Silent Civilian
Encyclopedia
Silent Civilian is a 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 originating from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Following his departure from nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...

 band Spineshank
Spineshank
Spineshank is an American Grammy-nominated alternative metal band. The band has sold over 540,000 records, and has released 3 studio albums.-Formation, Roadrunner Records years :...

 in 2004, frontman Jonny Santos felt he wanted to move in a different direction musically and start from scratch. Silent Civilian was thus formed and the band faced trouble from the start after experiencing several line-up changes and departing from their original record label Corporate Punishment Records
Corporate Punishment Records
Corporate Punishment Records is a Los Angeles, USA, based independent record label. The company was formed in 2004 by Thom Hazaert and Eric Nielsen, also co-founders of Loudside.com and Total Assault Street Teams...

.

The band signed with Mediaskare Records and released their debut record, Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple is the debut album by the metalcore music group Silent Civilian. It was released on May 2, 2006 via Mediaskare Records. The album contains two enhanced videos - one music video for the song "Rebirth of the Temple" and a behind-the-scenes look at how the album was made...

, on May 2, 2006. Receiving generally positive reviews, the album has sold more than 25,000 copies since its release in the United States. The band continues to tour supporting the record as Santos one day wants to establish the band as a headlining act. Their line-up consists of Santos (vocals and guitar), Matt Bredemeier (guitar) and Robbie Young (bass).

Silent Civilian released their second album, Ghost Stories
Ghost Stories (Silent Civilian album)
Ghost Stories is the second album by the metalcore music group Silent Civilian, the follow-up to Rebirth of the Temple. It was released on May 18, 2010....

, on May 18, 2010.

Formation

Jonny Santos, who is best known as the vocalist and song writer for the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 nominated industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...

 group Spineshank
Spineshank
Spineshank is an American Grammy-nominated alternative metal band. The band has sold over 540,000 records, and has released 3 studio albums.-Formation, Roadrunner Records years :...

 was displeased with the direction the band was going in and felt it had 'run its course'. Santos felt it was time to move on and left Spineshank, although he was unsure what direction he wanted with his music career. He would play with local bands and friends, while performing production and engineering
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

 duties in studios to 'pay the bills'. However, after leaving Spineshank, Santos lost everything and was basically homeless, 'couch surfing' from friend’s house to friend’s house.

Realizing he wanted to start a band from scratch, Santos placed an ad for a drummer on the social networking website MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

. After receiving a large number of e-mails, Santos received an e-mail from Chris Mora with a video of him drumming. Santos thought "You can’t be for real, dude" and asked Mora to come down for the first audition. 10 minutes into the audition Mora was hired as the drummer. Santos auditioned for an Australian band that moved to America called Cryogenic
Cryogenic (Band)
Cryogenic was an Australian thrash metal/death metal band formed in 1992 in Wetherill Park, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.-Early:The band originally featured guitarist Steve Essa, bass player Anthony Henning, singer/guitarist Russell Player and drummer Chad Bartosik, who was also a member of...

. Although he thought the band was not for him, he met the band's bassist Henno. As Cryogenic and Mudrock
Andrew Murdock
Andrew Murdock, also known as Mudrock, is an American record producer specializing in the rock and metal genres.He is best known for producing Godsmack's Godsmack and Awake albums...

, who were working together, had both lost their vocalists, Henno contacted Santos and asked him to join the band, to which Santos accepted. Ryan Ready, who Santos had known since high-school, was recruited as the second guitarist. The band's original name was announced as Silent Civilians, which originates from the world's climate change by that people have opinions on life and politics and they do not voice their beliefs, living in a nation full of 'silent civilians'.

Label and line-up changes

Silent Civilians signed to Corporate Punishment Records
Corporate Punishment Records
Corporate Punishment Records is a Los Angeles, USA, based independent record label. The company was formed in 2004 by Thom Hazaert and Eric Nielsen, also co-founders of Loudside.com and Total Assault Street Teams...

 in January, 2005 and began work on their debut album, Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple is the debut album by the metalcore music group Silent Civilian. It was released on May 2, 2006 via Mediaskare Records. The album contains two enhanced videos - one music video for the song "Rebirth of the Temple" and a behind-the-scenes look at how the album was made...

. However, in May Santos announced they left CPR for reasons he was unable to discuss. The band began talking to several labels after this and pushed the release of their debut to late 2005 or early 2006. The album was recorded at Undercity Recordings, with production duties handled by former Machine Head
Machine Head (band)
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991, the group was founded by Robb Flynn and Adam Duce. There have been 4 member changes since their inception. The current lineup of the band comprises Flynn , Duce , ex-Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel ,...

 and Soulfly
Soulfly
Soulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...

 guitarist Logan Mader
Logan Mader
Logan Mader was born on November 16, 1970 in Montreal, Canada. Logan is best known for his work as a guitarist in the heavy metal band Machine Head, who formed in Oakland, California in 1992. Their 1994 debut, Burn My Eyes, was released by Roadrunner Records and quickly became the top-selling...

, and co-production handled by his partner, Lucas Banker. The band also announced they had changed their name to Silent Civilian. In June, guitarist Ryan Ready left the band due to personal reasons, not relating to the band. Santos sought a replacement, and the following day to Ready's departure set up auditions. Tim Mankowski, who Santos had known for 15 years and played in the band Basic Enigma with him, was hired as the new guitarist.

In November 2005, the band signed with Mediaskare records and planned a tentative release for their debut album for February 21, 2006. At this time, the band had three demo versions of the songs "Lies in the House of Shame", "Divided" and the title track, "Rebirth of the Temple". Mora and Santos were involved in the writing process of the album. While Mora was at work, Santos was at home writing riffs and would create roughly three to four 'skeletons of songs' a week. When Mora finished work, he would help Santos with arrangements, the body of the song, and track it that night and record the vocals and melodies the following day. 30 songs were primarily written for the album as Santos wanted fans to get their moneys worth. 16 songs were recorded that included two cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

s of the thrash metal band Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

's "War Ensemble” and Death Angel
Death Angel
Death Angel is a Filipino-American thrash metal band from Concord, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released six studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and two live albums....

's "Seemingly Endless Time". Although neither cover songs made it onto the album. The length of the CD is 64 minutes, which features the video of the album's title track, and an exclusive 10 minute documentary on the creation process of the album.

Rebirth of the Temple (2006–2007)

Silent Civilian released their debut album Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple is the debut album by the metalcore music group Silent Civilian. It was released on May 2, 2006 via Mediaskare Records. The album contains two enhanced videos - one music video for the song "Rebirth of the Temple" and a behind-the-scenes look at how the album was made...

on May 2, 2006. Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...

 reviewer, Scott Alisoglu, thought "on virtually every track, the group meshes attacking riffs, searing solos, brutal drumming, and melody-drenched bombast". Although he did not believe it was a 'grand slam', he thought it was a "pleasant surprise and strong first effort". Charlie Steffens of KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...

 described the album as "goddamn electric", while Greg Maki of live-metal.net awarded the album a perfect 10 out of 10 selecting it as his "best album I have heard so far in 2006." As of June 5, 2007, Rebirth of the Temple has sold 25,000 copies.
The video for the first single, "Rebirth of the Temple", was directed by Scott Culver and was filmed at Santos' childhood home. Santos invited 50 friends over for a party and posted a bulletin that read "If you’re in the L.A. area, if you’re a Silent Civilian fan, show up at this address" two hours before filming. This resulted in another 30 people turning up. 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....

 front-man Wayne Static
Wayne Static
Wayne Static is an American musician, and the lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, and programmer for the industrial metal band Static-X. He released his first solo studio album Pighammer on October 4, 2011.- Early life :Static grew up in Shelby, Michigan before moving to Chicago and eventually...

, Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...

 drummer Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga
Roy Maurice Mayorga is the drummer for the hard rock band Stone Sour. He is of Ecuadorian and Cuban descent.-Musical history:...

 and Logan make appearances in the video.

Tim Mankowski departed the band and Henno broke his ankle on an on-stage mishap. The band continued to tour as a three-piece as they sought for a replacement guitarist and bassist as soon as possible — Henno was able to perform on a bar stool temporarily. While touring with Nothingface
Nothingface
Nothingface was a four-piece metal band from Washington, D.C. noted for having graphic lyrics and occasionally using political themes in their later works, as well as polyrhythmic songs.-First Run:...

 and Crossbreed
Crossbreed (band)
Crossbreed was a six member industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003.-Early years:...

, Santos had met guitarist Marcus Rafferty, who he became friends with and recruited him to replace Mankowski after an audition. Touring partners Bleed the Sky
Bleed the Sky (band)
Bleed the Sky is an American groove metal band formed in Orange County, California in 2003. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.-Formation and Paradigm in Entropy :...

 assisted in replacing members for live shows. Bassist Disco Daylen took to the stage replacing Henno and guitarist Kyle Moorman assisted with the replacement of the guitarist by playing half the set and Rafferty would play the other. Santos asked Rafferty if he knew any bass players who were interested in a position, he contacted a friend of his, Stan Derby, who replaced Disco after one month.

In a July 2006 interview with Live-Metal.net, Santos stated the band was planning on recording a tribute EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 of cover versions on old Bay Area music, including such bands as Sacred Reich
Sacred Reich
Sacred Reich is a Phoenix, Arizona-based thrash metal band that formed in 1985. Singer/songwriter Phil Rind's interest was in socially conscious and political speed metal. After several records on Metal Blade Records, they signed to Hollywood Records for a short stint, but later returned to Metal...

, Death Angel
Death Angel
Death Angel is a Filipino-American thrash metal band from Concord, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released six studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and two live albums....

, Exodus
Exodus (band)
Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...

 and Testament
Testament (band)
Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

. The band is touring on The Sweet Revenge Tour with Kittie
Kittie
Kittie is a Canadian heavy metal band formed in London, Ontario in 1996. A quartet of women, the group rose to success in 1999 when the track "Brackish" from their debut album Spit became a hit single...

, It Dies Today
It Dies Today
It Dies Today is a metalcore band that formed in Buffalo, New York during September, 2001.- History :It Dies Today formed in August 2001. The group was established in Buffalo, New York by vocalist Nicholas Brooks, guitarist Chris Cappelli and guitarist Steve Lemke...

 and Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004. Bring Me the Horizon constits of Oliver Sykes as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist Lee Malia, rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, bassist Matt Kean and drummer Matt Nicholls...

 and by the end of the year Santos hopes to establish the band as a headlining act. On December 28, 2007 in a statement released to Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...

, Mora explained his departure from the band was based on personal reasons.

Ghost Stories (2008–present)

As of November 12, 2008, their official Myspace page confirms that they are currently writing a new record. As of March 30, 2009, their Myspace page states that the new record will be called 'Ghost Stories'. On June 11, the band's Myspace was updated with a new song titled "Ghost Stories," which will be featured on the upcoming album. Ryan Halpert ignited the band as Chris Mora's replacement on drums in mid 2009. Silent Civilian will be back on the road January 2010 with Blind Witness and Years of Red Skies. On Feb 16th in Toledo, Santos said their album "Ghost Stories" will be out via Century Media on May 18, 2010.

Members

  • Jonny Santos – vocals, guitar (2005–present)
  • Robbie Young – bass (2009–present)
  • Matt Bredemeier - guitar (2011–present)

Former

  • Ryan Ready - guitar (2005)
  • Tim Mankowski - guitar (2005-2006 recorded "Rebirth of the Temple")
  • Marcus Rafferty - guitar (2006–2007)
  • Henno – bass (2005-2006 recorded "Rebirth of the Temple")
  • Shaun Feiler - bass (2008)
  • Chris "Mad Man" Mora - drums (2005-2007 recorded "Rebirth of the Temple")
  • David Delacruz - lead guitar (2007–2010 recorded "Ghost Stories")
  • Ryan Halpert - drums (2009-2010 recorded "Ghost Stories")

Studio Albums

Year Album Details Peak chart positions Sales & Certifications
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

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...


AUS
CAN
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...


GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...


NZ
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...


UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...


2006 Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple
Rebirth of the Temple is the debut album by the metalcore music group Silent Civilian. It was released on May 2, 2006 via Mediaskare Records. The album contains two enhanced videos - one music video for the song "Rebirth of the Temple" and a behind-the-scenes look at how the album was made...

  • 1st studio album
  • Released: May 2, 2006
  • Label: Mediaskare
    Mediaskare Records
    Mediaskare Records is an American independent record label specializing in heavy metal and metalcore music. The label was founded by Baron Bodnar, with its offices located in Los Angeles, California. The labels prominent artists include As Blood Runs Black and Silent Civilian.In February 2008, it...

75
  • US Sales: 25,000+
  • US Cert:
  • 2010 Ghost Stories
    Ghost Stories (Silent Civilian album)
    Ghost Stories is the second album by the metalcore music group Silent Civilian, the follow-up to Rebirth of the Temple. It was released on May 18, 2010....

  • 2nd studio album
  • Released: May, 18th 2010
  • Label: Mediaskare
    Mediaskare Records
    Mediaskare Records is an American independent record label specializing in heavy metal and metalcore music. The label was founded by Baron Bodnar, with its offices located in Los Angeles, California. The labels prominent artists include As Blood Runs Black and Silent Civilian.In February 2008, it...

    /Century Media

  • Singles

    Year Title Peak chart positions Album
    US
    Main Rock
    AUS
    CAN
    Canadian Hot 100
    The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...


    GER
    Media Control Charts
    The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...


    NZ
    New Zealand
    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...


    UK
    UK Singles Chart
    The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...


    2006 "Rebirth of the Temple" 38 Rebirth of the Temple
    "The Song Remains Un-Named"
    2007 "Live Again" 16 104 73
    2010 "Last One Standing" Ghost Stories
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