Vehemence began their musical journey in 1995, writing songs that later would appear on their 2000 release “The Thoughts From Which I Hide”. Although without a drummer or bassist, the group, which consisted of founding members Nathan Gearhart (vocals), Scott Wiegand (guitar), and Bjorn Dannov (guitar) recorded their earliest works of music with the help of a drum machine. Andy Schroeder (drums) and Mark Kozuback (bass) formerly of the Phoenix punk band Mistaken Identity completed the Vehemence “core” line-up in late 1997. Jason Keesecker (keyboards) was also added to the line-up in late 1999.
By early 1998 Vehemence had written enough material to release their first demo tape, consisting of 7 songs. With tracks such as “The Death Of Me”, “No One Wins”, and “Her Beautiful Eyes”, the demo represented what was to come of this promising young band.
In November 1999, Vehemence recorded their debut “The Thoughts From Which I Hide”, which featured 8 tracks with titles such as “I Take Your Life”, “Devour The Rotten Flesh”, “Nameless Faces, Scattered Remnants”, and the epic “Reconditioning the Flock”. With a limited budget, this self-released disc hit the streets in August of 2000.
Founding member Scott Wiegand whose guitar work appears on “The Thoughts From Which I Hide”, suddenly quit Vehemence in early 2000. The band was stunned by his departure to say the least. Fortunately, John Chavez formerly of the Phoenix death metal band Brides Of Christ joined the fold. Vehemence, now stronger than ever before, were ready to book their first U.S. tour to promote “The Thoughts From Which I Hide”.
In the summer of 2001, Vehemence toured through 7 states and caught the attention of Metal Blade founder and CEO Brian Slagel. Through touring, self-promotion, internet, and old-fashioned hard work, Vehemence was able to make a “buzz” in the underground death metal scene.
By late 2001 Vehemence signed a multi-album deal with Metal Blade records, to record and release God Was Created. The album, consisting of 10 songs is concept based and took nearly 2 years to write. Songs such as “Christ…I Fucking Hate You!” “She Never Noticed Me”, and “The Lord’s Work”, took the death metal world by storm, and created a unique blend of tasteful melody and brutality. Recorded in January 2002 and released in July 2002, God Was Created proved that Vehemence is a powerful upcoming force in the death metal scene, with rave reviews from many reputable media sources worldwide.
Shortly after the album’s release, Vehemence embarked on their first professional US tour with Dead To Fall, Decapitated, Impaled, and death metal veterans Incantation. With more tours in the works, Vehemence’s future is looking better than ever.
