The hardcore CCM supergroup
Stavesacre formed in 1995, with vocalist Mark Solomon (
the Crucified, Native Son), guitarist
Jeff Bellew (
Crucified,
Chatterbox), drummer Jeremy Moffat (
the Blamed), and bassist
Dirk Lemmenes. Heavy and leaning toward hardcore metal and thrash, their original sound had more in common with
Die Happy or
Tourniquet. The group released their debut album, Friction, in early 1996, followed a year later by
Absolutes. In that time,
Scaterd Few drummer
Sam West had replaced Moffat.
Stavesacre returned in 1999 with
Speakeasy with a new second guitarist,
Ryan Dennee.
Bellew left very soon after to get married, so
Stairwell guitarist
Neil Samoy took his place. A collection, aptly titled
Collective, summed up their period on Tooth & Nail, chronicling their slow transition from heavy metal to emo rock. By the time of their Nitro Records debut,
(stavz'a'ker), the band had fully transitioned into an emo band. The group released two full-lengths shortly thereafter: 2001's
Collective and 2002's
(stavz'a'ker). ~ John Bush