A Life Once Lost for Tech/Extreme

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   A Life Once Lost were an American progressive metalcore band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 1998. Taking influence from Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, Meshuggah, Candiria, Black Sabbath and Pantera, A Life Once Lost performed a groovy, polyrhythmic brand of forward-thinking metalcore operating in tandem and adjacent to the nascent so-called djent movement. The band's original lineup was a revolving door of musicians, ultimately solidifying around guitarist Douglas Sabolick, vocalist Robert Meadow, bassist Richard Arnold and drummer TJ de Blois.
Making their debut with an independently released demo in 1999, A Life Once Lost honed their early style through the 2000 LP Open Your Mouth for the Speechless... in Case of Those Appointed to Die and the 2001 follow-up EP The Fourth Plague: Flies, showcasing a chaotic mathcore-derived sound with nods to melodic death metal. The EP drew the attention of Ferret Music, which subsequently signed the band; Arnold left in the group in 2001 to be replaced by Deathbeds bassist Nick Frasca, and de Blois stepped away in 2002 to join Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, with Justin Graves (formerly of Neil Perry and the Now) filling in as drummer.

A Life Once Lost's sophomore album, 2003's A Great Artist, displayed a dramatic change in approach, settling into the math-metal they would refine and alter over the course of their career. Their third full-length, 2005's Hunter, is their most well-known and highly acclaimed, tempering their signature style with more nods to Pantera's patented groove metal, and featuring Lamb of God lead vocalist Randy Blythe on the song "Vulture". Douglas' brother Mike briefly took over bass duties for the album, though Frasca reclaimed his position for 2007's Iron Gag LP, once again released via Ferret Music and with Blythe returning for an appearance along with contributions from Strapping Young Lad guitarist Devin Townsend and Circa Survive vocalist Anthony Green (who provided backing vocals for the band as far back as their demo). Iron Gag showed the band scaling back their progressive tendencies considerably - but not abandoning them entirety - for more streamlined, straightforward songwriting not dissimilar to Blythe's main project.

After taking a break from touring life and enduring further lineup changes, A Life Once Lost finally restabilised as the trio of Sabolick, Meadows and former Neil Perry drummer Jordan Crouse, releasing the self-produced Ecstatic Trance through Season of Mist in 2012, which saw the band striking a balance between their technical and groove metal sides while introducing an atmospheric bent inspired by Ministry, Kraftwerk, King Crimson and Killing Joke (whose song "Asteroid" was covered as a bonus track). A Life Once Lost disbanded in the summer of 2013.
Similar bands in the archives include Gizmachi, Gojira, Candiria, Botch, Coalesce and Textures.

"A Great Artist" (2003)
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdQQy2sPYJgffbBlqw_FWi9hyOHs5NRP0

"Hunter" (2005)
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mEhw-zst2gAHscuf_3cMaVAwGKNZyZjSA&feature=share

"Ecstatic Trance" (2012)
https://alifeoncelost.bandcamp.com/album/ecstatic-trance

"Iron Gag" (2007)
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kwRowEprClnSrHaaqDjCnwyCCHy5maBxM&feature=share

Edited by Gordy - May 07 2022 at 06:25

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Gordy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Folk/Eclectic/PSIKE/Metal/Post/Math Team Joined: January 25 2007 Location: US Status: Offline Points: 4615	Post Options Post Reply Quote Gordy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: A Life Once Lost for Tech/Extreme Posted: May 07 2022 at 06:05
	A Life Once Lost were an American progressive metalcore band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 1998. Taking influence from Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, Meshuggah, Candiria, Black Sabbath and Pantera, A Life Once Lost performed a groovy, polyrhythmic brand of forward-thinking metalcore operating in tandem and adjacent to the nascent so-called djent movement. The band's original lineup was a revolving door of musicians, ultimately solidifying around guitarist Douglas Sabolick, vocalist Robert Meadow, bassist Richard Arnold and drummer TJ de Blois. Making their debut with an independently released demo in 1999, A Life Once Lost honed their early style through the 2000 LP Open Your Mouth for the Speechless... in Case of Those Appointed to Die and the 2001 follow-up EP The Fourth Plague: Flies, showcasing a chaotic mathcore-derived sound with nods to melodic death metal. The EP drew the attention of Ferret Music, which subsequently signed the band; Arnold left in the group in 2001 to be replaced by Deathbeds bassist Nick Frasca, and de Blois stepped away in 2002 to join Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, with Justin Graves (formerly of Neil Perry and the Now) filling in as drummer. A Life Once Lost's sophomore album, 2003's A Great Artist, displayed a dramatic change in approach, settling into the math-metal they would refine and alter over the course of their career. Their third full-length, 2005's Hunter, is their most well-known and highly acclaimed, tempering their signature style with more nods to Pantera's patented groove metal, and featuring Lamb of God lead vocalist Randy Blythe on the song "Vulture". Douglas' brother Mike briefly took over bass duties for the album, though Frasca reclaimed his position for 2007's Iron Gag LP, once again released via Ferret Music and with Blythe returning for an appearance along with contributions from Strapping Young Lad guitarist Devin Townsend and Circa Survive vocalist Anthony Green (who provided backing vocals for the band as far back as their demo). Iron Gag showed the band scaling back their progressive tendencies considerably - but not abandoning them entirety - for more streamlined, straightforward songwriting not dissimilar to Blythe's main project. After taking a break from touring life and enduring further lineup changes, A Life Once Lost finally restabilised as the trio of Sabolick, Meadows and former Neil Perry drummer Jordan Crouse, releasing the self-produced Ecstatic Trance through Season of Mist in 2012, which saw the band striking a balance between their technical and groove metal sides while introducing an atmospheric bent inspired by Ministry, Kraftwerk, King Crimson and Killing Joke (whose song "Asteroid" was covered as a bonus track). A Life Once Lost disbanded in the summer of 2013. Similar bands in the archives include Gizmachi, Gojira, Candiria, Botch, Coalesce and Textures. "A Great Artist" (2003) https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdQQy2sPYJgffbBlqw_FWi9hyOHs5NRP0 "Hunter" (2005) https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mEhw-zst2gAHscuf_3cMaVAwGKNZyZjSA&feature=share "Ecstatic Trance" (2012) https://alifeoncelost.bandcamp.com/album/ecstatic-trance "Iron Gag" (2007) https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kwRowEprClnSrHaaqDjCnwyCCHy5maBxM&feature=share Edited by Gordy - May 07 2022 at 06:25

Gordy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Folk/Eclectic/PSIKE/Metal/Post/Math Team Joined: January 25 2007 Location: US Status: Offline Points: 4615	Post Options Post Reply Quote Gordy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 07 2022 at 06:08
	Like Gizmachi, this was a band I discovered during the halcyon days of Headbanger's Ball on MTV2 in 2005, and similarly I caught lots of progressive tendencies that intrigued me. They might be a long-shot (one could argue their early mathcore material is more proggy than Iron Gag) but I think they're worth a consideration. Edited by Gordy - May 07 2022 at 06:09

Necrotica Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Colaborator Joined: July 28 2015 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 3407	Post Options Post Reply Quote Necrotica Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: May 07 2022 at 07:02
	Thank you, noted And funny enough, they were already added to ProgFreak 17 years ago!
	Take me down, to the underground Won't you take me down, to the underground Why oh why, there is no light And if I can't sleep, can you hold my life https://www.youtube.com/@CocoonMasterBrendan-wh3sd