Anki

**Anki** is a American nu metal band formed in Atlanta Georgia in 1997 by vocalist Danny Cage and guitarist Hunter Hudson. The band is known for their 2001 debut album *Rise Up*. The band initially disbanded in 2008 due to conflicts within the band, but would reunite in 2014 just in time for that years Welcome To Rockville. They've seen success in recent years for being one of the surviving members left of the Atlanta nu metal scene. Since reformation, Danny Cage has been the only founding member left in the group.

## Anki

### Genres

Nu metal, Alternative metal, Groove metal, Post-grunge

## Members

### Current members

Danny Cage, Blanca Cabello, Ryan Kovach, Jake Brantley

### Past members

Sonya Brooks, Hunter Hudson, Daryl Rhodes

## History

Danny and Hunter met each other through The Recycler and didn't get along at first, according to Danny in a interview in 2001, it took a full month for them to fully get the band on the road. The two became friends over their love of music and recruited bassist Sonya Brooks and drummer Daryl Rhodes. They self-released their debut EP called *We Are Anki!* on December 31, 1999 which caught the eye of Turner Records who were impressed by the band and signed them to a deal in 2000. In January 2001, the band released their debut studio album *Rise Up* which debuted a groove-based alternative metal and nu metal sounding, which was praised for by some critics, however the band got heavy criticism for Danny Cage's huge ego. In response, Danny said in a interview that "The critics look at themselves in the mirror every morning and think "I'm super cool criticizing small bands!" and it's just wrong!". This response was seen as weak to many bands and critics with Splash's Pamela Taylor telling Danny to "Stop acting like Eric Cartman and get used to being a egomaniac". The band spent most of the summer of 2001 touring on the Boomeract Tour with the likes of Kitty Bobo, Kittie, Marilyn Manson, Korn and Staind. In 2003, the band released their second studio album *Ghost Owl* which had a huge post-grunge influence and was rather mixed than their previous album. But it did have a hit song called *Have to Be (Cold Blooded)* which charted the Billboard 200 charts in 2004. In 2005, the band released their third studio album *Special Delivery* which featured a huge mix between nu metal, alternative metal, groove metal and post-grunge. This album was acclaimed and had a hit song called *Blood Moon Werewolf*. By 2006, the band were starting to grow tired of Danny Cage's huge ego. In 2007, the band got into a heated argument with each other onstage. After the argument, Sonya, Hunter and Daryl left Danny on his own and Hunter said "Find some people that'll be friends with your douche canoe attitude because we're done!". Anki announced their breakup on MySpace in 2008 and remained broken up with Danny Cage focusing on his pop metal solo project and Sonya, Hunter and Daryl focusing on their rival project Simple Demons with Chris Daughtry. It wouldn't be until 2014 where the band would reunite with Danny Cage and new members Blanca Cabello on bass, Ryan Kovach on guitar and Jake Brantley on drums, this lineup reunited just in time for Welcome To Rockville 2014. Initially a one-off reunion, the band came back permanently with them playing more festival dates during the summer and signing a record deal with Earache Records. In 2015, the band released their fourth studio album *Club Seltzer* which the band toured for from 2016 to 2017. In 2018, the band released their fifth self-titled album which they toured for from mid-2018 to early 2019. In 2020, the band released their sixth studio album and first cover album *Maximum Overdrive* which featured them covering songs from the likes Billie Ellish (bury a friend), System of a Down (Mind), MGMT (Kids) and Green Day (When I Come Around). The band went on tour from mid-2021 to mid-2022. In 2024, the band is set to release their seventh studio album *Georgia Flood*.

## Members

### Current

Danny Cage-lead vocals (1997-2008, 2014-present) \*has 8 different Rode microphones\*, rhythm guitar (1997-2008, 2014-present) \*plays a EVH Danny Cage Signature Stripped Series Shark Black with Yellow Stripes guitar with KHDK Dark Blood pedal\*

Blanca Cabello-bass (2014-present) \*plays a Dean V Metalman bass\*

Ryan Kovach-lead guitar (2014-present) \*plays a B.C. Rich 7-string Zombie guitar with BOSS OC-3 pedal and Tech 21 SansAmp Classic pedals\*

Jake Brantley-drums (2014-present) \*plays a double bass 8 piece drum set by Pearl and ZBT\*

### Former

Sonya Brooks-bass (1997-2008) \*played a Fender 5-string Jaguar bass\*

Hunter Hudson-lead guitar (1997-2008) \*played a Jackson 7-string Warrior guitar with BOSS DS-1 pedal\*

Daryl Rhodes-drums (1997-2008) \*played a double bass 8 piece drum set by TAMA and MEINL\*

## Discography

*We Are Anki! (1999, EP)*

*Rise Up (2001)*

*Ghost Owl (2003)*

*Special Delivery (2005)*

*Club Seltzer (2015)*

*Anki (2018)*

*Maximum Overdrive (2020)*

*Georgia Flood (2024)*