Column

Sunday Old School: Broken Hope

The worst prompting to feature a band in the Sunday Old School column is when a member of the group dies. While the passing in question, that of drummer, Ryan Stanek, was over a week ago now, it is no less apt to feature one of death metals lesser known veterans, Broken Hope. The band was founded in 1988 in the state of Illinois by Stanek, along with vocalist, Joe Ptacek and guitarists Jeremy Wagner and Brian Griffin, with bassist, Ed Hughes joining later on.

They released two demos before signing with Grindcore International, who released their full length debut, "Swamped in Gore," the following year. Generally, it's garnered something of a mixed response from death metal fans, with some citing is as an excellent release of the time, while others appear to claim that the structure of the music can’t support the heaviness brought to the table.

Nevertheless, it attracted enough attention to earn Broken Hope a record deal with the bigger company, Metal Blade, through which they released their sophomore album, "Bowels of Repugnance." It again earned varied reactions, love and indifference seemingly the most prominent, but was almost certainly seen as a step up, as well as expanding on the gory themes seen on the debut, with song titles such as, "She Came Out in Chunks," "Hobo Stew" and "Decimated Genitalia," a few of the gross examples.

Following this release, the band saw their first lineup change since becoming a signed band, parting company with bassist, Ed Hughes and bringing in future Soil guitarist, Shaun Glass. Glass made his recording debut with the band on the 1995 effort, "Repulsive Conception," which once again divided opinion amongst death metal fans, polarising to the point that some people consider it a classic while others say there weren’t enough good songs to make an EP out of.

Whatever the view, "Repulsive Conception" was a better seller than the two albums before it, as was their next full length, "Loathing," released in 1997. This album is perhaps their best received, with many agreeing that it’s something of a forgotten gem, venturing into more progressive territory, setting them apart from many other death metal contemporaries who tried something new and didn’t really get anything from their risk. The album featured a more mature current lyrically as well, with songs now being written about politics and sexual issues, rather than sexual weirdness such as "The Bowels of Repugnance" closer, "Felching Vampires."

Unfortunately, their next album, "Grotesque Blessings" did not quite receive the same fanfare. There certainly were listeners who greatly enjoyed the album, but others felt that it was lacklustre by "Loathing’s," standards and the technicality displayed wasn’t imaginative enough to be considered creative. It was also their first album for the new record label, Martyr Records, and ultimately their last, as rumours circulated that they were on the verge of breaking up, something which was finally confirmed three years later in 2002, with Wagner later elaborating that infighting as well as a lack of support in Europe were the biggest contributions to their disbanding.

The band lay dormant for a good while, though they did reconvene in 2007 to discuss a reunion, which tragically, never truly materialised, as in 2010, singer Joe Ptacek committed suicide by shooting himself at the age of only thirty seven. However, Jeremy Wagner did bring Broken Hope back in 2012, announcing that they were returning to take part in a North American tour headlined by Florida legends, Obituary. It was mostly a new incarnation of the group though, with Shaun Glass being the only other former member to take part in the tour.

Despite this move which likely disappointed a number of fans, the band were received well enough to carry on and in 2013, the band released their first album in fourteen years, "Omen of Disease," though Century Media Records, once again attracting mixed responses. In 2014, Broken Hope split with two members, including Shaun Glass and brought in fresh blood, while only a fortnight ago, original drummer Ryan Stanek sadly passed away, an upsetting event that has which saddened friends, family and fans and further removed the possibility of a reunion with the original musicians. It’s interested to see where Broken Hope go from here, but with a new duo now in the fold, it appears they have no intention of going anywhere, which for those who always loved the old guard of death metal, is a most welcome sight.

Broken Hope - "Incinerated"

Broken Hope - "Waterlogged"

Broken Hope - "Pitbull Grin"

Broken Hope - "Skin Is In"

Broken Hope - "Wolf Among Sheep"

Broken Hope - "The Flesh Mechanic"