Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Despised Eyes

Today, we have this month's Defunct Local Band Profile for you guys, which is of course, our monthly look at one or two randomly selected defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands, so readers can learn more about them and check out what they did during their run! This month, we're looking at just one band for only the second time in 11 months, and while this band didn't get far off the ground during their late-2000s run, there's some familiar faces within! Read on below for this month's profile!
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Despised Eyes

Genre: Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Mathew Vincent* (Death Rise), vocals
Adam Brett (Skull After Betrayl), guitar
Willis Tholberg (The Dead Kings), guitar/bass
Mike Vincent* (The Bear Hunters, Skull After Betrayl), drums

(The * refers to band members whose last names changed during their run. Upon formation, Mathew & Mike's last name was Ladouceur.)

Audio/Video: Despite never progressing to the live stage, Despised Eyes have six surviving original demos on their MySpace page from their early months in 2008 that showcase a melodic & groove metal base, though unrefined from what was likely intended. The band's only surviving video is of their original trio lineup playing their song "I'm Myself" in November 2008, as edited into a music video featuring street hockey footage outside of a school, as well as the band playing in a jam room. The audio's scratchy, but it's well edited, all things considered, so check it out below!



Info/Analysis: Essentially the successors to the members' prior high school metal bands like Death Rise, Despised Eyes launched in the summer of 2008, and quickly began songwriting and jamming towards further band activity, though they never played a live concert under this name. After adding Willis Tholberg on bass in early 2009, the band announced plans to record a debut CD that summer, even announcing tentative new song titles, but new Facebook page updates didn't immediately follow. Despised Eyes were last visibly active in September 2010 when a member revealed on Facebook that they were back together and working on new music, but nothing publically came of that, and the band presumably dissolved by early 2011, with Mike and Adam surpassing Despised Eyes in prominence with their 2011 metal band Skull After Betrayl. Despised Eyes were a work in progress with shaky vocals & somewhat repetitive songs, but knowing the members' later band success, I believe they probably would have improved in sound had they posted material from their quartet era. Check them out above to see what you think!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series (which will be our last picking from our band links before adding defunct punk bands to the pool), we'll head to Sault Michigan next in our order, as through 100% random selection, we're looking at defunct hard rock quartet Elipzis! Fitting too, as their Muskegon successor band RedStone Riot are making their long awaited return to the stage soon as well, so look out for that profile on or around August 10th! Stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more news this week! Thanks everyone!