Born in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Broken Hope was a band determined to be taken
seriously. That is a common claim among bands but for these guys, it was a claim which
merits more than a second glance as the band has done much to justify their position in
the music world. While many of their compatriots continued to release the same album every
eighteen months, the song writing and musicianship on Broken Hope's releases clearly
defined their position in the death metal genre and in the genre's history books.
The early days of Broken Hope began in high
school with Jeremy Wagner, Joe Ptacek and Ryan Stanek . Hours of
jamming and hanging out led to mutual respect and subsequently, the discovery of mutual
goals. At first Wagner and Ptacek joined Stanek's former band, Crypt, but after a few
months the entire band walked out on the remaining guitarist to form Broken Hope.
Already aiming to stand apart from the crowd, they wanted to avoid any
typically cliche death metal name as well as the illegible logos which usually go with
them. Brian Griffin came aboard after the band recorded their first demo and started testing the waters on stage.
An above
average work ethic gave Broken Hope an edge that other bands rarely achieve. Thanks
go in no small part to guitarist Brian Griffin, whose production skills and recording
studio took the band far beyond the point where the album budget would run out, and
now he's in heavy demand from artists who have heard his work with Broken Hope
"We spend more time getting it right than most
bands do," he explains. "Rather than trying to pump it all out in two weeks we
spent a few months in the studio this time, and because I'm an engineer/producer there's
no time wasted trying to explain to an outsider what we want." Griffin goes on to say
"Sometimes after you've prepared a song in rehearsal it doesn't sound right on tape;
most bands aren't prepared enough to go back and change it but we don't settle for
mediocrity. It [our music] is too important to us and the fans of Broken Hope. If it
doesn't sound right we'll rewrite it until it sounds the way we want it to."
Success on the tape trading circuit brought
the band's demos to the attention of Grindcore Records, who released Broken Hope's debut
album, Swamped In Gore, in 1991. In spite of the strong sales, Grindcore allowed the
band's one year contract to expire and after a triumphant performance at Milwaukee
Metalfest VI, the band was inked to Metal Blade Records. In 1993, their second album (and
Metal Blade debut), Bowels Of Repugnance, was released. BOR was noted by many to contain
some of the most disturbing lyrical content ever recorded. Immediately garnering
mainstream attention the quintet was praised by everyone from international Metal
publications and tattoo mags to daily and regional papers like the Detroit Free Press,
Illinois Entertainer and The Milwaukee Sentinel-who even called the disc album of the
year. The addition of bassist Shaun Glass (formerly of Sindrome) brought an additional
element to the music, and with his song writing helping to relieve pressures of Ptacek and Griffin, Broken Hope was pushed that much harder to grow, achieve and excel. It was at
this time that the band embarked on their first national tour supporting Unleashed
experiencing a new high in record sales as well as publicity which would later, during
their next album, help them secure tours with the likes of Deicide and Six Feet Under.
Repulsive Conception expanded the boundaries of typical death metal through it's tempered
use of harmony, grind, doom and instrumentals. But with Loathing the band really came of age and
made a progression that was well received by the masses. Loathing also satisfied quelled previous critics of BH's integrity and songwriting capabilities.
After parting company with Metal Blade
Records and enjoying a successful tour headlining with Vader and Monstrosity in support,
playing in Chile with Sodom, and doing other headlining gigs, In 1997 Broken Hope had to
replace drummer Ryan Stanek due to personal differences. Bassist Shaun Glass also made a decision to move on and pursue other goals and now is the guitarist for J Records act SOIL. Soon after Shaun's departure the band signed a deal with Martyr Music Group in the US and was subsequently liscensed to Hammerheart Records in Europe. Larry DeMumbrum a long time friend and drummer for Brian Griffin's side band EmSinfonia was asked to record the drum tracks on the next full length
BH release entitled Grotesque Blessings. After the recording the guys found bassist Sean Baxter and a few touring drummers to complete the unit and they hit the road once again supporting GB with Malevolent Creation in the US and Macabre in Europe.
Just before embarking on the US tour Joe Ptacek decided to retire from touring and attend school.
With the main songwriting core of Griffin and Wagner still intact, the band began to write a follow up to Grotesque Blessings entitled Flesh Mechanic. 10 songs were written and the recording process nearly complete when Jeremy decided it was time for him to call it a day. Problems with finances, record labels and bandmember's schedules had finally taken it's toll on the band and soon after Jeremy's decision it was decided to put it to rest.
