It’s been quite a ride for Seattle rockers AIDEN, who, in just two years, have gone from obscurity to gracing magazine covers, winning awards and playing arenas with their heroes. Fueled by infectious dark punk and an infamously jaw-dropping live show, they have taken the world by storm…not bad for five kids from the rainy city who formed while two of them were still in high school.
After selling wiL’s car to fund their first self-released album Our Gang’s Dark Oath in 2003, the band built their loyal following one fan at a time, playing shows in their local area and making their own CDs to hand out at shows. It was one of these CDs that attracted the attention of Victory Records. The band signed to Victory in 2004, and released their second album, Nightmare Anatomy in 2005, recorded before Jake D and Angel had even graduated. Since then, the band has gone above and beyond their wildest dreams. With gracing domestic & international magazine covers, touring with HIM & 30 Seconds To Mars in the US, two sell-out tours in the UK, a whole summer on Warped Tour, winning Best International Newcomer at the Kerrang! Awards, and Best Newcomer at the Metal Hammer Awards, 2006 was just a hint of what is to become of this multi-talented band that always leave critics eating their words and new fans worshiping them.
In 2007, AIDEN was a part of Taste Of Chaos North American Tour alongside 30 Seconds to Mars, The Used, and Senses Fail, and played the main stage at the Virgin and Download Festivals. On August 21st, 2007 they unleashed their newest album Conviction. The album was a move away from the “horror rock”, and on to darker pastures, as the band expanded their sound with the help of producer John Goodmanson (Death Cab For Cutie, Bikini Kill, Soundgarden). The band finished the West Coast Invasion tour and remained on tour through the end of 2007, including an international run in November 2007 for The Taste Of Chaos International Tour with The Used and Rise Against.
The newest record shows this Seattle quintet has taken the next path down the road that will launch this group of misfits into one of the biggest rock bands of 2008. Vocalist wiL Francis says Conviction is “about loving the darkness that will destroy you, it’s about tearing yourself apart from inside, it’s about feeling that the world is crashing around you with no hope in sight and all you can do is laugh. It’s all about falling down then picking yourself back up and believing. Feelings that have eluded me for years now have bubbled to the surface and are finally seeing the light of day”.
In the beginning of 2008, Aiden toured incessantly with the likes of Farewell to Freeway, Medina Lake, and My American Heart. In the meantime, frontman wiL began a side project, William Control. His debut album Hate Culture hit stores October 28, 2008.