hayter elaborated on the allegations in December, alleging that Marshall committed rape, domestic violence and mental abuse during their relationship from July 2019 to June 2021. Marshall denied the allegations and announced that he would investigate legal options.
Days before Hayter released her statement in December fully documenting the abuse allegations against Marshall, Daughters announced on
Patreon
Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...
that they were "pressing pause on Daughters activity for the immediate future", canceling a pair of scheduled January 2022 shows at New York City's
(Le) Poisson Rouge
(Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space was ...
.
Sadler joined as the guitarist for
Greg Puciato
Gregory John Puciato (born March 27, 1980) is an American musician best known as the former lead vocalist and lyricist of the metalcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan. In addition to being a solo artist, he currently fronts Better Lovers and t ...
's live band during his first solo tour in 2023.
Jon Syverson became the drummer for the band Human Impact in 2024.
Musical style
Daughters' early material was primarily described as
grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...
and
mathcore
Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatur ...
,
while their later material has been described as
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
.
Daughters have also been described as
industrial rock
Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...
,
no wave
No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...
,
math rock
Math rock is a style of Alternative rock, alternative and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush (band), Rush. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), cou ...
,
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
,
experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...
,
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
,
art-rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
and
art-metal.
Sadler has said that he has always disagreed with Daughters being described as a math rock or mathcore band, stating "
aughters hasalways been a kind of calculated band, but not in a math rock way. None of us are classically trained at all and I don't think anyone in Daughters has taken a lesson in anything. The music just comes out that way and it's always been the nature of the band."
With the release of the band's second album, ''Hell Songs'', Marshall's vocal style had noticeably changed from high-pitched
screams to a singing style that over the years has been compared to
David Yow
David Lambeth Yow (; born August 2, 1960) is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, ''Tonight ...
,
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
and
Michael Gira
Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, author and artist. Now based in New Mexico, he founded the band Swans, in which he sings and plays guitar, in New York City in the 1980s at the height of ...
and also has been described as "
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
being tortured"
and "
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
on
hallucinogenic drugs
Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, moo ...
."
Marshall explained the reason for the change in vocals saying "It's intimidating
o be in this band
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...
These guys can play. I don't want to be like, 'You guys be impressive and I'll just scream.' We're not a band like that. Our music is not like that, so why should the singing be like other bands?"
Members
Current
*
Alexis Marshall – vocals (2002–2009, 2013–present)
* Nicholas Sadler – guitar (2002–2003, 2004–2009, 2013–present)
*
Jon Syverson – drums (2002–2009, 2013–present)
* Samuel Walker – bass (2004–2009, 2013–present)
Former
* Jeremy Wabiszczewicz – guitar (2002–2003)
* Pat Masterson – bass (2002–2004)
* Perri Peete – guitar (2003–2004)
* Brent Frattini – guitar (2003–2007)
Current touring members
* Gary Potter – guitar (2007–2008, 2013–present)
* Monika Khot – guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, bass (2019–present)
Former touring members
* Jeff Worms – guitar (2008)
*
Chris Slorach – bass (2019)
* Lisa Mungo – keyboards, synthesizer (2018–2019)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
EPs
Singles
Music videos
Other appearances
References
External links
Daughterson
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daughters
Musical groups established in 2002
American mathcore musical groups
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
American noise rock music groups
Rock music groups from Rhode Island
Musical groups reestablished in 2013
Musical groups from Providence, Rhode Island