Damien Moyal
Damien Zev Moyal is an American vocalist, lyricist, musician, songwriter, and designer. Born in Amstelveen, North Holland, Netherlands, he moved to the United States as a child and grew up in Miami, Florida, where he notably fronted such hardcore punk, metallic hardcore, and melodic hardcore bands as Shai Hulud, As Friends Rust, Morning Again, Culture, Bird of Ill Omen, and Bridgeburne R. Moyal has been based in Ann Arbor, Michigan since 2006, and is the founding member of the semi-eponymously named gothic rock/post-punk band Damien Done.
Moyal's early musical projects include the hardcore punk act U.S. Decline, the hardcore group Insist, the metallic hardcore band Reach, and the groove metal project HandOverFist. He next joined established vegan straight edge metallic hardcore band Culture, which he fronted from 1994 to 1995, then again from 1996 to 1998, recording music for such record labels as Uprising Records, Good Life Recordings, Toybox Records, and Conquer the World Records. Moyal later took part of Culture's reunion from 2012 to 2016, which saw material released through Eulogy Recordings. Following his first exit from Culture in 1995, he co-founded the melodic metallic hardcore band Shai Hulud, participating in its demo recording and helping the band get signed to Revelation Records. Moyal's vocal and lyrical contributions to Shai Hulud were released by such record labels as Revelation Records, Crisis Records, Asian Man Records, Sub City Records, Trial & Error Records, and Metal Blade Records.
While still in Shai Hulud, Moyal teamed up with ex-Culture members to launch the metallic hardcore band Morning Again. The band recorded material for Conquer the World Records and Good Life Recordings, which again lead to getting signed by Revelation Records. Moyal has since performed with Morning Again at a handful of reunion shows in 1999, 2002, and 2014. After quitting Shai Hulud and being fired from Morning Again, Moyal started the sludge-metallic hardcore band Bird of Ill Omen, but left before any studio material could be tracked. Moyal's lyrics were later used by Bird of Ill Omen's second vocalist for material released by Eulogy Recordings. While still in Bird of Ill Omen, Moyal joined the melodic hardcore side-project As Friends Rust, which broke up after recording a demo tape.
In 1997, Moyal relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where Culture had moved the year prior, and there reformed As Friends Rust, which quickly became his principal project for the next five years, releasing music through such labels as Good Life Recordings, Doghouse Records, Initial Records, Defiance Records, and Equal Vision Records. Moyal again reformed As Friends Rust in 2008, and the band has remained active into the 2020s. When Culture broke up in 1998, Moyal and several of its members teamed up with members of Assück to form the short-lived metal band Some Sort of Radio, and in 1999, he and members of As Friends Rust and Speak 714 formed the old-school hardcore punk side-project Bridgeburne R. Following his departure from As Friends Rust in 2002, Moyal founded the semi-eponymously named gothic rock/post-punk solo project Damien Done, which eventually expanded into a full band. After returning to Miami in 2004, he took part of the acoustic folk duo Goodnight at the End of the Tunnel with Kaleb Stewart, and the short-lived metallic hardcore band Best Wishes. In 2006, he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan and formed the DJ duo Old Man Underground. Moyal reunited with ex-Culture members in the hardcore band On Bodies, which released music through Eulogy Recordings and Demons Run Amok Entertainment. Since 2022, Moyal has been part of the death metal band Ekstasis with drummer Fred Estby, and the heavy metal band Caskette.
Background
Early bands: U.S. Decline, Insist, Reach, and HandOverFist (1992–1994)
Moyal's first band was named U.S. Decline, a hardcore punk group based in Miami, Florida, which he joined in 1992, at the invitation of his friend, drummer Steve Blanchard. Most of the band's members had previously played under the name Midget Stew, but with a different vocalist. When Moyal came into the picture, the new line-up named itself U.S. Decline, and also included guitarists Sal Lopez and Francis Alvarez, and bass guitarist Sky Rheam, with whom the vocalist would continue to play in his next two bands. Although the band recorded rehearsal demos with Moyal, U.S. Decline would not perform any shows, nor enter a studio to record a proper demo tape, until mid-1993, by which time Scott Pellicane had been recruited as lead vocalist.In 1993, Moyal and Rheam formed a heavier Miami hardcore band named Insist. The band also included future Makeshift and Sunday Driver vocalist and guitarist Alex Martinez, guitarist Manny Avila, and drummer Doron Lev. Insist played its first and only show on September 11, 1993, sharing the stage with U.S. Decline, Sloth and The Staggers. The band also recorded a rehearsal demo tape which was not circulated.
In October 1993, Moyal, Rheam and Avila left Insist to form a new metallic hardcore band named Reach. Reach also included drummer Louie Long and co-lead vocalist Joel Pelkey, both of whom had played in another metallic hardcore band, Organized Pain, with guitarist John Wylie. Reach played its first and only show on November 27, 1993, again sharing the stage with Sloth and The Staggers, and with Tension. In the summer of 1994, Moyal briefly sang in the groove metal project HandOverFist, which featured former Trauma members, guitarist John Paul Guy and drummer Alex Garbutt.
Culture (1994–1995, 1996–1998, 2012–2016)
Moyal joined established Pompano Beach, Florida-based metallic hardcore band Culture in September 1994. The band was formed by ex-Timescape Zero and Ego Trip guitarist Richard Thurston, along with drummer Joshua Williams and original vocalist Mark Mitchell in December 1993 and had already gone through several member changes, including three prior vocalists, and then included ex-Tension and Organized Pain guitarist John Wylie. Culture had also previously recorded and released a demo tape and a 7-inch vinyl single earlier in 1994, and the band was getting ready to enter Studio 13 in Deerfield Beach, Florida with producer Jeremy Staska to track a full-length.With Moyal newly on board, Culture embraced a vegan and straight edge identity and recorded its debut album Born of You with Staska. Unsatisfied with the first-recorded version, Culture wrote a handful of new songs and returned to re-record the full-length two more times within two months with Staska. Moyal was going through a difficult break-up at the time and implemented many of the depressive themes he was facing in the lyrics of the new songs.
The third version of the album was sent to Redford, Michigan-based hardcore record label Conquer the World Records, which quickly signed the band and released the album on compact disc and 12-inch vinyl in June 1995. Culture returned to the same studio in the spring of 1995 to record four new songs, intended for a series of Various Artists compilations and a split 7-inch vinyl with emo band Roosevelt for Vero Beach, Florida-based record label Intention Records. One of the songs from this recording session was used on the Laguna Beach, California-based record label Uprising Records' Various Artists compilation Ceremony of Fire.
By the time that Culture's Born of You album was released, however, tensions with guitarist Wylie had forced Moyal out of the band. The band toured in promotion of Born of You during the summer of 1995 with vocalist Louie Long, and afterwards re-recruited its original vocalist Mark Mitchell. Born of You became successful, and was reissued a number of times by such record labels as Good Life Recordings, Demons Run Amok Entertainment and Contraband Goods. Following a poorly-received tour in the summer of 1996, promoting the band's Deforestation EP, Culture relocated to Gainesville, Florida and asked Moyal to return as the band's vocalist.
With Moyal back in the band, Culture was immediately signed to Belgium's Good Life Recordings and Chicago, Illinois' Toybox Records. The band promptly entered Goldentone Studio in December 1996 to re-record two old songs with producer Rob McGregor, planned for a 7-inch EP. During the winter of 1997, Culture did a series of mini-tours on the east coast and midwest of the United States. In February 1997, Culture recorded three new songs at Goldentone for a split with Belgian metallic hardcore band Kindred. In May 1997, Culture returned to the same studio again to record three new songs for the Heteronome EP.
Culture toured the United States during June 1997, playing such festivals as the Syracuse Hardcore Festival, in Syracuse, New York and the Indianapolis Hardcore Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. Culture then embarked on a three-week tour of Europe, including a show at Ieperfest in Ypres, Belgium, accompanied by Kindred in support of their split release and Heteronome EP on Good Life Recordings. Upon returning home, Culture's line-up changed, resulting with the departure of original guitarist Thurston and drummer Jason Dooley. The band recruited former Morning Again bass guitarist Christopher "Floyd" Beckham and Roosevelt drummer Timothy Kirkpatrick. With the new line-up, Culture returned to Goldentone to record seven songs with McGregor; five re-recorded from Born of You, one new song and a cover of Judge's "Fed Up", intended for a release titled Reborn of You, or Mike Warden Can Suck It. The release was stuck in limbo at Toybox Records and was never properly released.
In November and December 1997, Culture was booked for a month-long tour of Europe with American punk rock band Gang Green, but were kicked off when the latter objected to playing shows with a straight-edge band. Culture instead performed at the Chicago Hardcore Festival in Chicago, Illinois and Gainesvillefest in Gainesville, Florida in December 1997. Culture was booked for a two-month North American tour with New York hardcore band Shutdown during April and May 1998, but their van broke down on their way to the first show and they had to pull out. Culture returned to Europe for a four-week tour in August and September 1998, which included another stop to play the Ieperfest in Ypres, Belgium, but broke up shortly afterwards.
Culture has since regrouped for a series of reunions, beginning in September 2012, followed by August–September 2013, July 2014, June–July 2015 and July 2016. In September 2012, a compilation of previously unreleased material and demos, titled From the Vaults: Demos and Outtakes 1993–1998, was released by Eulogy Recordings on compact disc and Ghetto Josh Records and New Ethic Record Co-Op on 12-inch vinyl. Twelve of the nineteen songs on the compilation feature Moyal on vocals. In March 2015, the band recorded a new EP for United Kingdom-based record label Carry the Weight Records.