Mortal Treason

**Labels:** | * Flicker Records
 **Former Members:** | Richie RealElizabeth KimbroughAdam WrightTJ AlfordSteve RobinsonBruce Crisman

**Mortal Treason** are a deathcore band that originated in 2001. The band formed out of Huntsville, Alabama in the United States. The band disbanded in 2005, however reunited in 2014. The band has been on hiatus since 2016.

## History

### Origins (2001-2003)

Mortal Treason began in 2001, with Chase Nickens (Drums) and Josh Jarrett (Lead Guitars), playing music together in Chase's childhood home. Nickens and Seth Kimbrough had known each other, as they both enjoyed BMX Bikes. Kimbrough was a drummer by trade, however, he wanted to perform vocals, joining the band, shortly afterward.

The three-piece needed a bassist, which led Kimbrough to meet with Bruce Crisman, who was competing against Kimbrough in BMX competitions. Crisman was a guitarist, however, agreed to perform bass with the band. Crisman, however, lived in Portland, Oregon, flying out to perform with the band, which led to him departing eventually from the band. Richie Reale stated to Kimbrough he had wished to perform rhythm guitars for the band, which led to his induction to the band. Alan Sears soon would join as a bassist, as he had previously performed guitars in Kimbrough's previous band. On December 1, 2003, the band signed a deal with Flicker Records.

### Two albums and breakup (2004-2005)

On February 15, 2004, the band announced a tour with As I Lay Dying. The band premiered a video on February 21, on Headbanger's Ball. On February 24, 2004, the band released their debut album, titled *A Call to the Martyrs*. The album was considered to be a heavy album and a great first release. After the release, some lineup changes occurred. Sears, Reale, and Nickens departed from the band, leaving Kimbrough and Jarrett the only remaining original members. At the time of recording their debut, Kimbrough had met Elizabeth Lawrence, who was his girlfriend at the time. Soon thereafter, the two were married. Kimbrough and Jarrett hired her to perform Keyboards, as the band had always been interested in experimenting with the idea. On September 9, 2004, the band announced a tour with Staple, The Showdown and Chasing Victory.

The band then hired on TJ Alford on Bass, Adam Wright on Rhythm Guitars and Steve Robinson on Drums. They then recorded their sophomore album with this lineup. On July 19, 2005, *Sunrise Over a Sea of Blood* was released, to good reviews. While the album was not considered to be better than the former release, it still received fair reviews. Soon after the release, Kimbrough discovered that the band's label was attempting to make money off of him, as he had become a professional BMX biker and was featured in a video game. The band, publicly stated that "God has something else planned for us", while this was true, it was also because of the label problems. On September 11, 2005, Kimbrough released a statement, officially announcing their disbandment.

> "*Hey everyone, over the past several years you have been an inspiration, and a blessing to all of us in "Mortal Treason". It never ceases to amaze us at how encouraging, and how kind you all have been. For some of you, we've been able to return the favor. For others we pray that our music will do that in our absence. In a nutshell, we just want you to know how much we love you and are so thankful for your support. With that said, the time has come for us to say goodbye to everyone. Through intense prayful consideration and much soul searching, we've decided to part ways and follow the paths that Jesus has laid out for each of us. The decision was absolutely one of the hardest decisions that we've had to make because of how much we care for you, and for what God is doing in each of you. There comes a time when the planter is required to stop planting and move on to another planting ground to allow the seeds to grow that have already been planted. We've seen in some of your eyes the stirring that Christ has been doing in your souls, whether you want to admit it or not, we've seen it, and we want to encourage you guys not to run away from that, because if you do you will never understand the meaning of true happiness, and joy, and fulfillment. Please don't think this is the end of us completely. You will be hearing music from each of us for a long time to come, and for most of us it will be metal. Just like the Lord has allotted time for you to grow, he has done the same in us. We won't be shutting down our myspace. You can feel free to send us all the messages that you want, and we will still reply to them the best we can. Thank you again for all that you are, and all that you will become. God bless you for everything you've done, and for everything that you are about to do*"
> ― Seth Kimbrough[[source]]
>
>

### Other Projects and Brief Reunion (2006-2013)

After the band disbanded, the members went their separate ways, forming several different bands and joining other established bands. Seth Kimbrough formed Misery Chastain, another Christian deathcore band. TJ Alford would go on to join War of Ages, a Christian metalcore band, in 2007. Adam Wright joined The Glorious Unseen, a popular worship band and was present from 2008 to 2009. Sears focused on his family, while also performing in Bareknuckle, which formed in 2006 and released an EP. Reale moved to his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida and graduated Full Sail University and is a sound engineer. Sears and Reale were also both apart of a band called Water Runs Red.

Briefly, in 2007, the band reunited. The lineup consisted of the *Sunrise* era lineup, with Kimbrough on Vocals, Jarrett and Wright on Guitars, Alford on Bass, Robinson on Drums and Elizabeth on Keyboards.

### Reunion and Hiatus (2014-present)

Kimbrough took to Instagram on November 11, 2014, revealing that some reunion shows were in the works. On December 8, 2014, the band confirmed this, once they started a Facebook page. The band revealed the lineup of the band, with most of the original lineup returning. The lineup consisted of Kimbrough, Jarrett and Nickens on Vocals, Guitars and Drums respectively. Sears, however, performed Guitars, as that was his primary instrument. Clay Byrom, a friend of the band and former bassist for Misery Chastain, performed bass for the band. Reale could not return to the band as he had moved to Florida.

In March 2015, the band created a Twitter page. On May 2, 2015, the band played a house show, but the show was shut down by the police after one song. On June 16, 2015, the band announced an reunion show, for the date July 3, 2015. The band performed the show alongside Shade, Phylum, Suffer Life, Gatekeeper, and Rise of Alaric. During the show, the band premiered a new song, titled "Left For Dead".

The band remained silent throughout the remainder of 2015 and all of 2016, until November 5th, when Sears was interviewed by Indie Vision Music. Sears revealed that the members were too busy to finish the material at the time, with Kimbrough's biking career and Sears, Jarrett and Nickens focusing on their families. Sears stated that they would never fully disband. He also stated they would eventually release new material, which would be self-released.

## Members

**Current**

**Former**

## Discography

**Studio Albums**

* *A Call To The Martyrs* (2004)
* *Sunrise Over a Sea of Blood* (2005)

**Single**

* "Left For Dead" (2015)

**Compilation Appearances**

* *File Under Rock: EMI Music Fall 2005 Rock Sampler* (2005)
* *Flo Multizine Volume 9* (2005)
* *Flicker Rocks Harder. The Videos* (2005)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Beard, Mason (November 5, 2016). "Interview: Alan Sears of Mortal Treason". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved on April 18, 2018.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 KQP (April 22, 2015). "Seth Kimbrough's Return to Music". Vital BMX. Retrieved on April 18, 2018.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Mortal Treason - News". Flicker Records. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
4. ↑ Sinift, Andrew (February 15, 2009). "Mortal Treason, "A Call To The Martyrs" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
5. ↑ PhilHMF (June 6, 2005). "Mortal Treason - A Call To The Martyrs - Reviews". Encyclopedia Metallum. Retrieved on April 18, 2018.
6. ↑ "Mortal Treason". Godcore. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
7. ↑ Lex, Sean (July 6, 2005). "Mortal Treason, "Sunrise Over A Sea of Blood" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
8. ↑ Frazier, Dan (2005). "HM - Mortal Treason Review". HM Magazine. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
9. ↑ Pelt, Doug Van. (February 1, 2010). "Pick Of The Litter". HM Magazine. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
10. ↑ "The Glorious Unseen Discography, Artist Database, Lyrics". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
11. ↑ Sharpe-Young, Garry (2005). "New Wave of American Heavy Metal". Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
12. ↑ "Waters Run Red". RockDetector. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
13. ↑ Hampsterx570 (July 25, 2007). "Mortal Treason". YouTube. Retrieved on April 19, 2018. "Reunion Show."
14. ↑ "Classic - My Photos By Mortal Treason R.I.P." Myspace. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
15. ↑ JoshIVM (November 17, 2018). "Mortal Treason Reunion Shows in the Works". Indie Vision Music. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
16. ↑ "Mortal Treason". Facebook. Archive.is. December 9, 2014. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
17. ↑ "Mortal Treason (@demtreasonboys)". Twitter. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
18. ↑ "Mortal Treason". Instagram. May 3, 2015. Retrieved on April 19, 2018. "Ended up playing a house show last night. Even though the cops shut it down after one song, it was still a blast! Thanks to everyone who came out! Getting some dates together for some other shows asap. Be ready!"
19. ↑ "Mortal Treason on Twitter". Twitter. June 16, 2015. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
20. ↑ Carter, Nathan (July 3, 2015). "Mortal Treason (reunion!), Shade, Phylum, Suffer Life, Gatekeeper, Rise of Alaric". Facebook. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.
21. ↑ Arterial Pictures (July 22, 2015). "Mortal Treason - Left For Dead (New)". YouTube. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.

## External Links

* MORTAL TREASON - A CALL TO THE MARTYRS. Alabama DIY Music Archive. Retrieved on April 19, 2018.