A Christian-oriented screamo quintet with some hip-hop and nu metal influences,
blessthefall started in Phoenix, Arizona, when high-school friends Mike Frisby and
Matt Traynor began practicing together in 2002. Guitarist Frisby and drummer
Traynor found singer
Craig Mabbitt and bassist
Jared Warth on the local baby-band circuit and formed
blessthefall in early 2004. Following a self-released three-song demo in the summer of 2005, guitarist
Eric Lambert completed the final lineup of the band. An increased local live presence, including many shows played with fellow Phoenicians
Greeley Estates, brought
blessthefall to the attention of
Greeley Estates' label, Science Records (an imprint of Record Collection), which signed the still largely teenaged band in 2006. Shows with bands like
Norma Jean and
Alesana followed before
blessthefall's debut album,
His Last Walk, surfaced in April 2007.
Shortly after the album's release, and in the midst of
blessthefall's debut European tour,
Mabbitt announced he was leaving the band to spend more time with his family. Later, he pleaded to be allowed back into the band, but was replaced with
Beau Bokan, formerly of
Take the Crown. (
Mabbitt later joined
Escape the Fate.) With
Bokan on board,
blessthefall toured before signing with Fearless Records in early 2009 and heading into the studio with
Michael Baskette to record their sophomore album,
Witness. They toured Australia and New Zealand in support of the album before Mike Frisby left the band early in 2011 to be replaced by
Elliott Gruenberg, formerly of Legacy. They skipped that year's Warped Tour in order to focus on recording their third album,
Awakening, which gave them their biggest hit to date, debuting at number 32 on the Billboard charts.
Recording began on their fourth album in April 2013 and they finally made it onto the Warped Tour to promote the release,
Hollow Bodies, which was produced by
Joey Sturgis and released in August of that year. Featuring appearances by members of
August Burns Red and
Stick to Your Guns, the album was well received by fans, and hit number 15 on the Billboard Top 200.
Blessthefall toured North America in 2014, and participated in the Warped Tour's 2015 lineup. The band's fifth full-length album,
To Those Left Behind, appeared in September 2015. Following several years of hard touring,
blessthefall netted a deal with Rise Records, which released their
Tyler Smyth-produced sixth effort,
Hard Feelings, in early 2018. ~ John D. Buchanan & Stewart Mason