Hit The Lights

Formed during the summer of 2003 in Lima, Ohio, the emocore outfit Hit the Lights took shape when vocalist Colin Ross and guitarist Omar Zehery, both previously active in the short-lived Goodbye Session, joined forces with guitarist Nick Thompson, who had earlier played in The Summer Departure. Bassist David Bermosk and drummer Nate Van Dame, once a roadie for Hawthorne Heights, rounded out the initial roster. The group chose its name after a cut from Metallica’s debut album Kill ’Em All and quickly built a devoted underground audience through intense live performances. Recording sessions produced a 2004 split EP with A Day in the Life and Red Affair titled From Ohio with Love, followed by the self-released Until We Get Caught EP in 2005. The band then joined the Triple Crown roster, which reissued that EP ahead of the full-length debut This Is a Stick Up...Don’t Make It a Murder in 2006. Colin Ross departed in 2007, after which Nick Thompson assumed lead vocals for the 2008 album Skip School, Start Fights. Guitarist Kevin Mahoney came aboard the next year, contributing to the Coast to Coast EP. In 2012 the five-piece issued Invicta through the Sony imprint Razor & Tie. A 2014 agreement with Pure Noise Records led to work on a fourth studio album, Summer Bones, which appeared in March 2015 and was succeeded by the acoustic EP Just to Get Through to You in early 2016. Following the release of Summer Bones, Omar Zehery exited the group and Kyle Maite joined on guitar; Maite passed away at age 37 after a truck accident on September 20, 2022.