Burn Halo
Encyclopedia
Burn Halo is a hard rock
band, originating from Orange County, California
and Tulsa, Oklahoma
. It was formed by James Hart
, former lead singer of Orange County metalcore
band Eighteen Visions
.
spent nearly a decade recording and touring as the frontman of Orange County band Eighteen Visions
. After their breakup in early 2007, He landed a label deal with Island/Def Jam and began working almost immediately with songwriter Zac Maloy on what would become Burn Halo's self-titled debut
.
Between May and October 2007, Hart made weeklong treks to Tulsa, OK
to write and demo with Maloy. "I knew that I wanted a clear-cut rock ‘n’ roll band, which is something I had not had in the past", Hart says of the music. "My vision and my brand of rock ‘n’ roll without having to compromise on any of the songs or any of the material. I wanted to make a very straightforward rock album. Something that had commercial appeal, but also something that had a classic, vintage mid-‘80s throwback vibe to it.”
Hart recorded the album between October–November 2007 with Maloy as producer, laying down the tracks with studio musicians, including Nickelback
drummer Daniel Adair
, former Jane's Addiction
bassist Chris Chaney
, and guitarist Neal Tiemann
who now tours with American Idol
winner David Cook
. Speaking of Maloy, Hart said: “I really felt like he was able to grasp what I wanted to do and where I wanted to take this. From a producer standpoint I feel like he really knocked it out of the park. As a vocalist he was able to bring a lot out of me instead of having me go through the motions and just get the part right. Emoting a little more than I have in the past. He was really able to pull a lot of character out of my voice.”
Two singles were released from the album: "Save Me", which Hart described as the heaviest track on the record, and "Dirty Little Girl", which features Avenged Sevenfold
guitarist Synyster Gates
. Other tracks include “Here With Me,” an emotive throwback ballad. “I wanted to touch more on real life situations and real life stories,” Hart says. “I wanted to paint a real life picture. I started listening to country and a lot of those songs are very real and down to earth. They are songs about real life, about situations you would come across with a lover or the loss of a friend or heading down a dark path in life. I wanted it to be really simple and easy to digest. I wanted there to be no question about what I was singing about.”
After the album was completed, in early 2008, Island elected not to release Burn Halo's debut, leaving Hart with the tough job of finding a new home for his project. Nothing felt quite right, though, so Burn Halo’s manager Bret Bair formed his own label Rawkhead Rekords through Warner Music Group
to release the record. Hart spent much of 2008 finalizing the lineup of his touring band, with Aaron Boehler on bass, Joey Cunha (ex-Die Trying) on lead guitar, Brandon Lynn on rhythm guitar, and Timmy Russell on drums.
The self-titled album
was finally released on March 31, 2009, and the band went on tour in support of the album, going on tour with many high-profile bands all around the US. Starting with a supporting slot on Escape the Fate
's tour of February–March 2009, then supporting Avenged Sevenfold
with Papa Roach
and Buckcherry
through the rest of March, and in April–May 2009, a slot playing on the SnowCore tour with Static-X
and Saliva
. In June–July 2009 the band on their first ever headlining tour of the US with supporting bands New Medicine
and Track Fighter.
Touring continued through 2010, with a tour supporting Puddle of Mud with The Veer Union
in April 2010, and a tour supporting Tantric
and Adema
, through July–September 2010.
On March 30, 2011, Burn Halo streamed the new song "Tear It Down" on Noisecreep
, and confirmed the name of the new album, as being on Up from the Ashes. On April 14, 2011, the band stated on Facebook that a music video for the first single "Tear It Down" would be released soon. "Tear It Down" was released as an official single on iTunes
on April 19, 2011. On June 16, 2011, the band streamed "Dakota", another new song from the upcoming album, on Revolver Magazine
's website, as well as on their Facebook
page.
Former members
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band, originating from Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
and Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. It was formed by James Hart
James Stephen Hart
James Stephen Hart is the lead singer of the band Burn Halo and was the lead singer and founding member of the rock band Eighteen Visions.-Eighteen Visions:...
, former lead singer of Orange County metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions was an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, United States. Formed in October of 1995, the group was one of the first practitioners involved in the metalcore genre...
.
Formation and self-titled debut album (2007–2010)
James HartJames Stephen Hart
James Stephen Hart is the lead singer of the band Burn Halo and was the lead singer and founding member of the rock band Eighteen Visions.-Eighteen Visions:...
spent nearly a decade recording and touring as the frontman of Orange County band Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions was an American metalcore band from Orange County, California, United States. Formed in October of 1995, the group was one of the first practitioners involved in the metalcore genre...
. After their breakup in early 2007, He landed a label deal with Island/Def Jam and began working almost immediately with songwriter Zac Maloy on what would become Burn Halo's self-titled debut
Burn Halo (album)
-Dirty Little Girl:The album's first single "Dirty Little Girl" was released on November 25, 2008, and features Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates. The song has peaked at #19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts....
.
Between May and October 2007, Hart made weeklong treks to Tulsa, OK
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
to write and demo with Maloy. "I knew that I wanted a clear-cut rock ‘n’ roll band, which is something I had not had in the past", Hart says of the music. "My vision and my brand of rock ‘n’ roll without having to compromise on any of the songs or any of the material. I wanted to make a very straightforward rock album. Something that had commercial appeal, but also something that had a classic, vintage mid-‘80s throwback vibe to it.”
Hart recorded the album between October–November 2007 with Maloy as producer, laying down the tracks with studio musicians, including Nickelback
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
drummer Daniel Adair
Daniel Adair
Daniel Patrick Adair is a Canadian drummer best known as the current drummer for Canadian rock band Nickelback and his previous work with American rock band 3 Doors Down...
, former Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
bassist Chris Chaney
Chris Chaney
Chris Chaney is a rock bass player who has performed with artists including Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morissette, Slash, and many others. He was the bass player in the third incarnation of Jane's Addiction and a member of Morissette's touring and recording band for seven years...
, and guitarist Neal Tiemann
Neal Tiemann
Neal Tiemann is the lead guitarist and songwriter of the rock band the Midwest Kings and the lead guitarist for David Cook's band The Anthemic. He spent most of 2009 on the Declaration Tour with Cook and served as the tour's music director...
who now tours with American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
winner David Cook
David Cook (singer)
David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...
. Speaking of Maloy, Hart said: “I really felt like he was able to grasp what I wanted to do and where I wanted to take this. From a producer standpoint I feel like he really knocked it out of the park. As a vocalist he was able to bring a lot out of me instead of having me go through the motions and just get the part right. Emoting a little more than I have in the past. He was really able to pull a lot of character out of my voice.”
Two singles were released from the album: "Save Me", which Hart described as the heaviest track on the record, and "Dirty Little Girl", which features Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
guitarist Synyster Gates
Synyster Gates
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr. , better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold.-Early life:...
. Other tracks include “Here With Me,” an emotive throwback ballad. “I wanted to touch more on real life situations and real life stories,” Hart says. “I wanted to paint a real life picture. I started listening to country and a lot of those songs are very real and down to earth. They are songs about real life, about situations you would come across with a lover or the loss of a friend or heading down a dark path in life. I wanted it to be really simple and easy to digest. I wanted there to be no question about what I was singing about.”
After the album was completed, in early 2008, Island elected not to release Burn Halo's debut, leaving Hart with the tough job of finding a new home for his project. Nothing felt quite right, though, so Burn Halo’s manager Bret Bair formed his own label Rawkhead Rekords through Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
to release the record. Hart spent much of 2008 finalizing the lineup of his touring band, with Aaron Boehler on bass, Joey Cunha (ex-Die Trying) on lead guitar, Brandon Lynn on rhythm guitar, and Timmy Russell on drums.
The self-titled album
Burn Halo (album)
-Dirty Little Girl:The album's first single "Dirty Little Girl" was released on November 25, 2008, and features Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates. The song has peaked at #19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts....
was finally released on March 31, 2009, and the band went on tour in support of the album, going on tour with many high-profile bands all around the US. Starting with a supporting slot on Escape the Fate
Escape the Fate
Escape the Fate is an American post-hardcore band from Las Vegas, Nevada formed in 2005 and originally from Pahrump, Nevada. They have released three EPs and three full-length studio albums. Dying Is Your Latest Fashion was the band's debut album and only album to feature vocalist Ronnie Radke...
's tour of February–March 2009, then supporting Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
with Papa Roach
Papa Roach
Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest . The group's success continued with their gold album Lovehatetragedy , their platinum album Getting Away with Murder , The Paramour Sessions , and Metamorphosis...
and Buckcherry
Buckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
through the rest of March, and in April–May 2009, a slot playing on the SnowCore tour with Static-X
Static-X
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California. They were formed in 1994. They are signed to Warner Bros. Records and have released six albums, their most recent being Cult of Static, which was released on March 17, 2009....
and Saliva
Saliva (band)
Saliva is an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in September 1996 and currently under Island Records. Saliva released their self-titled debut album on August 26, 1997, under Rocking Chair Records....
. In June–July 2009 the band on their first ever headlining tour of the US with supporting bands New Medicine
New Medicine
New Medicine is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2009. They signed to Photo Finish Records after forming the new Band . Their debut album, Race You to the Bottom was released September 18, 2010.-Studio albums:-Singles:...
and Track Fighter.
Touring continued through 2010, with a tour supporting Puddle of Mud with The Veer Union
The Veer Union
The Veer Union is a Canadian post-grunge band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Formation, as "Veer" :The band was formed in 2004 by founders Crispin Earl, and Eric Schraeder, under the original name of "Veer". The band released one independent album, Time to Break the Spell, in 2006...
in April 2010, and a tour supporting Tantric
Tantric (band)
Tantric is a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. The group has released four studio albums since 2001; although, their last two albums only retain Tantric's original singer, Hugo Ferreira...
and Adema
Adema
-2003–2004: Unstable, Mark Chavez's and Mike Ransom's departure:Adema's second album, Unstable, was released by Arista in August 2003. It was produced by Howard Benson, whose credits also include producing albums with P.O.D., Hoobastank and Cold....
, through July–September 2010.
Up from the Ashes (2010–present)
In late 2010, the band confirmed on their official Facebook page that they are going into the studio to record a follow-up to their self-titled debut album, with a hopeful release before summer of 2011. On October 4, 2010, the band went on to say "Next album will be even more rockin' than the first. Heavier, faster, more metal and more in your face".On March 30, 2011, Burn Halo streamed the new song "Tear It Down" on Noisecreep
Noisecreep
Noisecreep is a hard rock and heavy metal music news and media website based in the United States. The site was created by AOL Music in March 2009....
, and confirmed the name of the new album, as being on Up from the Ashes. On April 14, 2011, the band stated on Facebook that a music video for the first single "Tear It Down" would be released soon. "Tear It Down" was released as an official single on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on April 19, 2011. On June 16, 2011, the band streamed "Dakota", another new song from the upcoming album, on Revolver Magazine
Revolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
's website, as well as on their Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page.
Band members
Current members- James HartJames Stephen HartJames Stephen Hart is the lead singer of the band Burn Halo and was the lead singer and founding member of the rock band Eighteen Visions.-Eighteen Visions:...
- lead vocals (2007–present) - Joey Roxx - lead guitar (2008–present)
- Brandon Lynn - rhythm guitar (2009–present)
- Aaron Boehler - bass (2008–present)
- Dillon Ray - drums, percussion (2010–present)
Former members
- T Dick Russell - drums, percussion (2009–2010)
- Ryan Folden - drums, percussion (2008–2009)
- Allen Snake Jones Wheeler - rhythm guitar (2008–2009)
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Heat. |
US Ind. Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
||
| 2009 | Burn Halo Burn Halo (album) -Dirty Little Girl:The album's first single "Dirty Little Girl" was released on November 25, 2008, and features Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Synyster Gates. The song has peaked at #19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts....
|
129 | 2 | 13 |
| 2011 | Up from the Ashes
|
— | 12 | — |
Singles
| Year | Song | US Main. |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Dirty Little Girl" | 19 | Burn Halo |
| 2010 | "Save Me" | 36 | |
| 2011 | "Tear It Down" | 35 | Up from the Ashes |