"We wanted this to be a record of extremes," HURT frontman J. Loren says of the band's sixth album The Crux. "We wanted it to be its own musical world that the listener can step into, and then return to again and again, and find something new to discover every time."

Indeed, The Crux marks a vibrant creative rebirth for HURT, which has already earned a reputation as a band with a penchant for bold musical invention and unsparing lyrical insight. The new album finds the quartet—singer/lyricist/violinist Loren, guitarist Michael Roberts, bassist Rek Mohr and new drummer Victor Ribas—staking out exciting new musical territory to deliver a personally charged song cycle. The music's hard-rock punch is matched by Loren's carefully crafted, vividly introspective lyrics, which explore the darker margins of the human condition and tackle thorny issues of spirituality and self-knowledge.

The album, produced by Roberts and the band and mixed by John Kurzweg (Puddle of Mudd, Godsmack), offers 11 riveting examples of HURT's distinctive mix of sonic impact and subtle dynamics, as manifested in the songs' multi-layered instrumental settings as well as Loren's distinctive violin textures and expressive string arrangements. New songs "How We End Up Alone," "So When," "Eden," "Links and Waves," and "Numbers" (which gained significant pre-album airplay when a demo version was released to radio) incorporate soaring, anthemic choruses and spare, pensive passages and evocative widescreen soundscapes.

The Crux—HURT's first release on the Dallas based independent label Carved Records—decisively demonstrates how the band, after weathering personnel shifts and a split with a major label, has emerged intact as a dynamic, self-contained unit creating music on its own uncompromising terms.

"It was really important for us to get this right, so we took our time and put everything we had into it," Loren says. "I think it's the closest that we've ever come to capturing what we've been trying to capture since the band started."

The restless spirit that drives The Crux has been a constant throughout HURT's dozen-year career. Loren grew up steeped in classical music in rural Virginia, and was composing classical pieces by the age of 10. He was 15 when he formed the first lineup of HURT by cutting demos of his original songs and playing many of the instruments himself on the band's early recordings.

HURT's self-titled, self-released 2000 debut album and its 2003 followup The Consumation garnered considerable word-of-mouth attention, and the band's grass-roots success and growing reputation as a live act helped to win them a deal with Capitol Records. HURT's two Capitol albums, Vol. 1 (2006) and Vol. II (2007) plus the re-issue of The Re-Consumation (2008), a reworked, expanded edition of their earlier indie release—saw the band substantially expanding its national audience, spawning such rock radio anthems as "Rapture," "Falls Apart," "Ten Ton Brick," "Wars" and "Numbers." Tours with some of rock's biggest acts, including Staind, Three Days Grace, Alice in Chains, Seether and Breaking Benjamin, helped to further broaden HURT's uncommonly loyal and devoted fan base.

Despite their growing success, HURT's transition from D.I.Y. self-reliance to the mainstream music-industry machine proved to be an uncomfortable one in some respects, and by 2009, HURT was back in independent territory. True to form, the band chose to forge ahead and continue making music without corporate life support, and the band rose to the occasion to create the raw, unadorned Goodbye to the Machine, recorded quickly and with a minimum of production frills. That album helped to set the stage for the creative leap of The Crux.

"We put three years of work into The Crux," Loren notes. "We wrote and recorded Goodbye to the Machine really quickly. After that, I swore to myself that we wouldn't rush it the next time. So as Goodbye to the Machine was coming out, I began working on The Crux, and I decided that I would put my whole heart and soul and life into it.

"The first goal with this project was to return to the sound that people knew and loved about the band," he says of The Crux. "The next goal was to do a lot of self-exploration. There were a lot of ideas thrown around, and we stripped down every song idea and worked on those from scratch. It was a long process, but it was very satisfying. You really have to mess with things and experiment and push yourself. It was very much like working on a classical piece, fine-tuning it to make sure that it was as effective as it could be."

True to Loren's intention of putting his all into the project, the birth cycle of The Crux proved to be a personal challenge as much as a musical one. "What you're hearing on this record is definitely what I was feeling when I was making it, and what I was feeling is not the best place to be," he asserts. "I found myself displaced, to the point where I was unable to even talk to my family. I had broken just about every bond I could and I was at my lowest point, and there was nothing left for me to do but to work on this album. But sometimes that's where the best things come from. I think that everyone in the band actually delved into some form of insanity during the making of this album, and we had to pull together as a team and bring each other out of it. We were working on things in such depth that we all went a little crazy.

"This new iteration of the band is something that I'm very proud of," Loren continues. "These are the finest musicians I've ever worked with, and we've regained the sense of brotherhood that the band had in the beginning, with everyone united to achieve a common goal. That feeling is the best place to be, because I couldn't really open myself up if I didn't trust everybody in the group."

Prior to The Crux's release, HURT road-tested their new material and reinvented many of their older songs with their first all-acoustic tour, which allowed the band to reconnect with its fans in an intimate setting. The ability to pursue such projects is just one manifestation of the flexibility that comes with HURT's new independent status—a status that's much better suited to the band's iconoclastic nature.

"Being independent again has been incredibly liberating," Loren states. "I know that we're a hard band to classify or put into an easy genre, but I don't really care. If you're going to do something that's from the heart and from the soul, you can't betray it for the sake of convenience. You just have to do your best and be as honest as you can, and then hang up your hat for the night, try to get some sleep, and try to be even better the next day.

From the working-class streets of Baltimore, Maryland, Charm City Devils return with their newest release, SINS. The band's second full length effort finds them adding harder, edgier tones to their blues based roots. The result of the band's life experiences over the past few years, Charm City Devils new release features an aggression and energy that hits you right between the eyes. From the first note of "Spite" to the last cymbal crash of "Unstoppable," SINS showcases the bands power, directness and new found energy and intensity.
Frontman John Allen explains "When we came off of the road at the end of Cruefest 2, we all felt so pumped and excited to keep moving and growing. We were so blown away at the reaction that we didn't want to lose that creative energy. We started laying down tracks and ideas for this record almost immediately".

"Everyone has ups and downs – that's life. I've been a professional musician since I could carry my gear and have seen and experienced what this industry 'good and bad' has to offer. We wanted SINS to be deep with songs that people can relate to. On this record I wanted to put it all out there with songs about love, anger, revenge, lust and all the emotions that I was feeling. Expressing what I, and everyone in this band, had been through. These feelings are universal. They touch everyone and we used our experiences to put together a powerful statement that we believe listeners can connect with."

In August Charm City Devils went into Sound Kitchen studios with Grammy winning producer Skidd Mills (Saving Abel, Egypt Central). About the process, guitarist Nick Kay reflects, "Our previous record had been a compilation of songs written and recorded over a two to three year period. It was recorded in a couple of different settings and tracked by a few different people. This time we went into one studio with one producer to give the record a cohesive sound and direction".
"When it came to giving the record a title we wanted something that hit a nerve. We have five different personalities in this band and it can sometimes be a challenge to agree on one idea. The one thing we all could agree on is in one form or another we have all sinned. Some of us more than others" Allen chuckles…

Charm City Devils where discussing classic songs and if they should incorporate something into their set. John explains, "There were many ideas kicked around, but which one? "Man of Constant Sorrow" came up and we decided to give it a try. It's an incredibly powerful song but it was a challenge to develop and arrange it in a way that captured the essence of the song but would also ROCK! We all loved the version from "O Brother Where Art Thou?" Skidd and I built a foundation and with much tweaking and editing I think we delivered a great version of the song. The song transcends generations. It's a timeless classic and it's been around a long time and I'm excited to bring it to a whole new group of rock fans."
Not ones to completely forego their love of the blues, the band included the song "Devil Is A Woman" a subject matter speaking directly to the album title. Other songs like "Walk Away," "Start It Up" and "Love N War" showcases their influences and craft the music in a direction that shows depth and the commitment to making a great album.

Allen elaborates; "All You'll Ever Need" was written a few years back but never released. It's a slight departure from the overall record. We played it for a few close friends and the instant connection they had to the song made it clear we needed to put it on SINS. It's a great way to finish the record. For all the darkness, anger and vengeance that fills the album, this cut speaks to love. Maybe it's some form of redemption?"
"I buried a lot of feelings deep inside me and carried those conflicting emotions around for a long time. As I wrote this record it gave me the opportunity to bring those consuming emotions to the forefront and deal with them. I've always used music as an outlet for my feelings and have helped me get through some dark times in my life. I hope that these songs connect emotionally with our fans, old and new, and give them the same release from the burden of their SINS."