Born in the northern suburbs (Gurnee) of Chicago, BROKEN HOPE is a band determined to be taken seriously. That is a common claim among bands but for these guys, it is a claim which merits more than a second glance as the band has done much to justify their position in the music world. While many of their compatriots continue to release the same album every eighteen months, the song writing and musicianship on Loathing is clearly leagues above anything Broken Hope has ever done before. With their last release, Repulsive Conception, in mind, that says quite a mouthful.

This incredible growth and their above average work ethic has given Broken Hope an edge that other bands rarely achieve. Thanks go in no small part to guitarist Brian Griffin, whose production skills and recording studio have taken the band far beyond the point where the album budget would run out, and now he's in heavy demand from artists who have heard his work with Broken Hope ,Joey Vera, Oppressor, Fleshgrind, and others. "We spend more time getting it right than most bands do," he explains. "Rather than trying to pump it all out in two weeks we spent a few months in the studio this time, and because I'm an engineer/producer there's no time wasted trying to explain to an outsider what we want." Griffin goes on to say "Sometimes after you've prepared a song in rehearsal it doesn't sound right on tape; most bands aren't prepared enough to go back and change it but we don't settle for mediocrity. It [our music] is too important to us and the fans of Broken Hope. If it doesn't sound right we'll rewrite it until it sounds the way we want it to."

The early days of Broken Hope began in high school when Jeremy Wagner and Joe Ptacek met up with Ryan Stanek at a party. Hours of jamming and hanging out led to mutual respect and subsequently, the discovery of mutual goals. At first Wagner and Ptacek joined Stanek's former band, Crypt, but after a few months the entire band walked out on the remaining guitarist to form Broken Hope. The name was taken from one of Wagner's poems (he also writes short stories and is working on a full-length novel); already aiming to stand apart from the crowd, they wanted to avoid any typically cliche death metal name as well as the illegible logos which usually go with them.

Success on the tape trading circuit brought the band's demos to the attention of Grindcore Records, who released Broken Hope's debut album, Swamped In Gore, in 1991. In spite of the strong sales, Grindcore allowed the band's one year contract to expire and after a triumphant performance at Milwaukee Metalfest VI, the band was inked to Metal Blade Records. In 1993, their second album (and Metal Blade debut), Bowels Of Repugnance, was released. "BOR" was noted by many to contain some of the most disturbing lyrical content ever recorded. Immediately garnering mainstream attention the quintet was praised by everyone from international Metal publications and tattoo mags to daily and regional papers like the Detroit Free Press, Illinois Entertainer and The Milwaukee Sentinel-who even called the disc album of the year. The addition of bassist Shaun Glass (formerly of Sindrome) brought an additional element to the music, and with his song writing helping to relieve pressures from Wagner and Griffin, Broken Hope was pushed that much harder to grow, achieve and excel. It was at this time that the band embarked on their first national tour supporting Unleashed experiencing a new high in record sales as well as publicity which would later, during their next album, help them secure tours with the likes of Deicide and Six Feet Under. Repulsive Conception expanded the boundaries of typical death metal through it's tempered use of harmony, grind, doom and instrumentals. But, it is with Loathing, however, that the band has truly come of age.

The luxury of just 3 months to write and record has allowed the band to fine tune and experiment with concepts and compositions to a greater degree than ever before. Wagner's lyrical approach has taken on a moodier story-telling aspect as opposed to the bile spewing carnage of earlier works, thus giving the music a more realistic and chilling effect. With Ptacek's vocal capabilities becoming more and more powerful with every album, those menacing words have begun to live a life of their own, off the page and onto the stage. The quality of Griffin's production is rivaled only by his fluid guitar playing and the rhythms and time changes so effortlessly woven throughout by Stanek and Glass serve in expressing an even greater sense of professionalism. And yet, for all their growth, the band remains as brutal, uncompromising and powerful as ever. The proof lies with songs such as "Translucence", "Skin Is In", "Siamese Screams" and "High On Formaldehyde." Their determination to make quality and progress as important as sheer brutality has spawned one of the heaviest and most musically proficient albums of 1997. "Some people may have dismissed us in our early days," grins Wagner, "but they'll change their mind when they hear the new album."

After parting company with Metal Blade Records and enjoying a successful tour headlining with Vader and Monstrosity in support, playing in Chile with Sodom, and doing a few other headlining gigs, Broken Hope has released drummer Ryan Stanek. Larry DeMumbrum a long time friend and drummer for Brian Griffin's side band EmSinfonia has joined to record the next full length BH release. Bassist Shaun Glass has also left to pursue other goals. With the main songwriting core still intact, you can bet this will not slow down the band. In fact you can expect the next BH release to far surpass any previous efforts. When asked his perspective on recent BH events Brian Griffin replied, "We are stronger than ever and will continue to do this for all those who stuck with us through the years. Our goal is for a great improvement over Loathing as well as to prove we never give up."

(Biography from the BROKEN HOPE homepage)