We Came as Romans
We Came as Romans is an American metalcore band from Troy, Michigan. Formed in 2005, the band has gone through one name change and multiple line-up changes, and signed to SharpTone Records in 2016 after having been on roster of Equal Vision Records since 2009. They have released seven studio albums – To Plant a Seed, Understanding What We've Grown to Be, Tracing Back Roots, We Came as Romans, Cold Like War, Darkbloom, and All Is Beautiful... Because We're Doomed – and two EPs in 2008 titled Demonstrations and Dreams.
History
Formation, line-up changes and ''To Plant a Seed'' (2005–2011)
In August 2005, high school classmates Sean Zelda, Dave Stephens, Jonny Nabors, Mark Myatt and Joshua Moore formed a band called This Emergency. During the beginning years, Stephens performed the guitar, keyboards and backing vocals. They performed various shows throughout the Detroit metro area. In November 2005, the band parted ways with Nabors, and he was replaced by Sean Daly. In June 2006, Zelda quit to pursue education at the University of Michigan. In the summer of 2006, a close friend of the band and another high school classmate, Larry Clark, officially joined on vocals, and the band changed their name to We Came as Romans. After Clark left in late 2007, the band added Chris Moore as the new singer. According to Stephens, during this time, two songs – "Mouth to Mouth" and the original version of "Colours" – were released with Clark as the vocalist. According to the band's publicist at Equal Vision Records, Moore assumed duties of writing the majority of the lyrics from this point on.Their first EP, Demonstrations was sold at concerts and online through their website. Moore left in mid-2008, and the band introduced vocalist Kyle Pavone. During June of the same year, between EPs, We Came as Romans embarked on the V-Neck & Shaved Chest Tour with Close to Home. Afterward, their second EP of the year, Dreams, was released on December 2. It was produced by Joey Sturgis and was met with many favorable reviews. Two days before the release of To Plant a Seed, We Came as Romans concluded support of Oh, Sleeper and The Chariot on their co-headlined Here a Tour, There a Tour, Everywhere a Tour Tour tour, which took place between September and November 2009.
To Plant a Seed, the band's first full-length album, was released on November 3, 2009. Like Dreams, this album was produced alongside Sturgis and features re-recorded versions of "Dreams" and "Intentions" originally from Dreams. We Came as Romans finished 2009 with the "Leave It to the Suits Tour" in November and December alongside I See Stars, Of Mice & Men and Broadway. Their first video single, "To Plant a Seed", was released on May 11, 2010. The band also appeared on the Punk Goes Pop Volume 03. compilation, released on November 1, 2010, with a cover of Justin Timberlake's "My Love".
We Came as Romans' second video single, "To Move On Is to Grow", was released on December 14, 2010, according to iTunes. The album's title track, "To Plant a Seed", appeared on Equal Vision Records Presents: New Sounds 2011, released on December 21, 2010, on iTunes. On January 6, 2011, the band's label, Equal Vision Records, announced that To Plant a Seed would be re-released, including the new single "To Move On Is to Grow", as a CD/DVD deluxe version. The DVD includes 38 minutes of exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, live performances from their recent United States shows, 2010 tours, and a new music video for "To Move on Is to Grow". To Plant a Seed'' made a big debut on the Billboard charts, reaching No. 6 on Top Heatseekers, No. 25 on Top Independent and No. 175 on the Top 200 charts.
''Understanding What We've Grown to Be'' (2011–2013)
Recording for the follow-up of To Plant a Seed was scheduled for two sessions in 2011: February 16 through March 10, and May 16 through June 23. According to We Came as Romans' label, Equal Vision Records, "The band is currently writing for their sophomore full-length album, which they will be recording with Joey Sturgis between tours and is expected to see a fall 2011 release date." In an interview with Brian Walsh, a Monster Energy Pit reporter for Warped Tour 2011, Joshua Moore confirmed that their second album is indeed all planned out and they will be entering the studio before embarking on Warped Tour. During this time, We Came as Romans appeared in the No. 25 issue of Substream Music Press magazine, and Dave Stephens appeared in Alternative Press magazine issue No. 227.2. The band was also highlighted in the Vans Warped Tour Official Program.Understanding What We've Grown to Be was finished and given a September 13, 2011, release date in North America. On June 22, 2011, the first single, "Mis//Understanding", was released via Equal Vision Records through YouTube, followed by the album's title track, "Understanding What We've Grown to Be", the next day. Both of these songs were bundled into a pre-order for sale on iTunes, which was released on July 5, 2011. On July 14, the cover art for the album was released via puzzle on the band's homepage. A deluxe version of the record was released by iTunes, which contained seven live tracks from To Plant a Seed in Sydney, Australia.
According to the band, "Musically and lyrically, Understanding What We've Grown to Be holds a much darker tone than their previous release, To Plant a Seed. While still maintaining the band's overall theme of positivity and brotherhood, the new material takes on a more straightforward approach to life's struggles and the challenges of growing up." On August 24, Equal Vision Records released the third single, "What I Wished I Never Had", also through YouTube. On August 28, the album was leaked unofficially by an unknown source.
Three days after its North American release, on September 16, Understanding What We've Grown to Be was officially released by Nuclear Blast throughout Europe. According to an Outerloop Management source, as of September 21, 2011, Understanding What We've Grown to Be reached No. 20 on Billboard Top 200, No. 7 on Independent Current Albums, No. 5 on Top Hard Music Albums, No. 10 on Top Current Rock Albums and No. 16 on Overall Digital Albums. According to the same source, as of September 28, 2011, Understanding What We've Grown to Be debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at No. 103. On October 16, We Came as Romans came in at No. 43 on Independent Albums and No. 22 on Hard Rock Albums. "Mis//Understanding" was officially released, exclusively by ArtistDirect.com, as the album's first music video on November 11 and later via iTunes on November 22. It was the first of a three-part series of music videos for songs off the album – the second video, for "Just Keep Breathing", was released on December 16, via Livestream.com, and later on iTunes on July 17, 2012, and the third video, for "Understanding What We've Grown to Be", was released on February 2, 2012, via Vevo, and later on iTunes on January 31, 2012.
According to the band's Facebook post on February 2, 2012, "The three videos we shot portray a person lost, confused and struggling to find purpose in life. He sees himself at his darkest in the first video, trying endlessly to find his way out. After going through a traumatic experience, he finds his way out and his eyes begin to open to a new journey of finding out what really makes him feel alive. Through this journey the man traces back to his childhood house, where it all began. Overwhelming feelings wash over him as he remembers the feeling he once had long ago. Now, with a sense of purpose, he embarks back into the world to take the path he should have taken long ago." The videos were filmed in Brooklyn, New York, in September with director Travis Kopach.
To begin 2012, We Came as Romans co-headlined a European tour – sponsored by Macbeth Footwear and Keep a Breast – in January and February with Alesana and special guest support from Iwrestledabearonce and Glamour of the Kill; they also played the Scream Out Fest, which was held February 17–19, in Tokyo, Japan. During this time, We Came as Romans appeared on the cover of issue No. 285.2 of Alternative Press magazine. On March 5, the band announced a free show to 500 local fans on March 7 at The Crowfoot in Pontiac, Michigan. They then headlined The Fire and Ice Tour – sponsored by Keep a Breast and MerchNow – in March and April with support from Emmure, Blessthefall, Woe, Is Me and The Color Morale, which included headlining the South By So What? festival on March 17 at QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie, Texas; the Houston We Have A Problem Festival on March 18 at the Verizon Wireless Theatre in Houston, Texas; and Day 1 of the Jamboree Music Festival on April 14 at Headliners in Toledo, Ohio. We Came as Romans also participated in the Pulp Summer Slam with Darkest Hour, Periphery, August Burns Red, Blessthefall and Arch Enemy on April 28 at Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City, Philippines, as well as Day 1 and Day 2's surprise of the annual Bamboozle Festival on May 18 and 19 at Asbury Park, New Jersey.
We Came as Romans was scheduled to support Underoath on their South American tour in May 2012 with additional support from Protest The Hero and Close Your Eyes, but it was canceled. They headlined a free show at Santos Party House in New York City on May 22 with support from Like Moths to Flames and Texas in July, which was broadcast in real time on LiveStream.com. They also headlined a show on June 21 at Peabody's in Cleveland, Ohio, and then played Rockapalooza on June 23 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Jackson, Michigan, alongside Woe, Is Me, Puddle of Mudd, Saliva and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. The band also played two dates supporting the mall-skate-demo-enthused Zumiez Couch Tour on June 24 in Chicago and June 26 at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with Set Your Goals. They also headlined Summerfest Rock Stage at Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 27.
File:WCAR NSD! Tour 2012 Cologne 2.JPG|thumb|We Came As Romans live in Colonge during the Impericon Never Say Die! Tour 2012
On April 18, 2012, We Came as Romans was announced as part of the Scream It Like You Mean It 2012 tour that took place between July and August alongside headliner Attack Attack! and with support from The Acacia Strain, Oceano, Like Moths to Flames, Close to Home, Impending Doom, Woe, Is Me, Abandon All Ships, Secrets, Volumes, For All Those Sleeping, The Chariot, Glass Cloud, At The Skylines, Texas in July, In Fear and Faith and Hands Like Houses. They then headlined a short Canadian trek from September 11–16 with support from Abandon All Ships, Skip The Foreplay and Ice Nine Kills. We Came as Romans also supported Falling in Reverse at Fright FestEVIL at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, on September 29 with Norma Jean, Texas in July, Born of Osiris, I, the Breather, My Ticket Home, Palisades, Visions, Horizons, I Am King, First of the Fallen and Dream for Tomorrow. On June 6, We Came as Romans were announced as the headliner for the Impericon Never Say Die! Tour from October 12–November 3, as well as a European trek with support from Blessthefall, Stick to Your Guns, For the Fallen Dreams, Obey The Brave, At the Skylines, The Browning and At Dawn We Rage. We Came as Romans extended their stay in Europe and played Russia on November 4 and 5, and closed out the year as a special guest on the Latin American Tour 2012 in early December with headliner August Burns Red.
On September 9, 2012, the band announced that they might release some "new music" by the end of the year. On September 13, We Came as Romans announced that their cover of "Glad You Came" by The Wanted would be included on the Punk Goes Pop Volume 5 compilation, which was released on November 6 and received its own music video that was released on November 13 via FuseTV. Guitarist Joshua Moore told FuseTV about the video: "We've always done really serious music videos, normally with storylines and a bunch of production, but for a while now we really just wanted to do a fun video. Just us hanging out and being ourselves, just being the normal guys that sometimes people seem to forget musicians are.
So we had a ton of fun filming with our friend Justyn , and we hope you enjoy viewing it as much as we enjoyed making it!" On December 4, iTunes released a pre-order for the Take Action, Volume 11 compilation, which includes a new We Came as Romans track titled "Fair-Weather", which was released on CD on January 8 and digitally via iTunes on January 9. On December 12, Equal Vision announced that another new song titled "Let These Words Last Forever" would be released on December 18, and a teaser of the track was posted on the label's YouTube page. This single was released via iTunes as scheduled and is featured on the deluxe re-release of Understanding What We've Grown to Be, which was released on January 8 with two additional songs: "Hope" and "The King of Silence".
All three additional tracks were produced and mixed by John Feldmann. "Hope" was released exclusively via MTV Buzzworthy on January 4 for live-streaming. On January 26, the band announced that a music video for "Hope" would premiere on January 31; it was filmed in New Hampshire on December 20 and 21, and directed by Dan Kennedy and Rasa Acharya. The song was also featured as part of two compilations – Equal Vision Records' New Sounds 2013, Vol. 2 - EP compilation via iTunes on April 9 and the 2013 Warped Tour Compilation, which was released on June 4 – and on March 13, it was announced as a feature on ESPN's college lacrosse programming.