Society's Finest

Society's Finest emerged as a Texas hardcore metal outfit defined by its working-class roots. The original five members—vocalist Josh Ashworth, bassist Joel Bailey, guitarists Rob Pruett and Kris McCaddon, and drummer Chad Wilburn—maintained separate day jobs while issuing their first album, The Journey...So Far, through Solid State in May 2000. Persistent personnel shifts disrupted the group across multiple years, prompting a 2003 hiatus that saw Ashworth perform live with Zao. After reuniting, the band secured a contract with Hand of Hope Records, which put out Love, Murder and a Three Letter Word in mid-2004; the record combined fresh material with selections from the 2000 EP Private Conflicts and Suicides. Their next effort, the darkly intense full-length And I, the Drunkards, arrived in June 2006 and drew widespread critical acclaim.