Conquer Divide

Conquer Divide is an American rock band signed to Artery Recordings[7] whose members come from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, with one former member coming from Serbia. Although their official biography featured on the Artery Recordings website states that they were formed in 2013,[8] the concept for the band had existed since about 2005 according to their producer Joey Sturgis.[9]

Conquer Divide[1]
OriginMichigan U.S.[2]
Genres
Years active2013–2018, 2020–present [4][5]
LabelsArtery
WebsiteConquer Divide on Facebook https://conquerdivideofficial.com/
MembersKiarely Castillo
Janel Duarte
Kristen Sturgis
Isabel Johnson
Samantha Landa
Past membersTamara Tadic
Ashley Colby
Sarah Stonebraker[6]
Suzie Reagan

History

The band was formed in Michigan by guitarist and songwriter Kristen Sturgis[10] along with guitarist and vocalist Suzie Reagan. The lineup initially began as a five-piece with the addition of bassist Sarah Stonebraker, drummer Tamara Tadic and singer Kiarely Castillo in 2013.[11] On March 1, 2014, Conquer Divide announced that they had recruited Liverpool based YouTube guitarist Izzy Johnson to become a member, making it a six-piece. A short time later, Suzie was let go due to irreconcilable differences and was replaced by Janel Duarte.[12][13]

On December 2, 2013, Conquer Divide released a lyric video for their first single "Eyes Wide Shut" via YouTuber BryanStars channel. Shortly after the release, they signed to Artery Recordings in mid 2014.[14] The band worked with producer Joey Sturgis (We Came as Romans, Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Blessthefall) on their debut self-titled album.[15] It features guest vocals by Denis Shaforostov (known by his stage moniker Denis Stoff) formerly of Asking Alexandria.[16] It also features a collaboration with Andrew Oliver of I See Stars on the song "Lost".[17] They later posted a video about the process of making the band and the album.[18]

On July 24, 2015 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada, their album was officially released.[19][20] The same day, the album reached #4 on the iTunes Metal Chart and ranked #8 on Billboard's Top HeatSeekers chart.[21] On May 24, 2016, the band released a video for their song 'What's Left Inside' which held steady on Billboard's top 40 Mainstream Rock chart for over six weeks, peaking at #23 in August 2016.[22][23] They were the first band on Artery Recordings to have a song in active top 40 rock rotation according to a statement made by the label's then president Shan Dan Horan on his personal Facebook page.

The band went on to support the release of their album on the Allstars Tour, which went across North America.[24] They also played festivals such as South By Southwest, South By So What and Treasure Fest supporting Crown The Empire, Beartooth, In This Moment, Motionless In White, Attila, The Color Morale, For Today, Sirens and Sailors, Like Moths To Flames, Marmozets, Chiodos, Palisades, Kublai Kahn, and Enter Shikari. The band has also toured across North America with Upon A Burning Body, Dance Gavin Dance, Iwrestledabearonce, Capture The Crown, Slaves, Outline In Color, Alesana, Dayshell, A Skylit Drive, Oceano, Myka Relocate, Within The Ruins, The Browning, It Lies Within and The Funeral Portrait. [25][26][27][28][29] On December 25, 2015, the band announced on their Facebook page that bassist Sarah Stonebraker would leave on good terms and that her replacement was Ashley Colby.[30] On March 10, 2016, vocalist Janel Duarte announced that Izzy Johnson was temporarily unable to tour with the band due to wrist surgery. She was replaced by former Hopeless Records's SycAmour member Blake Howard for one tour.[31]

During 2015, their music video for "Nightmares" was featured daily in Journeys stores nationwide. "What's Left Inside" was also featured nationwide in Journey's stores in 2016.[32] Guitarist Kristen Sturgis released a playthrough video of their single "Nightmares" via Guitar World on August 4, 2015.[33] The band has also seen success on Japanese charts after partnering with Japanese label Five One Inc in February 2016.[34] They released a lyric video for the unplugged version of "Eyes Wide Shut" exclusive for Japan, on May 24, 2016.[35] "Sink Your Teeth Into This" was featured in an NHL commercial for the Detroit Red Wings hockey team via Windsor-Detroit's 89x CIMX-FM radio station.[36]

On August 6, 2020, after a brief hiatus, the band released their first song since 2015, "Chemicals", along with an accompanying music video, featuring new member Samantha Landa (ex Nervosa) on drums.[37] Chemicals went on to receive critical acclaim and was hailed as "a contender for best hard rock / metalcore crossover of the year" by Alternative Press magazine, and was later picked up by SiriusXM Octane. [38] On August 14th 2020, they released a cover of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" which was picked up by SiriusXM Octane's Accelerator and landed the number 17 spot on their Octane Costume Covers Countdown Contest out of 100 active rock cover submissions. [39] [40] [41]



Style, influences and lyrical content

The band's style has been described as rock, metalcore, and post-hardcore. Among the band's influences are August Burns Red, We Came as Romans and Parkway Drive, while Demi Lovato is one of Castillo's favorite singers.[42] Others have noted similarities in the band's sound to older metalcore bands such as Attack Attack![3] which has led them to be labelled "scenecore" by MetalSucks.[43]

The lyrical content of the band's music is inspired mainly by personal experiences, which include dealings with prior band members, family, addiction, and relationships.[44]

Collaborations

Vocalist Kiarely Castillo collaborated with The Plot In You's vocalist Landon Tewers on his self-titled solo project. On December 14, 2015 they released a song together titled "Waste of My Time".[45] She also performed a cover of "Scream" by Michael Jackson with German band Annisokay [46] Guitarist Kristen Sturgis wrote a vocal melody for Miss May I's song "Turn Back The Time" from their 2015 release Deathless. She also did vocal engineering, gang vocals and translation work on Chunk No Captain Chunk's album Pardon My French in 2013.[47] In 2018, Kristen worked with popular YouTuber Meytal Cohen on an all-female rendition of Asking Alexandria's song "Into The Fire" for her new "Co-Lab" video series. [48] Kiarely traded places with Sleeping With Sirens frontman Kellin Quinn in November 2020 on a "Freaky Friday" episode for Joey Sturgis Tones where Kellin Quinn sang "Chemicals" and Kiarely sang "P.S. Missing You" by Sleeping With Sirens. [49] [50]


Awards

Their song "At War" was nominated for "Best Song" at the 2015 Relentless Kerrang Awards [51][52]

Members

Current[53]

  • Kiarely "Kia" Castillo – clean vocals (2013–2018, 2020–present)
  • Janel Duarte – unclean vocals (2014–2018, 2020–present), additional clean vocals (2014–2018, 2020–present), bass (2020–present),
  • Kristen Sturgis – rhythm guitar (2013–2018, 2020–present), bass (2017–2018), drums (2017–2018), lead guitar (2013–2014)[54][55]
  • Isabel "Izzy" Johnson – lead guitar (2014–2018, 2020–present),[55] bass (2017–2018), drums (2017–2018)
  • Samantha "Sam" Landa – drums (2020–present)

Touring

  • Blake Howard – lead guitar (March–April 2016, filling in for Izzy)

Former[53]

  • Tamara Tadic – drums (2013–2017)
  • Sarah Stonebraker – bass (2013–2015)
  • Ashley Colby – bass (2015–2017)
  • Suzie Reagan – unclean vocals, rhythm guitar (2013–2014), lead vocals (2013)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Tracks
2015 Conquer Divide[3] [56]
  1. "Sink Your Teeth Into This" (feat. Denis Stoff of Asking Alexandria)[57][58]
  2. "Self Destruct"
  3. "Eyes Wide Shut"
  4. "Nightmares"
  5. "Lost"
  6. "What's Left Inside"[59][60]
  7. "At War"[61][62]
  8. "Despicable You"
  9. "Heavy Lies the Crown"
  10. "Broken"

Singles

Single Album Release date
"Eyes Wide Shut" Non-album singles (later re-recorded for Conquer Divide) November 29, 2013
"At War" November 4, 2014
"Sink Your Teeth Into This" (feat. Denis Stoff of Asking Alexandria) Conquer Divide June 16, 2015
"Nightmares" July 29, 2015
"What's Left Inside" May 24, 2016
"Eyes Wide Shut" (acoustic) Conquer Divide (Japan exclusive) September 11, 2016
"Chemicals" non-album single August 6, 2020

References
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  2. Rumble, Darcy. "Conquer Divide". HM Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  3. "Album Review: Conquer Divide - 'Conquer Divide'". New Noise Magazine. July 23, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  4. "First Facebook Post". Facebook. March 24, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  5. "First Instagram Post". Instagram. June 19, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  6. Barkan, Jonathan (November 10, 2014). "Sara Ann, Bassist of Conquer Divide, Turned Me Into A Zombie (Interview)". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  7. Hercegova, Sandra (September 6, 2016). "Conquer Divide kicks major ass". The Concordian. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  8. "Conauer Divide". Artery Recordings. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  9. "Conquer Divide - Chapter 1". YouTube. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  10. "Joeyismusick". instagram. August 5, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
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  13. "Conquer Divide Interview: Band chats current tour and new album". Youtube. March 1, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  14. "Artery Recordings signs Conquer Divide". Lambgoat. October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  15. "All-Girl Metal Band CONQUER DIVIDE Reveals "Crazy Tour Stories" (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. August 15, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
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