Pitch Black Forecast is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in 2005 with a lineup consisting of

Mushroomhead Mushroomhead is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in the Cleveland Warehouse District, the band is known for their avant-garde sound and horror film-inspired imagery which features masks and costumes as well as ...

frontman Jason Popson and ex-

Strapping Young Lad Strapping Young Lad (SYL) was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, '' Heavy as a Really Heavy ...

drummer

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

and former

Integrity Integrity is the quality of being honest and having a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and Honesty, truthfulness or of one's actions. Integr ...

bassist Steve Rauckhorst, formed in Ohio in 2005 under the name Absentee. They released their debut album, ''Absentee'', in 2008, which featured guest contributions from

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, " ...

frontman

Randy Blythe David Randall Blythe (, born February 21, 1971) is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God and Burn The Priest. He has also performed guest vocals fo ...

and Human Furnace of

Ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as tinea and ringworm, is a mycosis, fungal infection of the skin (a dermatomycosis), that may affect skin, hair, and nails. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the a ...

History

Hoglan and Popson met back in 2004 while Jason was selling T-shirts for

Meshuggah Meshuggah () is a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Umeå in 1987. Since 2004, the band's lineup consists of founding members Jens Kidman (lead vocals) and Fredrik Thordendal (lead guitar), alongside rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, drumm ...

while they were on tour with Strapping Young Lad. Popson was taking a break from touring with

where he was known as J Mann. He never mentioned that he was Mushroomhead's frontman and it wasn't until late in the tour that Hoglan found out. Originally, the group was intended to be similar to

Probot Probot was a heavy metal recording project led by American musician Dave Grohl, as a side project from his primary group Foo Fighters. The album was released in February 2004 by Southern Lord Records. Described by Grohl as "a death metal ''Sup ...

with Popson as the vocalist and a revolving door of guitarists and drummers. When Popson was finally ready to record, though, the only one who was not busy was Hoglan. In January 2007, Hoglan flew to Ohio and he and Popson wrote and recorded ''Absentee'' in ten days. Guitarist Rob Reinard (NDE) was brought in by studio engineer Bill Korecky. Bassist Craig Martini was also brought in for the band. Popson and Martini are longtime friends and have performed in bands in the past, including Unified Culture, State of Conviction and The Alter Boys. Shortly after finishing recording ''Absentee'' Martini left the band in good terms, relocating to Nevada and was replaced by Steve Rauckhorst, who Popson had previously known from the Cleveland scene and his time in

. They played their first show in nearly six months at Peabody's in Cleveland. On May 5, 2011, Pitch Black Forecast announced Tom Shaffner of Keratoma fame would be their new second guitarist. The band's name was originally "Absentee" before switching it to Pitch Black Forecast and using the former as the name of the first album. The first track recorded, titled "Revolve", was included on the Melvins Tribute album '' We Reach: The Music of the Melvins'' and released on Popson's record label, Fractured Transmitter. The band's second album, a five-track EP, titled ''Burning in Water... Drowning in Flame'' was recorded at Cleveland's Galahad Studios and was released on August 11, 2012, at a live show for Popson's bands Unified Culture and State of Conviction at Peabody's Down Under in Cleveland. The album features

Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

and M. Shadows from

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead gui ...

In mid-2014, the band's Facebook page mentioned a new album later in the year. The post stated the release would be a compilation of previously-released songs remixed and re-tracked to become "closer" to the vision Popson desired from the start. The title of the album was later revealed to be ''As the World Burns''. It was released October 21 on compact disc, vinyl and digital download by Ohio-based Ferocious Records. The album features guest appearances by M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Devin Townsend, and the Human Furnace. The digital and CD versions both contain a 4-track EP entitled "Spitefuck" by Popson's other side project called Bitch Wrangler. A Best Buy Exclusive version of the CD contains 3 additional tracks.

Related artists

– Jason Popson (as J Mann)/Steve Rauckhorst (as Mr. Rauckhorst)/Tom Shaffner (as Tankx) *(216) – Jason Popson *In Cold Blood – Jason Popson * The Alter Boys – Jason Popson *

–

*Testament – Gene Hoglan *Dark Angel – Gene Hoglan *

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

– Gene Hoglan *

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...

– Gene Hoglan *

Dethklok Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series ''Metalocalypse'', known for its satirical or parodic lyrical themes. The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, ...

– Gene Hoglan *NDE – Rob Reinard *Nailblack – Rob Reinard *The Alter Boys – Jason Popson/Craig Martin *State of Conviction – Jason Popson/Craig Martini/Tom Shaffner *Unified Culture – Jason Popson/Craig Martini *

– Steve Rauckhorst *Keratoma – Steve Rauckhorst/Tom Shaffner *The X Members – Tom Shaffner

Discography

* ''Absentee'' (2008) * ''Burning in Water... Drowning in Flame'' (2012) * ''As the World Burns'' (2014)

Members

Current members

* Jason Popson – vocals (2005–present) *

– drums (2005–present) *Rob Reinard – guitar (2007–present) *Steve Rauckhorst – bass (2008–present) *Tom Shaffner – guitar (2009–present)

Former members

*Craig Martini – bass (2007–2008)

External links

Pitch Black Forecast
by Matt Gorey, ''Cleveland Scene'' (May 2008) {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2005 Heavy metal musical groups from Ohio Musical groups from Cleveland