Still Remains

Still Remains emerged in 2002 as a metalcore band hailing from Grand Rapids, a modest city in Michigan’s upper Midwest. The group distinguished itself from countless peers in the genre by integrating synthesizers with the typical unison-riff guitar work, producing a sound that echoed the dramatic approach of European symphonic power metal outfits such as Nightwish. This hybrid style earned the band a dedicated audience across the Continent as well as among North American listeners drawn to the same fusion.

The original roster included vocalist T.J. Miller, guitarists Steve Schallert and Jordan Gilliam, keyboardist Zach Roth, bassist Evan Willey, and drummer Cameron Macintosh, the last of whom was quickly succeeded by A.J. Barrett. After issuing the self-released EP Dying with a Smile in 2003, the band delivered its first full-length album, If Love Was Born to Die, the following year. Schallert and Gilliam departed soon afterward, making way for Mike Church and Jordan Whelan ahead of the Roadrunner Records release Of Love and Lunacy in 2005.

Further lineup adjustments occurred once that record appeared. Barrett exited to join the Christian metalcore band the Showdown and was replaced by Adrian Green, while Roth and Willey left in 2006; keyboardist Ben Schauland and bassist Steve Hetland stepped in, leaving Miller as the lone remaining founding member. Following extensive touring throughout Europe and the United States, the band recorded its second studio album, The Serpent, with producer Steve Evetts in 2007.