One King Down was an Albany, NY, based metallic
hardcore band that played crunchy, danceable metalcore heavily
influenced by such scene contemporaries as Snapcase and Earth Crisis.
The group formed in the mid-'90s, centered around the brotherly team of
bassist Bill Scoville and guitarist Mike Scoville, along with guitarist
Matt Wood and drummer Derrick Van Wie. With their original singer, they
crafted a CD EP for Trainwreck Records, but it was with energetic
frontman Rob Fusco, and Equal Vision Records (for whom Bill worked for a
number of years), that One King Down really made their mark on the
international hardcore punk scene. The diminutive Fusco's growl and
lyrical espousing of the vegan straight-edge lifestyle (not all of the
band's members were vegans, or even vegetarians, but they were all
drug-free) garnered them attention from all over the U.S. and Europe.
Coupled with the band's stop-and-go rhythms and dancefloor-moving heavy
groove, Fusco's vocals were put to tape for the Bloodlust Revenge EP,
released by Equal Vision in 1997 and still regarded by most fans as the
band's finest recorded hour. The group toured with Erie, PA's Brothers
Keeper and other bands, selling several thousand copies of the record at
shows and through major independent distribution channels. They also
released a split EP with Spirit of Youth through Europe's Good Life
Recordings. Internal friction caused the ousting of Fusco shortly before
the band was to embark on a national tour supporting Earth Crisis and
Madball, to be followed by another trek with Hatebreed. One King Down
scrambled to find a replacement, inviting then Burn It Down vocalist
Ryan Downey to fill in for them. This union only lasted for two shows
before the singer-less One King Down returned home to regroup.
Eventually, they teamed up with Syracuse native Jon Peters, who lent his
vocals to the band's debut full-length album, 1998's God Loves, Man
Kills. After subsequent touring, Peters left the band and they split up
for a short time. Mike Scoville auditioned for the Foo Fighters, but the
job ultimately went to someone else. One King Down re-formed and Fusco
was eventually invited to rejoin. They played a few shows before Van Wie
left the group, with Wood switching to drum duties as the Albany band
pared down to a four-piece. One King Down released the Gravity Wins
Again EP in 2000, a collection of newly penned songs together with
older, previously recorded tracks. In 2001, after skipping an appearance
at Syracuse, NY's Hellfest, it appeared that the band was done once and
for all.
Tracklist