Junius (band)
Encyclopedia
Junius is an American rock band from Boston
, Massachusetts
. The bands name is taken after Junius
, the pseudonym of a political writer who lived during the late 1700's.
and Blood is Bright
. In 2007, they reissued the EPs on a single self-titled
CD. This album was also released on Radar Recordings.
Their first full-length, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist
, was released on November 10, 2009 through the label The Mylene Sheath
in the US and Make My Day Records in Europe. The album is inspired by the writings of theorist Immanuel Velikovsky
and took the group nearly three years to complete. On May 20, 2011, it was announced that Junius would be covering the song "Firehead" by Hum
. The song was included in the cover album Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute To HUM
, which was released on September 6, 2011. Junius released a split EP with the band Rosetta
which contained the track "A Dark Day With Night" on September 27, 2011.
On October 25, 2011, Junius released their second full-length titled Reports from the Threshold of Death
. It was released and distributed via Prosthetic Records
. A spring 2012 tour through the UK, Scandinavia, and Europe in support of the bands sophomore release is currently in the works. In an interview with Blistering
, the band stated that the follow-up to Reports from the Threshold of Death is currently in it's "conceptual stages", and that they wish to continue to tour throughout 2012.
. Speaking on the topic of The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, Martinez told Austinist "...I want [our music] to feel almost classical in a way - as classical as rock can be without being like repetitive post-rock. I listened to a lot of Philip Glass
while we were recording." While guitarist Mike Repasch-Nieves pointed out the difficulty in citing specific influences, he mentioned "Some of the stuff we all bonded over when we first met were bands like Sunny Day Real Estate
, Cursive
, Failure
, Hum
, Deftones
, Mogwai
, Hot Water Music
, Tears For Fears
, and At The Drive-In
." in a 2011 interview with Prefix Mag.
Past members
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The bands name is taken after Junius
Junius
Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of letters to the Public Advertiser, from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772. The signature had been already used, apparently by him, in a letter of 21 November 1768...
, the pseudonym of a political writer who lived during the late 1700's.
History
Junius's first releases were two EPs on Radar Recordings, Forcing Out the SilenceForcing Out the Silence
-Track listing:-Personel:Junius*Joseph E. Martinez - guitar, vocals*Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar*Dave Soucy - bass*Dana Filloon - drumsProduction*Will Benoit - production*Nick Zampiello - mastering...
and Blood is Bright
Blood is Bright
-Track listing:-Personnel:Junius*Joseph E. Martinez - guitar, vocals*Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar*Kieffer Infantino - bass*Dana Filloon - drumsProduction*Will Benoit - production*Nick Zampiello - mastering...
. In 2007, they reissued the EPs on a single self-titled
Junius (album)
-Track listing: -Personnel:Junius*Joseph E. Martinez - guitar, vocals*Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar*Dave Soucy - bass *Kieffer Infantino - bass *Dana Filloon - drumsProduction*Will Benoit - production...
CD. This album was also released on Radar Recordings.
Their first full-length, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist
The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist
-Reception:The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist is widely considered to be the bands most seminal work. It is their first album to garner widespread critical attention, including that of mainstream media outlets such as Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. Thus far, the album has been met with near universal...
, was released on November 10, 2009 through the label The Mylene Sheath
The Mylene Sheath
The Mylene Sheath is an independent record label, founded by Joel Proper and Lindsay Palmer. The label originated in 2007 in Covington, Kentucky and recently relocated to Athens, Georgia...
in the US and Make My Day Records in Europe. The album is inspired by the writings of theorist Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky
Immanuel Velikovsky was a Russian-born American independent scholar of Jewish origins, best known as the author of a number of controversial books reinterpreting the events of ancient history, in particular the US bestseller Worlds in Collision, published in 1950...
and took the group nearly three years to complete. On May 20, 2011, it was announced that Junius would be covering the song "Firehead" by Hum
Hum (band)
Hum is a post-hardcore band from Champaign, Illinois. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit "Stars." Hum has not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.-Founding and early recordings:...
. The song was included in the cover album Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute To HUM
Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute to Hum
Songs of Farewell and Departure is a tribute album to Hum, released in September 6, 2011 via Pop Up Records. A promo video for the tribute was released on August 9, 2011...
, which was released on September 6, 2011. Junius released a split EP with the band Rosetta
Rosetta
Rosetta is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is located east of Alexandria, in Beheira governorate. It was founded around AD 800....
which contained the track "A Dark Day With Night" on September 27, 2011.
On October 25, 2011, Junius released their second full-length titled Reports from the Threshold of Death
Reports from the Threshold of Death
Reports from the Threshold of Death is the second full length studio album from American art rock band Junius. The record was released in CD , limited edition Vinyl, and digital download format through Prosthetic Records on October 25, 2011....
. It was released and distributed via Prosthetic Records
Prosthetic Records
Prosthetic Records is a record label specializing in heavy metal recordings. Founded by E.J. Johantgen and Dan Fitzgerald both former employees of Columbia Records, in Los Angeles, California in 1998...
. A spring 2012 tour through the UK, Scandinavia, and Europe in support of the bands sophomore release is currently in the works. In an interview with Blistering
Blistering
Blistering, founded in 1998, is an international online magazine dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock music. Its editor-in-chief is David E. Gehlke, an American music journalist who has written for About.com, Metal Maniacs, and Throat Culture...
, the band stated that the follow-up to Reports from the Threshold of Death is currently in it's "conceptual stages", and that they wish to continue to tour throughout 2012.
Musical Style and Influences
In a 2010 interview with Spinner lead singer Joseph Martinez explained that while members of Junius each have a variety of different musical influences and interests, they are all big fans of HumHum (band)
Hum is a post-hardcore band from Champaign, Illinois. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit "Stars." Hum has not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.-Founding and early recordings:...
. Speaking on the topic of The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, Martinez told Austinist "...I want [our music] to feel almost classical in a way - as classical as rock can be without being like repetitive post-rock. I listened to a lot of Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
while we were recording." While guitarist Mike Repasch-Nieves pointed out the difficulty in citing specific influences, he mentioned "Some of the stuff we all bonded over when we first met were bands like Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunny Day Real Estate is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. In the 1990s, the group expanded upon the grunge style that was popular in the local scene to make a more melodic sound. While not the first band to be classified as emo, they were instrumental in establishing the genre. In...
, Cursive
Cursive (band)
Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on Saddle Creek Records.-History:The band was formed in 1995 by Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen , and drummer Clint Schnase. In 1997, they released Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes. After a couple years of touring, the band...
, Failure
Failure (band)
Failure was an American rock band that was active from 1990 to 1997, during which they recorded and released three critically acclaimed albums...
, Hum
Hum (band)
Hum is a post-hardcore band from Champaign, Illinois. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit "Stars." Hum has not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.-Founding and early recordings:...
, Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
, Mogwai
Mogwai
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
, Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music is a punk rock band from Gainesville, Florida. The members of the band are Chuck Ragan, Chris Wollard, Jason Black, and George Rebelo. HWM first formed in 1993...
, Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
, and At The Drive-In
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American rock band from El Paso, Texas, considered part of the post-hardcore genre and active from 1993 to 2001. They were known for their extremely energetic stage shows which hearkened back to the 1980s hardcore scene...
." in a 2011 interview with Prefix Mag.
Discography
- 2004: Forcing Out the SilenceForcing Out the Silence-Track listing:-Personel:Junius*Joseph E. Martinez - guitar, vocals*Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar*Dave Soucy - bass*Dana Filloon - drumsProduction*Will Benoit - production*Nick Zampiello - mastering...
- 2006: Blood is BrightBlood is Bright-Track listing:-Personnel:Junius*Joseph E. Martinez - guitar, vocals*Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar*Kieffer Infantino - bass*Dana Filloon - drumsProduction*Will Benoit - production*Nick Zampiello - mastering...
- 2007: The Fires of AntediluviaThe Fires of AntediluviaThe Fires of Antediluvia is the third EP by American art rock band Junius. It was released as a limited edition 7" vinyl through Radar Recordings and Anchorless Records on May 1, 2007. It was also made available as a digital download through Radar Recordings....
- 2007: JuniusJunius (album)-Track listing: -Personnel:Junius*Joseph E. Martinez - guitar, vocals*Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar*Dave Soucy - bass *Kieffer Infantino - bass *Dana Filloon - drumsProduction*Will Benoit - production...
- 2009: The Martyrdom of a CatastrophistThe Martyrdom of a Catastrophist-Reception:The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist is widely considered to be the bands most seminal work. It is their first album to garner widespread critical attention, including that of mainstream media outlets such as Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. Thus far, the album has been met with near universal...
- 2010: Junius / JuarezJunius / JuarezJunius / Rosetta is a 10 inch vinyl split EP by American art rock band Junius and American post metal band Juarez. The release was limited, with only 500 copies pressed for distribution. The record was released by UsTwo Records, an independent record label that specializes in releasing vinyl only...
- 2011: Junius / RosettaJunius / RosettaJunius / Rosetta is a split EP by American art rock band Junius and American post metal band Rosetta. After several years of planning, the title was made available on September 27, 2011 through Translation Loss in CD format and on November 22, 2011 through The Mylene Sheath in vinyl format...
- 2011: Reports from the Threshold of DeathReports from the Threshold of DeathReports from the Threshold of Death is the second full length studio album from American art rock band Junius. The record was released in CD , limited edition Vinyl, and digital download format through Prosthetic Records on October 25, 2011....
Members
Current members- Joseph E. Martinez - vocals, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, synthsSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Joel Munguia - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Dana Filloon - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Past members
- Ira Bronson - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Keiffer Infantino - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Dave Soucy - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....