A Hero Remains to rock, inspire on summer tour

A Hero Remains

KNOXVILLE — Since 2007, A Hero Remains has been propelled by brothers John and Josh Mayor, the band’s only remaining original members. Despite full North American tours and an indie-label signing with Sancrosanct, the remaining lineup has been in flux ever since. However, with its current five-member roster, the Christian hardcore act has held intact the majority of the membership used to record its January release and is on the verge of a strenuous summer tour set to kick off next week.

Staying atop the hardcore scene is a tall order as many venues are hesitant to chance the liabilities of an all-ages show.

Try as it might, even with an inspirational message behind its bellows, A Hero Remains cannot disprove the belief that pubescent angst plus hardcore metal equals collateral damage. This “bad luck” experienced by all-ages venues might explain the fly-by-night status of Knoxville’s sporadic teen-welcoming show locales. This has limited AHR’s local gig scope predominantly to churches, skate parks and activity centers, but the band has managed to fill out its schedule by playing age-limited shows on occasion.

“My brother and I started the band in late 2007 when our previous band Ghost of a Martyr split up,” recalls drummer John Mayor. “Due to lack of venues in Knoxville we were forced to go out of town to find shows; therefore, our second show was in Berea, Ky. After a couple of years we have a lineup we can be proud of and fans that we are more proud of since we started.”

Lineup switch-outs caused AHR’s 2009 studio effort to draw out, but culminated with January’s release of “Theory of Avarice” on Sancrosanct Records.

The record was retooled to showcase its current players, and was recorded by local legend Miah at The Sound Lair. For this album the group will begin a summer tour that includes stops at the Ichthus Festival in Wilmore, Ky., The Cornerstone Festival in Illinois, and LiFest in Oshkosh, Wis.

A Hero Remains credits its label for the festival hookups, and though Sancrosanct caters to Christian metal, the band says that its message diverges from the norm.

“Our vocalist, Derek Bass, writes lyrics that pertain to our beliefs as Christians. But instead of coming from the standpoint of most contemporary Christian acts, we tend to come from a more militant point of view. I believe most metal acts that claim to be Christian are looking for an easy way into the music industry, but we do it because we believe the people who need to hear the message most don’t come to church but instead come to these shows. ”

“However, we wouldn’t call ourselves a Christian band per se,” John Mayor adds, “but more of an inspirational metal band since we write lyrics about standing up for what you believe in and holding your ground against all opposition.”

Keep up with A Hero Remains on tour, visit www.facebook.com/aheroremains.

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