BLEED THE SKY

Bleed the Sky assembled in Orange County, California, during January 2003. Vocalist Noah Robinson, guitarists Kyle Moorman and Wayne Miller, bassist Casey Kulek, DJ Puck, and drummer Austin D'Amond made up the original roster. Their first live appearance came only two months later when they opened for Opeth.

The band self-released its initial EP early the next year and moved more than 1,000 copies on its own before inking a deal with Nuclear Blast in fall 2004. Paradigm in Entropy surfaced in April 2005 as the group's debut on that label. The record delivered nu-metal through futuristic, industrial textures and added melodic layers to its dissonant riffs and rap-like vocals. Critics frequently compared the material to Chimaira, and the band toured in support with American Head Charge and Diecast.

Casey Kulek exited several months before the album's release, at which point Daylen Elsey assumed bass duties. During a summer 2006 run with Dope, Wayne Miller was hospitalized immediately after the band's set in Louisville after receiving a diagnosis of severe pneumonia together with an unidentified viral infection. He came close to death before recovering, yet the illness caused permanent nerve damage in his left hand that demanded months of rehabilitation. Rob Thornton joined on guitar in early 2007 to take over Miller's spot, leaving the latter to handle business matters for the group. This addition came a few months after David Culbert, formerly of San Antonio's Brotherhood, had already replaced Kyle Moorman, who departed Bleed the Sky in early fall to explore other musical projects.