TEARS BLOOD LIQUOR was a post-hardcore band developed by several well-known musicians. The final members included Jackdaw Cerakovik (producer, audio engineer), Shcardisyn 'Syn' Neruhomist (vocals), Hayes Elko-Kerkarrian (guitar), Anya Marquez (bass), Balık Zabal (vocals, guitar) and Jace Grayson (drums), who together gained a cult following for their heavy progressive sound. Although the group was a commercial failure at the time, they received a number of accolades and is cited as a landmark of the post-hardcore genre. Since their break up, the group spun out several notable projects Arrogant Krown, The Nudibranchs, DISH, and Tragic Lay.
History
Initial interest began when Jace Grayson and Balık Zabal, both members of Vainforce, became interested in creating a side project after the death of the Aurgerdy sibling's parents caused an indefinite hiatus. Zabal became fascinated by the raw talent of a virtually unknown singer he met at a small show in Crystal Castle. Shcardisyn Neruhomist, better known as 'Syn', had a frenetic passion and performed with a blistering intensity that was totally unfamiliar to any commercial sound. After recruiting the seventeen-year-old singer, both remaining Vainforce members were excited to introduce more foreign elements in the effort to create new sound. Zabal had been a long-time fan of Anya Marquez's work and convinced her, for the first time, to take part in a group that was not all female. Grayson was able to recruit 19-year-old Hayes from the popular speed metal group Cumskull after meeting several times at industry gatherings. Finally, Jackdaw was hired as an audio engineer and producer. Although younger members Hayes and Grayson disagreed with the decision to include a member with a pop-music background, Jackdaw eventually became an integral part of the group's dynamic.
Musical style and Influences
TBL's music was characterized by passionate singing, unusual song structure, indirect melodic themes, intricate guitar playing, and calculated use of tension, resulting in a distinctive sound reminiscent of avant-garde electronica, emo, punk rock, and psychedelic rock. Because their sound was so different from contemporaries their music was difficult for critics to place in a broader context, which caused the band to struggle commercially. While Zabal and Grayson's background in metal genres and Marquez's punk and prog rock sensibilities are clear, the group struggled to fully enmesh even after months of working. This resulted in regular disputes and over three hours of fully finished material being cut from their first release, wet. Jackdaw played a pivotal role in helping the group make necessary cuts and settle these disputes. Jace Grayson said of Jackdaw that 'he didn't play a musical instrument, but he did play the band. Without him, we'd just be a group of bitter people making noise'.
Break Up
Despite earning accolades from certain critics and other bands, the group is most famous for their turbulent relationships. Many of these were born from disagreements regarding the band's overall sound. Jackdaw Cerakovik, while often called upon to settle disputes, was also the cause of many. Grayson and especially Hayes disliked his input, feeling it was too commercial. Grayson and Zabal, the founders of the group, often felt their ideas were pushed to the side in favor of louder energies. However, these was far from the most extreme conflicts.
Leader singer Syn suffered from extreme depression as well as a host of other ailments left from his allegedly abusive childhood. This formed the main contention that would eventually split the project altogether. Initially fast friends with Hayes and Zabal, Syn began to draw further and further inward as his stage presence became the bleak, death-like mask which initiated their first successes. According to Zabal, Syn lost thirty pounds from the moment he was first recruited to the final release of wet. There was no doubt, however, that Syn's ability to showcase his own personal darkness was a familiar and major draw for the band's uncommon sound. Hayes pushed the boundaries of what Syn did; earning the group a cult following as the young singer performed acts of self-harm on stage that shocked a jaded audience. Zabal and Marquez began to actively seek help for their singer only to be met with 'indifference and calculated sympathies' (Marquez). By the final recording of teeth 'it was clear that [Syn] was unwell', 'he had no appetite, didn't sleep, looked like a wild animal had always just got him by the arms', Marquez said after the fact. 'We (Balık and I) were the only ones who had tried to help but by then it just felt like a matter of time.' Marquez would later withdraw this statement and cast a more positive light on Grayson and Jackdaw.
Soon after the release of their second album, Shcardisyn attempted suicide in the private home of Hayes Elko-Kerkarrian where he had been staying since the start of the recording. It is unclear at what time Hayes found the singer, though it has been suggested he did not initially attempt to save his life. After arriving at the hospital it was determined that Syn had taken an intentional overdose of pain medication. He spent several weeks in a coma, during which the remaining band members discussed their next steps. Hayes officially left before the group disbanded, claiming that 'there was no further to go with TBL if they shatter at the loss of one singer.'. The comment caused Marquez to fund a private investigation into Syn's suicide. Jackdaw distanced himself from the group, attempting to make a legal claim on the music for the record company Share Alike. Zabal and Grayson both claimed to have fallen into depressive states, though both began working on side projects almost simultaneously with Jackdaw's legal battle began. Syn recovered almost two months later, but after expressing no interest in either the legal rights to the music or the investigation of Hayes, both matters were settled privately. The music rights are now shared by Marquez and Zabal with any future re-releases or recordings to be distributed by the Nikdy Nepodat record label.
Legacy
After the fallout several members went on to create new projects with greater mainstream popularity. Anya Marquez reunited with former Iridus Tabo Spectrum band mate Kailani Wojewoda and drummer Solome Mooshian to create The Nudibranchs.
Balık Zabal did not return to his previous projects or reunite with old band members but like Jackdaw launched a solo project. His efforts produced Tragic Lay, a surprising sound from a musician well known for harsh, heavy, speed-based sound. By contrast, Tragic Lay has a much softer sound with classical and jazz elements that shows off the musician's range of skill and singer-songwriter ability.
Perhaps most notably, Hayes Kerkarrian's previous band Cumskull published a formal dismissal of Kerkarrian from their group due to his behavior prior to the fallout of TBL. He quickly joined another group based off of TBL's sound and re-worked it entirely, including the removal of the frontman and a change of name to Arrogant Krown. The group is now one of the most commercially successful alternative acts.
Discography
wet Duration: 40:45 Record Label: N/A Release Date: 04/27 teeth
Duration: 1:27:18 Record Label: N/A
Release Date: 07/08
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