Junius (band)

Junius is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that formed in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Joseph E. Martinez, guitarist Michael Repasch-Nieves, bassist Joel Munguia and drummer Dana Filloon. Thus far, they have released four EPs and three full-length albums. The band name is taken after Junius, the pseudonym of a political writer who lived during the late 18th century.

History

Formation and first years (2003-2007)

Junius's first releases were two EPs on Radar Recordings, Forcing Out the Silence and Blood is Bright.^[1] In 2007, they reissued the EPs on a single self-titled CD.^[2] This album was also released on Radar Recordings.^[3] During this time, the group cycled through several bass players before finding a permanent bass player, Joel Munguia, who is first credited on the band's third EP The Fires of Antediluvia which was released in May 2007.

The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist (2007-2011)

Their first proper full-length, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, was released on November 10, 2009 through the label The Mylene Sheath in the US^[4] and Make My Day Records in Europe.^[5] The album is inspired by the writings of theorist Immanuel Velikovsky^[6][7] and took the group nearly three years to complete.^[8] On May 20, 2011, it was announced that Junius would be covering the song "Firehead" by Hum. The song was included on the tribute cover album Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute To HUM, which was released on September 6, 2011. Junius released a split EP with the band Rosetta which contained the track "A Dark Day With Night" on September 27, 2011.

Reports from the Threshold of Death (2011–present)

Betray the Grave (official music video)

On October 25, 2011, Junius released their second full-length titled Reports from the Threshold of Death. It was released and distributed via Prosthetic Records. A spring 2012 tour through the UK, Scandinavia, and Europe in support of the band's sophomore release and a month-long US tour beginning on February 2012 followed thereafter.^[9] Junius released their first music video for the track "All Shall Float" which debuted on Alternative Press on February 4, 2012.^[10] And on April 10, 2012, Junius debuted their second music video for the track "Betray the Grave" on Noisecreep.^[11] In an interview with Blistering, the band stated that the follow-up to Reports from the Threshold of Death is currently in its "conceptual stages", and that they wish to continue to tour throughout 2012.^[12] After completing their 2013 North America tour, the band set to work on completing a new EP.^[13] It was announced on their official website that the EP would be title Days of the Fallen Sun and that it would be released in February 18, 2014 through Prosthetic Records. According to Repasch-Nieves, the band has begun the writing process for their third full-length studio album with the hope of a late 2014 release.^[14]

Musical Style and Influences

In a 2010 interview with Spinner lead singer Joseph Martinez explained that while members of Junius each have a variety of different musical influences and interests, they are all big fans of Hum.^[15] Speaking on the topic of The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, Martinez told Austinist "...I want [our music] to feel almost classical in a way - as classical as rock can be without being like repetitive post-rock. I listened to a lot of Philip Glass while we were recording." ^[16] While guitarist Mike Repasch-Nieves pointed out the difficulty in citing specific influences, he mentioned "Some of the stuff we all bonded over when we first met were bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, Cursive, Failure, Hum, Deftones, Mogwai, Hot Water Music, Tears for Fears, and At the Drive-In." in a 2011 interview with Prefix.^[17]

Discography

• Forcing Out the Silence (2004)
• Blood is Bright (2006)
• The Fires of Antediluvia (2007)
• Junius (2007)
• The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist (2009)
• Junius / Juarez (2010)
• Junius / Rosetta (2011)
• Reports from the Threshold of Death (2011)
• Days of the Fallen Sun (2014)

Members

Current members

• Joseph E. Martinez - vocals, lyrics, guitar, synths (2003–present)
• Michael Repasch-Nieves - guitar (2003–present)
• Joel Munguia - bass (2006–present)
• Dana Filloon - drums (2003–present)

Past members

• Ira Bronson - bass (2006)
• Keiffer Infantino - bass (2004-2006)
• Dave Soucy - bass (2004)
• Will Benoit- bass (2003-2004)

References

External links

• Official website
• Junius discography at MusicBrainz