Death Before Disco

Belgium's Death Before Disco originated in December 1997 under the name Pright as a hardcore act before adopting its present moniker in 2000 and undergoing repeated personnel shifts along with evolving musical directions. Stefaan Leleu on vocals along with guitarists Birger Finaut and Frederik De Moor carried over from the earlier group, drawing from Converge and Cave In while carving out territory that blended the metallic hardcore style of Poison the Well with the nu metal approach of the Deftones. In September 2000 bassist Nanou was succeeded by Antoine Cornet, after which the band tracked four tracks for a split release alongside fellow Belgian act Severance on Eye Spy Records.

Ahead of that split's appearance in June 2001, Death Before Disco sought to broaden its palette by recruiting an additional vocalist focused on melodic singing to offset Leleu's harsher delivery. Two attempts preceded the arrival of Jean-Pierre Mottin, and following another split—this one shared with California's What Lies Within—further changes occurred when Ace Zec took over drumming duties from Tijl Verhée and Leleu departed to resume his studies. Issued in January 2003 on Goodlife Recordings, the label with which the band had signed several months earlier, that second split coincided with the addition of bassist Yannick Dumarey and sole vocalist Ioan Kaes by year's end. The resulting five-piece unveiled its first full-length album, Party Bullet, in April 2004 after less than twelve months together, and two years later delivered Barricades via a worldwide licensing arrangement with Lifeforce.