| Believer is a Christian thrash metal band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, that played a hybrid of thrash and progressive metal. Believer was known for its innovative use of symphonic elements in thrash metal. Their lyrics were described intelligent, dealing with topics of philosophy and social issues.
The two primary members of the band were vocalist/guitarist Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub, who were joined by several others after their 1989 debut album, Extraction from Mortality. The band was jointly signed to Roadrunner Records, and the Christian label R.E.X. Music. According to Allmusic, several mainstream magazines praised the second album Sanity Obscure.[4] They toured US and Europe with Bolt Thrower the following year. The third album Dimensions was GMA Dove Award nominated for "hard music album of the year" in 1993. Believer disbanded in 1994; however, in March 2005, Daub announced that he and Bachman reformed the band.
Believer has gained worldwide recognition for their boundary-breaking, artistic form of extreme metal. Joined by bands Cynic and Pestilence, Roadrunner Records pushed a prog-metal/thrash campaign with the three bands called, “The Breed Beyond” and solidified Believer among the ranks of unique, creative musical acts. The centerpiece of their 3rd release, Dimensions, was a metal opera that brought them great praise from fans and musicians worldwide and threw open the doors to collaborations between metal and orchestral musicians and sealed the band’s legacy.
Formed in the mid eighties by guitarist/vocalist Kurt Bachman and drummer Joey Daub, the Pennsylvania based Believer was destined to put their mark on the music scene. With the early line-up of Bachman, Daub, guitarist Dave Baddorf and bassist Howe Kraft, Believer secured a deal with East Coast indie label R.E.X. Music. The band’s debut album, Extraction from Mortality, was greeted with vast acceptance in the metal world and also drew attention from Roadrunner Records. The band’s second offering, Sanity Obscure, released by Roadrunner saw the band breaking new musical boundaries and establishing themselves as creative and experimental musicians in the metal community. With a new label and bassist, Wyatt Robertson replacing Kraft, Believer set out in support of Sanity with a European tour and an extended tour of the States with fellow thrashers Sacrifice and Bolt Thrower. Upon completion of the tour, Bachman and Daub parted ways with Baddorf and Robertson. With a new musical vision for their 3rd record, they again called upon friend and violinist Scott Laird, and his opera-trained sister, Julianne Laird, who both made brief appearances on previous Believer releases. Fellow musician and friend Jim Winters and cellist Glenn Fischbach rounded out the band and 1993’s Dimensions was the end result of this collaboration.
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