Won (As Friends Rust album)

Before beginning work on their first full-length album, As Friends Rust went through major line-up changes in late 2000.[11] The band had previously released three extended plays; The Fists of Time, a split with Discount (both in 1998) and As Friends Rust (in 1999), and had been touring in promotion of that material since June 1998. As Friends Rust had hoped to record a full-length album in late 1999 or early 2000, but were unable to compose enough new material.[11][12][13][14] Prior to leaving on a European tour in September 2000, guitarist James Glayat and drummer Timothy Kirkpatrick announced their desire to leave the band upon returning home.[15] However, tensions during the tour ultimately caused a much bigger change in membership, so much so that the future of As Friends Rust was questioned.[15][16]

Ex-As Friends Rust guitarist Peter Bartsocas was visiting Europe at the same time and decided to travel with the band.[17][15] When Glayat broke his leg during the first week of the tour and flew home early, Bartsocas filled the vacant guitarist position.[15][17] Several shows later, lead vocalist Damien Moyal lost his voice, leading bass guitarist and backing vocalist Kaleb Stewart to take up lead vocals, and in turn Bartsocas temporarily filled in as bass guitarist.[15][17] Moyal and guitarist Joseph Simmons called Floyd Beckham (Glayat's at-the-time roommate, and an ex-member of Morning Again, Culture and Crucible) from Europe, asking him to join As Friends Rust as their new guitarist upon their return home, much to Stewart's dismay, leading the latter to quit the band.[15][18] Moyal and Stewart were initially to stay over in Europe following As Friends Rust's tour, for a second tour with their other band Bridgeburne R, but Moyal was forced to find a new bass guitarist for both bands, as well as a new drummer for As Friends Rust.[15][19] Due to its membership changes, As Friends Rust had to pull out of playing Gainesvillefest in December 2000.[20]

The band briefly considered becoming a four-piece, with Simmons as sole guitarist and Beckham as bass guitarist (finding it easier to fill a single missing member on drums), and shortening the band's name to The Rust.[15][16] By early 2001, the band was actively writing material for their planned first full-length album, as part of their existing three-release recording contract with Doghouse Records.[14][16] The Doghouse Records contract called for one extended play (used up with As Friends Rust) and two full-length albums; The Fists of Time: An Anthology of Short Fiction and Non-Fiction was a reissue of previously-recorded material and did not count towards the contract).[21] The title of the planned album, Won, was chosen early on, as a motivator to persevere and overcome the difficulties the band was facing.[11] As Friends Rust was often told by their peers that they would never make a full-length album, they were therefore motivated to win that challenge.[11][14]

Moyal, Simmons and Beckham then recruited drummer Alexander Vernon (formerly of Twelve Tribes) and bass guitarist Guillermo Amador (with Beckham returning to guitar).[16] On February 27 and 28, 2001, As Friends Rust recorded demos of two new songs, "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You", with producer Rob McGregor at Goldentone Studios.[8][22] The band had previously recorded at Goldentone Studios three times, for songs released on The Fists of Time, their split with Discount and As Friends Rust. The demo recordings of the two new songs were used on Doghouse Records' limited edition 7" vinyl Fan Series, released in late March 2001.[8][22] As Friends Rust was one of only five bands bands selected by Doghouse Records for the Fan Series, the others being Chamberlain, River City High, Favez and Moods for Moderns.[23] As Friends Rust's Fan Series 7" vinyl was available on marbled blue or black colors and was limited to 1500 copies.[23]

Further line-up changes resulted with Zachary Swain (formerly of Rosalind, Adversary and Carlisle) replacing Vernon on drums in March 2001, and Thomas Rankine (formerly of Crestfallen, Bird of Ill Omen, Dead Men's Theory, Anchorman and Crucible) replacing Amador on bass in April 2001.[8] Within five months, the band had written enough new songs for a full-length album.[8]

Although As Friends Rust had been recording with producer Rob McGregor at Goldentone Studios in Gainesville, Florida for the previous three years, the band opted to record their debut album with producer James Paul Wisner at Wisner Productions in Davie, Florida; Wisner had recorded As Friends Rust's very first recording session in November 1996.[24] By recording at Wisner Productions, the band was able to obtain a fuller and more polished sound.[1][14][8] Moyal, Simmons, Beckham, Swain and Rankine spent sixteen days in early July 2001 tracking ten songs for Won.[8][25][26][27] The drum tracks were recorded by Mark Portnoy at Landmark Productions & Recording Studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while the rest of the instruments and the vocals were recorded, mixed and produced by Wisner at Wisner Productions.[25][26][27] The recorded material included new versions of "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You", newly-written songs "We on Some Next Level Shit", "Fourteen or So", "Austin, We Have a Problem", "Won't Be the First Time", "Perfect Stranglers", "Laughing Out Loud" and "Last Call", as well as "Ten" and an unlisted hidden track, both of which Moyal improvised lyrics to in the studio. Former As Friends Rust drummer Matthew Crum contributed additional percussion to the session, while backing vocals were provided by Beckham, Wisner and Further Seems Forever bass guitarist Chad Neptune.[25][26][27]

Won was originally scheduled for release in the early summer of 2001, but it was first pushed back to give the band more time to polish the songs and to book a two-week recording session at Wisner Productions.[16] Doghouse Records then planned to release the album in August 2001, but it was again pushed back, this time due to complications with the layout and packaging.[28] The delays also caused a missed September 2001 release, but Won finally hit the stores around the globe in October 2001.[8] By that time, As Friends Rust had been on the road for two and a half months.[29]

The artwork and layout for Won had already been designed by Moyal and Jason Page, with photographs by Nicholas Forneris, in June 2001, prior to the recording session.[8] The packaging for the 12" vinyl edition was a straight-forward cardboard sleeve with a twelve-page booklet,[8] but the packaging for the compact disc edition was upgraded to a six-panel digipak (with a matching twelve-page booklet), so the layout had to be slightly revised.[10] The yellow-background drawings included on the inside portion of the digipak were illustrated by Moyal.[8][25][26][27] Unlike As Friends Rust's other releases, Won deliberately did not include Moyal's lyrics in the liner notes.[8] Instead, the band posted the lyrics to the songs on their official website.[8]

Doghouse Records arranged for the licensing of Won to other markets where the band would be touring, namely Europe and Japan.[8] Japanese record label Howling Bull Entertainment, which had previously released As Friends Rusts' Eleven Songs on compact disc in October 1999, licensed the rights to release Won on compact disc for the Asian market.[8][9][10] The Japanese edition was first planned for a September 5, 2001 release, then pushed back to a September 18, 2001 release, but finally came out on October 5, 2001.[8][9][10] It included two bonus tracks: the demo versions of "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You" recorded in February 2001 at Goldentone Studios.[8][9][10]

For the European market, Doghouse Records licensed Won to German record label Defiance Records.[8][11] Defiance Records obtained the rights to put out the album on compact disc and 12" vinyl, releasing their editions on October 15, 2001.[8] The German 12" vinyl edition was available on light blue or black colors.[30] Doghouse Records also licensed Eleven Songs to British record label Golf Records, which released a compact disc version of the compilation on October 22, 2001.[31] Doghouse Records' own edition of Won was released on compact disc and black 12" vinyl in the United States on October 23, 2001.[7]

Following the band's membership changes in September 2000, As Friends Rust did not perform live again for eight months, until late May 2001.[8] While writing, recording and planning the release of Won, As Friends Rust booked shows to hit the road full-time.[8] The band planned to tour the United States and Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom and Japan throughout 2001 and 2002.[8] The band mostly played shows in Gainesville, Florida while preparing the release, with the exception of the Orlando Magic Fest in Orlando, Florida on June 15, 2001.[8][29][32]

Since Won was initially scheduled for release in August 2001, As Friends Rust began touring full-time in support of the release early that month.[29][32][33] The band first hit the road with a ten-day East Coast United States tour, spanning from August 4–12, 2001, accompanied by Gainesville, Florida-based punk rockers Vangard.[29][32][33] The first show of the tour was a stop to play at Furnacefest in Birmingham, Alabama.[29][32][33] The two bands next played up the east coast until they reached Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Philly Music Festival.[29][32][33]

Later in August 2001, As Friends Rust embarked on a three-week tour of the United States' East Coast and Midwest, spanning from August 23 to September 15, 2001.[29][32][33] The tour was initially scheduled to be shared with Miami, Florida-based hardcore band Where Fear and Weapons Meet, however, the band announced their breakup shortly after the booking in April 2001, citing the loss of their second vocalist Joe Caro (though they would eventually reform with a different line-up).[8][32] Instead, the first half of the tour was shared with Coral Springs, Florida-based emo band Keepsake, while the second half of the tour was shared with Pompano Beach, Florida-based emo band Further Seems Forever (with which As Friends Rust had originally planned to tour from September 15–30, 2001).[8][33][34] The tour was cut short, however, following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City.[8] As Friends Rust and Further Seems Forever cancelled the last five dates of the tour as a result, since they were playing in the vicinity of New York, culminating in New York City itself on September 14, 2001.[8]

After a month and a half off, As Friends Rust travelled over the Atlantic Ocean for a five-week tour of Europe and the United Kingdom.[11][35][36] The entire tour, which spanned from October 29 to December 5, 2001, was shared with Richmond, Virginia-based punk rock band Strike Anywhere (which had previously toured the United States with As Friends Rust during the summer of 2000).[11][35][36] Peoria, Illinois-based post-hardcore band Planes Mistaken for Stars joined the two bands for the first leg of the tour.[36] A highlight performance at London, England's Camden Underworld from midway through the tour, on November 16, 2001, was filmed and later released on video and DVD by British home video company Punkervision in December 2002.[37][38] As Friends Rust played its last show of the year on December 15, 2001 at Gainesvillefest in Gainesville, Florida.[39]

As Friends Rust took two months off touring from mid-December 2001 to late-February 2002. During this time, the band recorded another extended play, A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times, which was later released in May 2002 through Equal Vision Records and Defiance Records.[40][41][42] Tension within the band resulted with Moyal recording his vocals separately and co-producing the material without the other four members' presence.[43] Less than two weeks following the recording session, Moyal quit As Friends Rust, citing dissatisfaction with touring and wanting to focus on school and his then-fiance.[43][44] In retrospective interviews, Moyal also stated that the new members, Beckham, Swain and Rankine, were taking As Friends Rust in a more mainstream and polished direction, which in turn led to his loss of interest.[17] In an interview conducted shortly after Moyal's departure, Rankine revealed that frictions with Moyal had become increasingly problematic, especially since their recent European tour from October–December 2001.[45] Rankine pointed out that Moyal's attitude had been negative and holding back the band from progressing in a natural direction, and that by leaving suddenly, he had left the band in a difficult situation with record label and touring obligations to fulfill.[45] Moyal, nevertheless, encouraged the band to find a new vocalist and continue under the established name.[43][44] Moyal went on to form Damien Done, a solo project which eventually expanded into a full band.[46][47]

At the time of Moyal's departure, As Friends Rust already had several upcoming shows scheduled and was in the midst of booking an entire year's worth of tours to fulfill their touring obligations to Doghouse Records, Defiance Records, Howling Bull Entertainment and Equal Vision Records in promotion of both Won and the forthcoming A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times.[43][17] The band was also talking about writing a second full-length album and was in discussion with important record labels.[17][43][48] Beckham initially stepped up as temporary lead vocalist and former As Friends Rust guitarist Gordon Tarpley returned to fill the vacant guitarist position,[45] as the band embarked on a short American Midwest tour supporting Sick of It All, Shai Hulud and Thursday during the first week of March 2002.[43] This was immediately followed by a week-long American East Coast tour with Coheed and Cambria, The Stryder, Fairweather, Liars Academy, This Day Forward and Prevent Falls, which spanned from March 4–12, 2002, as part of the Equal Vision Records Presents: Spring Showcase 2002 Tour, and a one-off date opening for Agnostic Front in New York.[43][49] On the way back, the band stopped to perform at the Chaos Days Festival in Savannah, Georgia on March 15, 2002.[43]

Adam D'Zurilla (formerly of Short Order, Esteem, Die Tomorrow and Kumite) was finally welcomed as Moyal's replacement in late March 2002, allowing Beckham to return to playing guitar.[43][45] D'Zurilla's first show was at the Hell City Tattoo Festival in Columbus, Ohio on April 5, 2002.[43][50] As Friends Rust next embarked on a week-long American East Coast tour with Orlando, Florida-based metalcore band Bloodlet, spanning from April 11–19, 2002, and on their way back stopped to play at Gorefest in Miami, Florida.[43] In the last week of May 2002, As Friends Rust played a week's worth of Florida shows with New Jersey post-hardcore band Prevent Falls.[43]

As Friends Rust played in Canada for the first time during a two-week tour that spanned from May 28 to June 9, 2002.[43][51][52][53] The entire tour was originally to be shared with Montreal, Quebec-based punk rock band The Sainte Catherines, and covered nearly all of the country, but due to last minute changes, As Friends Rust ended up playing mostly newly-booked shows in Quebec and Ontario.[43][51][52] The Canadian tour was immediately followed by a full-scale, month-and-a-half-long American tour, accompanied once again by Prevent Falls.[51][52][54][53] Boston, Massachusetts-based post-hardcore band Garrison and South Bend, Indiana-based hardcore band Clark joined select legs of the tour.[51][52][54][53] The tour had a show in nearly every state, spanning from June 12 to July 28, 2002,[51][52][54][53] during which time As Friends Rust had the opportunity to play Krazyfest in Louisville, Kentucky,[55] and three Van's Warped Tour dates in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California.[56][53][54] Upon returning home in late July 2002, Beckham quit the band.[43]

As Friends Rust travelled as a four-piece, with Simmons as sole guitarist, for their month-long tour of Europe and the United Kingdom, which spanned from August 8 to September 11, 2002.[43][51][54][57][58] The tour included dates to play the Defiance Records Festival in Cologne, Germany, the Sommerspektakel Open Air Festival in Sarstedt, Germany and the Ieper Hardcore Festival in Ypres, Belgium.[59][58] As Friends Rust was supported by British pop punk band The Copperpot Journals on their ten-date United Kingdom leg.[58]

Prior to leaving for Europe, the band had already discussed abandoning the name As Friends Rust in favor of one that better reflected their new musical direction.[43][59] It was on their European tour that they began announcing to fans that this would be As Friends Rust's final tour and that the band would be officially changing its name to Salem upon returning home.[60][61][62] Although As Friends Rust officially played its last show on September 11, 2002 in Amsterdam, Netherlands,[59] the band would continue to be billed under its old name as additional tours had been booked well in advance into November 2002.[59][63] As such, Salem continued to play As Friends Rust songs and tour in promotion of Won and A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times for several more months.[43][63]

Back in the United States, Salem was supposed to go on tour with Florida emo band The Remedy Session, from mid-September to early October 2002, but the tour was cancelled.[43] Salem officially played its first show on September 28, 2002 at The Factory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opening for Further Seems Forever, though they were billed as As Friends Rust.[43][63] Salem was again billed as As Friends Rust during a tour with Fairweather, Liars Academy, Open Hand and Codeseven, and another with Shelter, Keepsake and Running from Dharma, which both covered the South Eastern United States and together spanned from October 7–21, 2002.[43][63][61] It was only once they began touring with The Movielife and Brand New, which spanned from October 28 to November 16, 2002 across the United States, that the previously-booked billing was corrected to feature the band's new name.[43][61][63][64] Upon return home from this tour, Swain quit the band and Salem properly began moving onto new things away from As Friends Rust.[43]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[65]
Allschools Network	[66]
antiMUSIC	[3]
IMPACT Press	Positive[5]
Indulged	[67]
Ox-Fanzine	Positive[68]
Pucknation	[69]
Rock Hard	[70]
Still Holding On!	[71]
The Palm Beach Post	Positive[1]
Waste of Mind	[72]

Won and As Friends Rust received a great deal of positive critical acclaim upon the album's release.[73] Shortly before to the album's release, The Independent Florida Alligator highlighted As Friends Rust in their August 2001 list Gainesville's Best Bands - The Hot 21.[74] In December 2001, As Friends Rust was named "Band of the Month" by East Coast Romper,[14] Indulged,[75][67] and antiMUSIC magazines.[3] Won was As Friends Rust's first release to enter CMJ New Music Report's charts, reaching #16 on the Radio 200 Adds Chart on December 4, 2001.[76] The album was also listed in the Best Albums of the Month for December 2001 by IMPACT Press.[5]

As with their past releases, As Friends Rust's genre was quickly categorized as melodic hardcore,[4][77] and emotional hardcore.[5][72] Though critics of their earlier releases infrequently categorized them as punk rock, the term was commonly used when writing about Won.[78][79] Other critics opined that the band included elements of indie rock,[71][79] pop punk,[68][69] powerpop,[3][72] post-hardcore,[80] and progressive hardcore.[81][82]

The band was often categorized as having Washington, D.C. hardcore influences[80] and the Gainesville sound,[2][6] but were praised for having their own original sound,[69] and for moving away from the local Florida hardcore scene and into a more mainstream and national punk rock scene.[83] Like in reviews of The Fists of Time and As Friends Rust, the band was quickly compared to fellow Gainesville melodic hardcore band Hot Water Music.[1][84] Other comparisons were drawn to Samiam,[85][86] Dag Nasty,[87][88] Avail,[86][87] Good Riddance,[89][78] Gorilla Biscuits,[70][90] Waterdown,[89][68] and Turning Point.[91][65] Some reviewers found that As Friends Rust's new sound came close to Stretch Arm Strong,[65] Shades Apart,[70] AFI,[2] H2O,[92] Radon,[93] Spoke,[93] Snapcase,[83] Armchair Martian,[87] Green Day,[94] The Jam,[94] The Clash,[94] and had elements of Depeche Mode.[81]

As Friends Rust's style on Won was described by critics as matured,[66][71] and a big step forward from their earlier releases, both in songwriting, sound and production.[95][66] Many noted that As Friends Rust was heading into a mainstream direction.[96][97] The Palm Beach Post wrote that Won was "hard rock that's dark and intense, a genre-bending release.",[98] while the Palladium-Item noted "As Friends Rust has been compared to Dag Nasty, Avail and Gorilla Biscuits. The Florida group blends punk/hardcore angst with indie-pop hooks and leads and its rock 'n' roll backbone."[90] Most reviewers noted and praised Wisner's production.[77][84]

The songs on Won were principally described as melodic,[91][97] catchy,[85][95] energetic[3][99] and aggressive.[69][70] Others noted powerful,[100] driving,[81] and catchy hooks,[101][6] less hardcore than their past release, and more geared towards melodic rock.[102][80] The album's softer and more ballad-type songs were single out.[96][102] Like on the band's past releases, critics again praised and singled out Moyal's lyrics,[67][99] describing them as critical and ironic,[102] honest,[103] innovative,[67] insightful,[101] raw,[101] and passionate.[101] His vocal delivery was documented as catchy,[101] assertive,[101] aggressive,[83][92] and with lots of heart and sincerity.[101]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25][26][27] All lyrics written by Moyal.

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25][26][27]

As Friends Rust

• Damien Moyal – lead vocals
• Joseph Simmons – guitar
• Floyd Beckham – guitar and backing vocals
• Thomas Rankine – bass guitar
• Zachary Swain – drums
• Guillermo Amador – bass guitar (Japanese bonus tracks only)
• Alexander Vernon – drums (Japanese bonus tracks only)

Guest musicians

• James Paul Wisner – backing vocals and additional guitar
• Chad Neptune – backing vocals
• Matthew Crum – additional percussion

Production

• James Paul Wisner – recording engineer, editor, mixer and producer at Wisner Productions
• Mark Portnoy – recording engineer at Landmark Productions & Recording Studios
• Dean Dydek – editor at Wisner Productions
• Rob McGregor – recording engineer, mixer and producer at Goldentone Studios (Japanese bonus tracks only)
• Damien Moyal – artwork and design
• Nicholas Forneris – photography
• Jason Page – photography, design and layout
• Kobi Finley – liner notes

• Won at Spotify (streamed copy where licensed)
• Won at AllMusic
• Won at Discogs (list of releases)
• Won at MusicBrainz (list of releases)