* En anglais uniquement
Hailing from Dale City, VA (a suburb of Washington, D.C.),
Brave are a progressive rock/metal band founded in 1996 by brother-sister duo Michelle (vocals, keyboards) and
Scott Loose (guitar, keyboards), along with childhood friend and drummer Trevor Schrotz. Originally using the name
Arise from Thorns, this trio recorded two self-released albums in a goth rock vein before absorbing the aforementioned metal and art rock influences and metamorphosing into
Brave, augmented by second guitarist Juan Sumarriba, bassist Chris Welborn, and violinist Suvo Sur for 2002's
Searching for the Sun album, released through Dark Symphonies Records. The band would subsequently step up its local performance schedule (opening for visiting headliners like
Opeth,
Savatage,
Lacuna Coil, and even
Asia!), and released a follow-up EP named
Passages in 2004. But their next album,
Monuments, wouldn't emerge until four years later, by which time the
Loose siblings, Schrotz, and Sur had been joined by new members Matt Kozar (guitar) and Ben Kelly (bass). On a side note, throughout
Brave's existence,
Scott Loose has also been a member of doom band
While Heaven Wept. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia