DOOMSDAY VIRUS

in the beginning though currently based out of albany, doomsday virus was first conceived in the basement of a rat-infested buffalo, ny apartment building during the spring of 1998. what was intended to be n.dru's solo project was put on hold time and time again as he lent his assistance to several other buffalo area bands, most notably the now-defunct goth/industrial outfit known as "twilights mistress". it wasn't until he relocated to albany in the winter of 2001 that the gears really started to turn.

though currently based out of albany, doomsday virus was first conceived in the basement of a rat-infested buffalo, ny apartment building during the spring of 1998. what was intended to be n.dru's solo project was put on hold time and time again as he lent his assistance to several other buffalo area bands, most notably the now-defunct goth/industrial outfit known as "twilights mistress". it wasn't until he relocated to albany in the winter of 2001 that the gears really started to turn.

n.dru spent the next several months writing, recording and piecing together scraps of old material that had never had a chance to be completed before. along the way he met up with another local electronic musician named m@rk, who offered to help with the mixing and production side of things. finally, after nearly two years of working together on the project, the pair released the first official doomsday virus demo "the cries of all things left unsaid" on friday, june 13th, 2003.

being the first cd either of them had worked on exclusively from start to finish, the work was primative at best but was a step in the right direction. copies of the 10-song cd made their way around, gaining attention for the band and laying the foundation for things to come.

n.dru wasted little time in the months after the release of "cries" and set up shop in a new studio where he began furiously working away on new material. it was during this time that he was introduced to an old acquaintance of m@rk's from high school, a guitar player named j?hn. after a quick audition it was clear that j?hn was more than capable of picking up all neccessary guitar duties for the band and was immediately thrown in to the song writing process.


rise and dissent

a year into writing material for a "new album" it became apparent that a not-so-subtle sub-theme was rearing it's head in the subject matter of the songs being recorded. influenced by the state of world affairs, the band had a handful of politically slanted "protest songs" that really didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the new material. rather than tossing them all aside in favor of completing the album more quickly, the band decided to take a time-out from writing in order to put together a one off, limited-edition e.p. entitled "fallout".

released in october 2004, approximately one month before the u.s. presidential election, the 6 tracks comprising "fallout" conveyed an atmosphere of protest and dissent, as well as subtle introspection into the american way of life and it's place in history. and while the e.p. itself was originally little more than afterthought, it garnered far more recognition than anticipated.

thanks in part to the internet, through such sites as soundclick, myspace, and download.com, doomsday virus was now receiving requests for interviews, shows, and copies of "fallout" from fans as far away as the netherlands, south africa and malaysia. the tracks began popping up on club and radio playlists, and even some hatemail had finally started rolling in. the band was ecstatic.

even as "fallout" was being released n.dru and j?hn remained in the studio working towards their original goal of releasing a full-length album. new songs were written and by the time the new year has arrived, they were ready for mixing.

by this time m@rk had re-dedicated himself to a new cause, founding the industrial/ebm/goth label "static sky records". though he wanted to continue working with the band, the pace at which his new business was taking off was simply too much.


catastrophic success

instead n.dru was forced to take the reigns and mix the cd himself, which he did in agonizing detail. kicking things up yet another notch the band enlisted the aid of imperative reaction frontman, ted phelps, for the mastering of the cd. after months of grueling work, the 12 song monster "catastrophic error" was finally ready to be released.

it was at this point that the band recruited p4wl, a friend of n.dru's, to assume live keyboard duties. the newly formed lineup spent the summer rehearsing and reworking material from the first 3 releases, and in september 2005 the virus took the stage for the first time, opening for goth rock legends "the last dance".

doomsday virus would spend the next year and a half roaming around the northeast opening for such acts as psyclon 9, android lust, still life decay, and brainclaw, amongst others. the band's fanbase grew more quickly then they had expected, due in part to the sheer intensity and stage drama of their live shows. their newly found publicity soon landed them appearances on two compilations CDs. in late 2005 the band contributed the track "catastrophic error" to the static sky records "electro/r/evolution volume 1" compilation. shortly thereafter, "marked for deletion" landed a spot on the 2006 dark horizons radio compilation entitled "hunter's moon".

in early 2007, with the pressure of their newly expanded fanbase upon them, doomsday virus retreated to the studio and began work on new material, collaborating, for the first time, as a full band. old methods, and outdated machinery were thrown out the window in order to make way for this new, more collective, venture. doomsday virus was no longer simply a solo project gone mad, it had become something greater than any one person.


the raHb era begins

however, the new era refused to be ushered in quite as smoothly as the band would have liked. due to an increase in obligations in his personal life, and creative differences in the studio, j0hn parted ways with the band in july 2007, leaving a gaping hole in the heart of the virus. p4wl and n.dru knew immediately who their first choice would be to fill in as their new guitarist, and raHb was immediately recruited. though he was already considered to be a friend of both existing members of the band, raHb proved to be a better fit than anybody had predicted. in only a few short weeks he had learned the entire live set and had branded it with his own dark, dramatic flair. less than a month after his first rehearsal raHb took the stage, for the first time as a member of doomsday virus, and wasted little time winning over his new fans with his incredible stage presence and beautifully violent shredding. it was a match made in hell... one that virus fans everywhere could only dream of.

although the guitarist switch set the band back a few months in their writing and recording schedule nobody was complaining. they had essentially taken one step back in order to take 3 steps forward. the songs being written now are as dance-able as they are heavy, as dark as they are catchy, and still as genre-defiant as ever.

to kick off 2008, demo cd's entitled "you can't stop the virus" were pressed and made available to industry/scene insiders, stirring interest and serving as a reminder that the band was not as dormant as it seemed. then, in august of that year, doomsday virus spent some quality time at slaughterhouse studio (westhampton, ma) with engineer/producer mark alan miller (aka. "out out") re-recording the demo material along with several other tracks that would go on to become the new album. the yet to be named new disc will be mastered by none other than da5id din of corrosive audio (san francisco, ca) and will finally be made available to the public on halloween 2008!!!