Unbroken 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

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. They were influential in the Southern California hardcore scene during the mid-to-late 1990s. The band chose the name Unbroken because they wanted to emphasize their dedication to the straight edge philosophy of drug abstinence. However, most of the members have since given up this belief. In 2008, ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' named Unbroken a band of significant interest in its cover story "23 Bands Who Shaped Punk", citing them as an influence on later groups such as

The Hope Conspiracy The Hope Conspiracy is an American hardcore punk band from Boston formed in late 1999. They were picked up by Equal Vision Records and Bridge 9 Records before signing a deal with Deathwish Records. Biography With the help of Mark Thompson of ...

, Throwdown, Suicide File,

Planes Mistaken for Stars Planes Mistaken for Stars is an American rock band formed in Peoria, Illinois in 1997. Working with several different labels, they released three studio albums and four EPs before breaking up in 2008. While rooted in the post-hardcore and emo ...

, Modern Life Is War, and

Bleeding Through Bleeding Through is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, formed in 1999. In 2004, ''Revolver'' magazine hailed Bleeding Through as one of eight bands ushering in the "Future of Metal" cover story, and ''Spin'' called Blee ...

.Neal Taflinger, "Unbroken", in "23 Bands Who Shaped Punk". ''

'' No. 240 (June 2008), p. 122.

Biography

The band's members were also in the groups Struggle,

Swing Kids The Swing Youth (german: Swingjugend) were a group of jazz and swing lovers in Germany formed in Hamburg in 1939. Primarily active in Hamburg and Berlin, they were composed of 14- to 21-year-old Germans, mostly middle or upper-class student ...

, Kill Holiday, Julia,

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

, Smooth Man Automatic, Johnny Angel, Stabbed By Words, and Over My Dead Body before, during, and after Unbroken's existence. Guitarist Eric Allen committed suicide three years after the breakup of the band. The band reformed soon after his death for one show as a benefit to Allen's family. Rob Moran until recently played in the hardcore group

and now resides back in San Diego. He has more recently started a band with John Pettibone (former member of Undertow, Nineironspitfire and

Himsa Himsa was an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in 1998, their band name is from the Sanskrit word himsa, which means "harm" or "violence". The group released four full-length studio albums, two EPs and one DVD before ...

), Ryan Murphy (former member of Undertow, Ten Yard Fight, Ensign) and Aram Arslanian (guitarist of

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

, The First Step and vocalist for Betrayed). The band, The Vows, is a straight-edge band that is musically influenced by the old-school hardcore band Judge. The Vows released a CD on

Indecision Records Indecision Records is an independent American hardcore punk record label, which was started by punk photographer and fanzine editor Dave Mandel in 1992 as an offshoot of his fanzine, ''Indecision''. It is based in Garden Grove, California, and ...

in 2006. Rob Moran is in a new band called Narrows with

Dave Verellen Dave Verellen is an American singer. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and was the vocalist for the influential mathcore band Botch. He has since gone on to play drums for the folk-country band Roy with his brother Ben Verellen (of Harkonen) ...

of Botch and Ryan Frederiksen of

These Arms Are Snakes These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Before disbanding in 2009, they released three studio albums: ''Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go H ...

. They have released a S/T 7", an album called New Distances, as well a split 7" with Seattle band Heiress. All releases are on

Deathwish Inc Deathwish, Inc. is an American independent record label conceived by Jacob Bannon of Converge and Tre McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was ''Deeper the Wound'', a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on April 23, 2001. ...

. He is also working on other musical projects with friends in San Diego. One of which is a goth band with Gabe Serbian from

The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...

. Dave Claibourne sings for the band Stabbed By Words (who had an album released on Hawthorne Street Records), and is a drum & bass DJ with Dedication Crew in St. Louis, Missouri. He is trying to get Round 2 back together for a European reunion tour in 2011. Steven Andrew Miller moved away from San Diego and now resides in Orange County. He now plays in Crushed On You who are set to release an EP later in 2008 on an unnamed label. Todd Beattie now lives in Los Angeles, and is married to acclaimed furniture designer Tanya Aguiniga.

Reunion

Despite talk that these would be their only reunion shows, as of 2010, Unbroken are also scheduled to play the annual FYF Fest (formerly F Yeah Fest and Fuck Yeah Fest) in Los Angeles on September 4, and at ULU in London on October 16. Unbroken played a reunion show in New York City at

Santos Party House Santos Party House was a New York City nightclub located at 96 Lafayette Street between Walker and White Streets in the TriBeCa neighborhood of downtown Manhattan. Originally named the "Lafayette Street Jungle Gym", Santos Party House was re ...

on April 10, 2011, with Indecision, Jesuit, Damnation A.D., Unrestrained and Psychic Limb. In September 2011, they toured Argentina, Chile, and other Latin American countries. Unbroken also scheduled to play Mexico for the first time in 2012 as well as a small tour of Europe. Unbroken decided to play shows in various regions around the world after their shows in the States sold out, and left fans from outside the US without a chance to see them. Through their reunion shows, the band has raised over $30,000 for various charities and causes all over the world. Unbroken played on November 2, 2014, at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles for the 20 year mark of ''Life.Love.Regret.''

Members

*Rob Moran – bass (1991–1995, 1998, 2010–2012, 2014) *Todd Beattie – drums, percussion (1991–1995, 1998, 2010–2012, 2014) *Steven Andrew Miller – guitar (1991–1995, 1998, 2010–2012, 2014) *Dave Claibourn – lead vocals (1991–1995, 1998, 2010–2012, 2014) *Eric Allen – guitar (1991–1995; died 1998) ; Former members * Brian Hill – lead vocals (1991)

Discography

Albums

*''Ritual'' (1993) New Age Records *''Life. Love. Regret.'' (1994) New Age Records **Both recordings were re-released on one CD, '' Death of True Spirit'' (see compilations)

Compilations

*'' It's Getting Tougher to Say the Right Things'' (collection of all singles and EPs) (2000)

*'' Death of True Spirit'' (2003)

*''It's for Life'' Consequence Records

EPs and singles

*You Won't Be Back 7" (1992) *Unbroken/Groundwork split ("Final Expression"/"Set Up") 7" (1993) *Unbroken/Abhinanda split ("Love Will Tear Us Apart") 7" (1994) *And/Fall on Proverb 7" (1994, 31G) *Circa '77 ("Absentee Debate"/"Crushed on You") 7" (1995, New Age Records) *Unbroken/Ati's Warriors split (contains both bands' demos) (2002, bootleg)

Other appearances

* Lacking Mindset Compilation ("Blanket") (1993) * It's for Life Compilation ("Unheard") (1992)

References

External links

Official website

Unbroken on MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unbroken Hardcore punk groups from California Straight edge groups Musical groups from San Diego