HEARTSOUNDS Signs With EPITAPH RECORDS

Epitaph Records has announced the signing of the San Francisco-based punk rock group HEARTSOUNDS.

Formed out of the ashes of the now-defunct melodic death-metal band LIGHT THIS CITY, HEARTSOUNDS consists of founding members Laura Nichol (guitar, vocals) and Ben Murray (guitar, vocals) who after growing tired of banging heads decided to return to their true love...punk rock.

"Laura and I have always been first and foremost, punk rock kids as well as intensely dedicated fans of the genre," says Murray. "From the time before LIGHT THIS CITY started, our favorite bands were BAD RELIGION, STRUNG OUT, GOOD RIDDANCE, etc. It is actually the precision and technical proficiency of those kinds of bands that inspired us to push our abilities even further into the metal genre. However, upon getting burnt out playing such heavy music, we decided to return to our roots and finally write a punk record!"

Blending the speed and precision of heavy-metal influenced punk rock like STRUNG OUT and PROPAGANDHI, with the more melodic and mid-tempo sensibilities of HOT WATER MUSIC and BAD RELIGION, HEARTSOUNDS' music is a throwback to '90s punk rock and '80s thrash metal updated with a style all their own.

Epitaph owner and president Brett Gurewitz took notice of the band in late 2009 and immediately expressed interest in signing the band.

"Epitaph has always been one of our favorite labels, going as far back as to when Laura and I were 13 years old," Murray adds. "That being said, when Brett Gurewitz emailed us one day expressing interest in HEARTSOUNDS, we knew right away that we were the luckiest band on earth! From there, we flew down to L.A. to meet with everyone at the office, and were treated incredibly well.

"Everyone at the label is so impressive with their respective positions, and most importantly, they seemed to be genuine fans of their bands! That experience only further solidified our feeling that Epitaph would be the absolute perfect match for HEARTSOUNDS.

"With such an impressive roster of artists, both past and present, as well as years of experience creating the punk rock sound that directly influenced our musical formation, we couldn't ask for a better home!"

HEARTSOUNDS is scheduled to open for punk legends and labelmates BAD RELIGION at House of Blues in West Hollywood, California, on March 25 and House of Blues in Anaheim, California on April 2.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/heartsoundsband.