East West

East West emerged in the mid-1990s as a hardcore rock outfit based in Orange County, California. Guitarist Mike Housen, guitarist and vocalist Mike Tubbs, and Bob Vergura—who handled drums, percussion, and vocals—started the band. After an absence of a few years in the group’s early period, Vergura rejoined in 1997, while bassist James Jenkins came aboard sometime afterward.

The quartet completed work on its debut full-length, Rachel’s Silence, in 1996. Tisumi Recordings handled production duties for the fourteen-track collection of hard-driving melodic songs. A self-titled follow-up arrived in 1998 and included the cuts “Prelude,” “Sydwinder,” “She Cries,” “Thru 2 U,” “Thorn of Rage,” and “Blame.”

Momentum built for East West by 2000. With two albums and several singles already released, the band attracted notice from MTV, which licensed tracks for the series Making the Video. Additional licensing placed material in Japanese television spots, Fox Sports broadcasts, the film Extreme Days, and PlayStation 2 titles. Amid the rising profile, the musicians began recording a third album while maintaining a schedule of club and festival dates throughout the United States.