Coming together from various avenues the five guys that make up Tooth & Nail Records’ newest signing, Nine Lashes, have one common thread: to stand up for what they believe and pour their hearts into everything they do.

Their different personalities and musical tastes are a creative melting pot that produces a hybrid sound that will take the listener from rock, to screaming guest vocals from Demon Hunter’s Ryan Clark (“Our Darkest Day”) to moving melodies. Their differences were once viewed as an obstacle to writing music, but they soon realized that working together and embracing these variances created just the right sound and combination for the album.

“We just began writing what we felt, and the diversity within our band translated itself right onto the record,” states Jeremy Dunn, vocalist.

The debut radio single “Anthem of the Lonely” is a band self-description about taking a stand for your beliefs even if that means that you are standing alone. Right now / Never want to leave this place / Right now / See it in a different way / So Right now / Even if you take me on / I’ll stand, the lonely / Stand, the lonely. This track is filled with strong guitar riffs and thumping grooves.

“Our hearts were poured into this entire album, and each song holds a special place for us,” shares Dunn. “The songs cover a variety of subjects from perserverance to a wake-up call. It is the world we view.”

It is the band’s perseverance and dedication to reach their dream of becoming a band that has kept them going through band member changes and challenges. Eventually Nine Lashes was discovered and brought to Tooth & Nail Records by label mate Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch.

“Trevor was given our independent album by a friend in our hometown. Unexpectedly, this was the show that he had to be rushed to the hospital to get his appendix removed. Because he had some downtime to recover, he had time to listen to our music. We thank Trevor’s appendix for being discovered,” laughs Jonathan Jefferson, guitarist.

The band’s name is derived from the whip used to beat Jesus – cat of nine tails. They state Isaiah 53:5 as their reminder that the wounds Jesus suffered was for our restoration, and the name Nine Lashes reminds the band of those wounds.

“We never want to forget what He did for us, and we hope that our band name beckons people to ask this very question – it is what we are all about,” Jefferson shares.

The label debut will be releasing in early 2012, but fans can catch the band this summer at major festivals Creation West, Cornerstone and Kingdom Bound.