Twelve Tribes

Based in Dayton, OH, Twelve Tribes are among the numerous metalcore bands that came out of the Midwest in the late ‘90s. Twelve Tribes (whose influences have ranged from Zao to Slayer to Hatebreed) are anything but subtle; exemplifying metalcore's harsh, ferocious and downright punishing nature, the Ohio residents thrive on sensory assault. Twelve Tribes have, at times, incorporated rapping; they have also hinted at the screamo style and flirted with the extreme vocals/clean vocals contrast that screamo (which is also called post-hardcore or melodic hardcore) is known for. But more often than not, lead singer Adam Jackson favors tortured screaming over clean vocals--and at the end of the day, Twelve Tribes' work should be categorized as metalcore, not screamo. Stylistically, they have a lot more in common with Throwdown, Every Time I Die, Deadsoil, Rotten Sound and Himsa than they do with screamo units like From Autumn to Ashes, Nora and Motion Picture Demise. Formed in 1997, Twelve Tribes' original lineup included, among others, lead singer Adam Jackson, guitarist Andrew Corpus and bassist Jason Thompson (who has long since left the band and joined a Dayton-based group called Waking Kills the Dream). The first thing Twelve Tribes recorded in 1997 (when Jackson and Corpus were still in high school) was a self-titled demo. The metalheads had been together about a year when they recorded their second demo, Two Cleft Tongues, which included drummer Alex Vernon (whose other associations have included the K10 Prospect, the Courage Crew and Red Roses for a Blue Lady) and caught to the attention of Eulogy Recordings (a small independent label based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL). Although Twelve Tribes sold copies of Two Cleft Tongues at their Dayton shows in 1998, their first...