7 Minutes In Heaven

Formed in Chicago during 2012, the melodic pop-punk outfit 7 Minutes in Heaven began as a solo outlet for Washington-born Timmy Rasmussen, whose uplifting style and steadfast Midwestern diligence shaped the project from the outset. The venture later expanded into a full quartet, securing its initial commercial breakthrough when the Side Effects EP topped Billboard’s Alternative New Artists chart in 2015 and markedly raised the group’s profile.

Rasmussen had already issued the seven-track Get in the Van under his own name in 2013; two years afterward, he broadened the endeavor by recruiting co-vocalist and bassist Alex Rogers along with guitarist Justin Mondzak. The revamped lineup prepared the ground with the 2014 EP The Statement, then delivered Side Effects the following year, cementing its breakthrough status. Early in 2017 the band signed its debut label agreement with Italy’s Rude Records and simultaneously welcomed drummer Brennan Gilbert, completing the current four-piece configuration. That quartet released its first recording for the imprint, Symmetry, toward the end of 2017.