Prayer for Cleansing was an American
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...
band from
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...
. The band is noted for their extreme metal (
death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
/
black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
) influence that was a little more prominent in their music than other metalcore bands at the time. They are also notable for being an early musical starting point for three members of
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead guitar, backi ...
(Paul Waggoner, Will Goodyear and Tommy Giles Rogers) who played in the band.
Biography
The band, consisting of David Anthem (vocals),
Paul Waggoner
Paul Andrew Waggoner is the lead guitarist of American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. A fan of progressive music, he is heavily inspired by John Petrucci, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth and Steve Vai, amongst others. He fo ...
(guitar), Dennis Lamb (guitar), Will Goodyear (drums) and Marc Duncan (bass) formed in 1996, going through numerous member changes up until 1997. In 1999 they signed to
Tribunal Records, releasing their first and by far most popular album, ''
Rain in Endless Fall''. Shortly before the album was released, Dennis Lamb left the band, being replaced by James Chang of Undying, and later
Tommy Rogers. In 2000 the band broke up after an automobile accident which totaled their new touring van. The band performed two reunion shows, the first being on March 13, 2004, at the
Tremont Music Hall in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
in front of nearly one thousand fans from as far away as
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
. The second show was at the 2004
Hellfest
Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one of ...
music festival, held in
.
Prayer for Cleansing's music continued to grab attention however. 2003 saw a re-mixed and re-mastered version of ''The Rain in Endless Fall'' released on Tribunal Records, including new artwork. In 2004, Prayer for Cleansing's second album, ''The Tragedy'', was released as a joint label CD/7" by Southern Empire Records, Surprise Attack Records and War Torn Records. ''The Tragedy'' featured re-recordings of three songs previously unavailable on an official release (though all three had been widely available in mp3 form), including their popular cover of
The Cranberries
The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...
song "Salvation". In 2004, straight edge distributor
Seventh Dagger Records
Seventh Dagger Records is an independent record label releasing primarily hardcore punk, hardcore and metalcore albums. It was founded in 2001 by Daniel "Sober" Trudel and is based in Creedmoor, North Carolina, USA.
Formed as a clothing company, ...
released ''The Rain in Endless Fall'' on vinyl. The band remains inactive since then. Lead guitarist
Paul Waggoner
Paul Andrew Waggoner is the lead guitarist of American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. A fan of progressive music, he is heavily inspired by John Petrucci, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth and Steve Vai, amongst others. He fo ...
later said in a 2009 interview: "I guess that band had sorta run its course. Some of the guys were in school and we didn't really see it going anywhere. At the same time we also wanted to start something different and try to push ourselves a little more musically. I wouldn't say we were bored with what we were doing, but that was around the time when
metalcore
Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...
was starting to sorta take off and bands were kinda coming out of the woodwork. We no longer felt like we were doing something different or creative."
Later projects
Tommy Rogers, Paul Waggoner, Marc Duncan and Will Goodyear went on to play in the Raleigh, North Carolina
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
band
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me, often abbreviated as BTBAM, is an American progressive metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Formed in 2000, the band consists of Tommy Giles Rogers Jr. (lead vocals, keyboards), Paul Waggoner (lead guitar, backi ...
(Marc Duncan left before the band recorded anything and Will Goodyear left after their first album). Tommy Rogers and Paul Waggoner were both members of Undying, playing drums and guitar, respectively. Tommy Rogers was also the singer for Tribunal Records label mates From Here On. Dennis Lamb went on to play guitar for Azazel, also a Tribunal Records band (with future Between the Buried and Me members Jason King and Nick Fletcher) and has recorded with the Austrian band Der Blutharsch. David Anthem now runs a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
coffee shop in Philadelphia, The Grindcore House.
Reunion show
The band has announced they are playing a one-off benefit show featuring their ''Rain in Endless Fall'' lineup on December 18, 2022 in memory of John Rivera and to benefit his family. One of the other bands reforming for the concert is Undying, one of ex-rhythm guitarists James Chang and Tommy Rogers' former bands.
The band will also have a remaster of the original mix of their album reissued on vinyl by
To Live A Lie
To Live A Lie is an American Independent record label, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, founded in 2005 by Will Butler.
The label has released albums by bands such as Magrudergrind, ACxDC, Agathocles, Godstomper, WVRM, Unholy Grave, XBRAINI ...
Records in late 2022/early 2023.
Members
Current lineup
*Will Goodyear – drums, keyboards, additional clean vocals (1997–2000, 2003–2004, 2022)
*
Paul Waggoner
Paul Andrew Waggoner is the lead guitarist of American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me. A fan of progressive music, he is heavily inspired by John Petrucci, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth and Steve Vai, amongst others. He fo ...
– lead guitar (1997–2000, 2003–2004, 2022)
*Dave Anthem – vocals (1997–2000, 2003–2004, 2022)
*Dennis Lamb – rhythm guitar (1997–1999, 2022)
*Marc Duncan – bass guitar (1997–2000, 2022)
Previous members
*
Tommy Rogers – rhythm guitar (1999–2000, 2003–2004)
*Jimmy Chang – rhythm guitar (1999), bass guitar (2003–2004)
Timeline
Discography
''Rain in Endless Fall''
Track listing
Personnel
Prayer for Cleansing
* David Anthem – vocals
* Paul Waggoner – guitars
* Dennis Lamb – guitars
* Mark Duncan – bass
* Will Goodyear – drums, piano, clean vocals on "Feinbhas a Ghabhail"
Additional personnel
* Lenny Watts – backing vocals (tracks 2 and 4)
* Ian Schreier – recording, mixing
* Jamie King – digital editing, mixing (2003 remix/remaster)
* Abbadon Graphicworks – layout and design (CD)
* Jacob Bigham – layout and design (2003 remaster CD)
* Justin Pope – layout and design (vinyl)
* Matthew H. Rudzinski – production, mixing (2003 remix/remaster)
''The Tragedy'' (EP)
Track listing
Personnel
Prayer for Cleansing
* David Anthem – vocals
* Paul Waggoner – guitars
* Thomas Rogers – guitars
* James Chang – bass
* Will Goodyear – drums, clean vocals on "Salvation"
Additional personnel
* Jamie King – recording, mixing
References
External links
Tribunal RecordsWar Torn RecordsSeventh Dagger Records
{{Authority control
Metalcore musical groups from North Carolina
Heavy metal musical groups from North Carolina
Straight edge groups
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups from Raleigh, North Carolina