Throwdown
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Throwdown formed in the summer of 1997, releasing their debut, self-titled 7 single that same year through Prime Directive Records. The lineup for that EP consisted of guitarist Tommy Love, bassist Dom Macaluso, singer Keith Barney, drummer Marc Jackson, and guitarist Javier Van Huss. 1998 saw the emergence of Throwdowns first full-length album, the blistering Beyond Repair, the product of a new partnership between the band and Orange County-based label Indecision Records. After the albums release, Van Huss was replaced by Brandan Schieppati. The following year, the band unleashed the Drive Me Dead 7/CD EP, also through Indecision. Schieppati was next to leave the band (to concentrate full-time on his other band Bleeding Through), being replaced by Dave Peters.
In 2000, Throwdown put out their sophomore album, You Dont Have to Be Blood to Be Family. They also recorded a tongue-in-cheek metalcore version of Sir Mix-a-Lots hit song Baby Got Back for Radical Records Hardcore Takes the Rap compilation, which also featured Candiria, Stretch Arm Strong, and the Movielife. Drummer Jackson was then replaced by Eighteen Visions skinsman Ken Floyd. The special relationship between Throwdown and the far flashier metalcore act Eighteen Visions is worth noting. Not only have the bands shared stages together on many occasions, but they have often shared members as well. Van Huss, Schieppati, Peters, Barney, and Floyd have all at one point or another been a part of Eighteen Visions, a band that, while straight-edge like Throwdown, has a decidedly separate musical identity, persona, and agenda.
Next becoming a part of the reputable Trustkill family, Throwdown resurfaced in mid-2003 with Haymaker. The album saw the bands fan base noticeably expand, and earned them a second-stage spot at 2004s Ozzfest. 2004 also brought the release of the DVD Together. Foever. United. Guitarist Love amicably exited at the years end, and the group soldiered on as a four-piece. Throwdowns follow-up, Vendetta, was issued in June 2005. They co-headlined nationwide dates with the Black Dahlia Murder in early 2006 before heading out as openers that spring for In Flames. A brief Warped Tour stint followed that summer. By this time, the bands lineup consisted of vocalist Peters, bassist Matt Mentley, drummer Ben Dussault, and guitarist Mark Choiniere.
