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We Are Harlot

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This article is about the artist. For the album, see We Are Harlot (album).
We Are Harlot
We Are Harlot performing live in 2015. From left to right: Brian Weaver, Bruno Agra, Danny Worsnop and Jeff George.
We Are Harlot performing live in 2015. From left to right: Brian Weaver, Bruno Agra, Danny Worsnop and Jeff George.
Background information
Also known asHarlot
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresHard rock
Years active2011–present
LabelsRoadrunner
MembersDanny Worsnop
Jeff George
Bruno Agra
Brian Weaver
Websiteweareharlot.com

We Are Harlot, often shortened to just Harlot, is a hard rock supergroup organized by singer Danny Worsnop, of Asking Alexandria and Jeff George who was formerly Sebastian Bach's guitarist. The lineup also includes bassist Brian Weaver from Silvertide and drummer Bruno Agra formerly of Revolution Renaissance. Formed in 2011, they released their first single titled "Denial" in 2014 and released their debut self-titled album on March 30, 2015 in the US (earliest release March 27 in Germany), which debuted in US and UK charts and sold 5,000 copies in the US in its first week.

History

2010–13: Formation

In multiple interviews Danny Worsnop mentioned this band and referred to it as 'Harlot', which he has explained that after touring with Asking Alexandria in 2013, he would be touring with this band and release an album, along with his solo album in the near future.[1] The band was formed 3 years prior to the events of 2014 after Worsnop and Jeff George formerly of Sebastian Bach, who shared the same lawyer Eric German, had met in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve of 2010, and within two days the pair bonded and moved in together as room mates at Worsnop's Beverly Hills home.[2]

After discussing their musical endeavours Worsnop invited Bruno Agra, formerly of Revolution Renaissance, and the three started to make demos based on Agra's former band.[3][4] This was initially going to be used as material for Worsnop's solo album, but once they met Brian Weaver from Silvertide, who became part of the band after they advertised the role for a full-time bassist, it grew into the band.[3][5] Before the band's first live show announcement the band was considered to be a side project due to Worsnop's commitment to Asking Alexandria, of which he was the full-time lead singer at the time and expressed that he couldn't have spent as much time with this project as he wanted to.[6]

2014–present: Signing to Roadrunner and self-titled album

Main article: We Are Harlot (album)

The band was announced as one of the acts of the annual rock festival Rock on the Range off 2014 under the name "We Are Harlot", making this their first time they ever performed in front of a live audience.[7] During this time the band announced that their album will be released in the summer the same year.[8] The band was initially named as simply 'Harlot' but Jeff George explains that due to copyright and legal issues, they remodelled as 'We Are Harlot'.[8][9] It was later revealed by the band that they would release their first single off their album on May 14 titled "Denial".[10] On signing to Roadrunner Records, the band said that:

"...Roadrunner has been there championing us from the beginning. When it came time to sign a deal all the labels came calling, but only one got the call back. Roadrunner Records’ foundations were built on great rock ‘n’ roll bands, bands that we love, and we are here to continue carrying that torch and shaking those foundations."[11]
The official logo belonging to the band.

After the band performed at Rock on the Range, they later played at various different festivals and tours, including; Rocklahoma in May, replacing the metal group Trivium due to the singer damaging his voice,[12] they were the support act for The Pretty Reckless on May 28 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas,[13] performed "Denial" as new bumper music at WWE Raw on August 18,[14] and also performed at 2014's Aftershock festival in September.[15]

In early January 2015 the band issued a statement via Rocksound Magazine that they will be releasing their debut album in March that same year.[9] The band officially announced their self-titled debut album in January after releasing their second single, Dancing On Nails, and made it available to pre-order for March 30 in the US.[16] Worsnop also announced his departure from Asking Alexandria, stating that he wanted to focus on this band more and also felt that Asking Alexandria would do better without him, also admitting that he no longer wanted to create heavy music anymore.[2][17] The album was successfully released and peaked in the US at 165 and in the UK at 58.[18][19] The album also sold 5,000 copies in the US alone within its debut week.[20]

The band was announced to perform at South Florida's 'Fort Rock' festival and North Florida's 'Rockville' festival in April 2015, and was set to perform at Rock on the Range for the second time along with a new festival named 'Northern Invasion' based in Somerset, both of which took place in May.[21][22][23][24] They also performed at both Download Festival, which served as their debut performance in the UK, and at Sonisphere Festival in Milan, Italy, which served as their debut performance in Italy in June.[25][26] In 2016 the band performed at Shiprocked on January 25 along with other bands such as Halestorm and Hellyeah.[27] The band are set to perform at the Rock USA Festival on July 16.[28]

Musical style and influences

From a live review based at their performance in Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, it was stated that they had a "...real rock attitude, from a real rock band." and complimented on Worsnop's vocal performance as he uses a mixture of hardcore growls and melodic vocals, Georges laid down classic and well-defined solos and called Weaver and Agras performances warm, stable, and uncompromising, overall calling the band a modern rock and roll act.[29] Worsnop and George have also expressed that while they do intend to introduce 80's style rock music to new generations, they also imply that they are not "...reinventing the wheel. Just pushing it forward." and compare their efforts to resurrect the genre with the likes of Halestorm, Rival Sons and the recent efforts of Black Veil Brides.[30] Rocksound magazine reported that the band sounds like the "offspring" of Mötley Crüe and Skid Row with influences from Airbourne and Heaven's Basement.[31]

In multiple interviews, the band has stated that they intend to be a rock and roll band, referring the likes of Aerosmith and Van Halen as their main inspirations and frequently states their intention to bring rock 'n' roll to a new generation.[2][3][8] Once they released their self titled debut album reviews compared them to hard rock acts such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, Meat Loaf, Queen and Van Halen, once compared to metal act Mötley Crüe. All reviews praised Worsnop's new vocal technique suited for the rock and roll theme along with Jeff George's skills on the guitar, and gained overall positive critical acclaim for their range in sound and a revival of 80's rock and hard rock.[32][33][34]

Lyrical style

When Worsnop was asked about the lyrical theme of their debut album, he stated that "The whole album is basically about sex!", explaining that it was a challenge since there is "...very fine line between sexy and cheesy." and went on to say he was fuelled by his love and lust when he entered a new relationship.[9] The band has also declared that they wanted to be happy and joyful with their music as a lot of rock music now is often focused around sadness, George himself explains that if you're going to play rock music "You should be bouncing off the walls!"[6]

Members

Photos of the individual band members.
  • Danny Worsnop
    Danny Worsnop
  • Jeff George
    Jeff George
  • Bruno Agra
    Bruno Agra
  • Brian Weaver
    Brian Weaver
Photos taken from their performance at Rock am Ring in 2015.

Discography

We Are Harlot discography
Studio albums1
Singles3
Music videos2

Studio albums

Title Details Peak Chart Positions Sales
US
[35] 		UK
[19]
We Are Harlot
  • Released: March 27, 2015
  • Label: Roadrunner Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 165 58 US: 5,000 in the first week[20]

Singles

Title Year Chart peaks Album
US
Main.
[36]
"Denial"[10] 2014
—
We Are Harlot
"Dancing On Nails" 2015 10

Other charted tracks

Title Year Chart peaks Album
US
Main.
[36]
"Someday" 2015 23 We Are Harlot

Music videos

Title Year Album Director
"Dancing On Nails"[16] 2015 We Are Harlot Unknown
"The One"[37]

Accolades

Nominated work Year Award Result ref
We Are Harlot 2015 Metalhammer Golden Gods - Best New Band Won [38]
We Are Harlot (album) Kerrang! Awards - Best Album Nominated [39][40]
We Are Harlot Classic Rock's Roll Of Honour Awards - Best New Band Won [41]

References

  1. ^ "Asking Alexandria Frontman To "Take A Few Months Off" To Focus On Other Projects" (News Feed). Musicfeeds.com.au. MusicFeeds. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2015. I'm gonna take a few months off from Asking and tour Harlot. It's gonna be a weird transitional period where I'm trying to figure out the right balance for the schedules.
  2. ^ a b c Bird, Ryan (May 2015). "Not Without A Fight". Rock Sound. No. 199. Rock Sound. Rock Sound. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Bienstock, Richard (17 March 2014). "Guitarist Jeff George Talks Gear and Harlot, His New Band with Members of Asking Alexandria and Silvertide" (Interview). Guitarworld.com. Guitarworld. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  4. ^ Jackie, Full Metal (5 March 2015). "Danny Worsnop talks the state of rock n roll + We Are Harlot's debut album". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  5. ^ Travers, Paul (17 May 2014). "The Great British Riff Off!". Kerrang! (1517): 21. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ a b Everley, Dave (May 2015). "We Are Harlot: Born To Rock". Metal Hammer. No. May 2015. Metal Hammer. Team Rock. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Denial Rocksound was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c Geist, Kelly (4 March 2014). "Interview: Harlot Guitarist Jeff George" (Interview). Nationalrockreview.com. National Rock Review. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  9. ^ a b c McLaughlin, David (February 2015). "The Sounds Of 2015: We Are Harlot" (Magazine Article). Rocksound (196): 42 and 44. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  10. ^ a b "We Are Harlot (Asking Alexandria) Sign With Roadrunner Records, First Single Due This Week". Theprp.com. The PRP. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  11. ^ Carter, Emily. "We Are Harlot stream brand new tune, denial, and sign to roadrunner records". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  12. ^ Bowar, Chad. "Trivium Cancel Handful of U.S. Shows After Frontman Matt Heafy Blows Out Voice". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  13. ^ "The Pretty Reckless Wednesday May 28". Hardrockhotel.com. Hard Rock Hotel. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  14. ^ Paglino, Nick. "John Cena's Raw Return Announced, Footage of Lesnar Receiving New WWE Title, New Raw Music". Wrestlezone.com. Wrestle Zone. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  15. ^ Kaufman, Spencer. "Aftershock 2014 Lineup: Rob Zombie, Offspring, Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, Weezer, FFDP + More". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  16. ^ a b Sharp, Tyler. "We Are Harlot (fronted by Asking Alexandria's Danny Worsnop) release video for single from debut LP". Altpress.com. AltPress. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Asking Alexandria frontman, Danny Worsnop, quits band". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Billboard top 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  19. ^ a b "We Are Harlot". Officialcharts.com. Official Charts. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  20. ^ a b C, K. "We Are Harlot Hits No. 1". Billboard.com. No. April 18, 2015. Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  21. ^ Childers, Chad. "Slipknot, Godsmack, Breaking Benjamin + More Head Up 2015 Fort Rock Festival". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  22. ^ Crane, Matt. "Slipknot, Motionless In White, Of Mice & Men, more announced for Welcome To Rockville". Altpress.com. Alternative Press. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  23. ^ Pasbani, Robert. "Are SLIPKNOT & MARILYN MANSON Touring Together This Spring? Rock on the Range 2015 Lineup Hints at Upcoming Tours". Metalinjection.net. Metal Injection. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  24. ^ Childers, Chad. "Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch + Volbeat Lead 2015 Northern Invasion". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  25. ^ Carter, Emily. "Download add 23 more bands to line-up". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  26. ^ Del Prete, Cynthia. "Line up of Sonisphere 2015 leading Metallica in Italy". Optimaitalia.com. Optimagazine. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  27. ^ "ShipRocked 2016 – Day 2: Seether, Hellyeah, Avatar + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  28. ^ "Rock USA Lineup Boasts Slipknot, Alice in Chains + More". Loudwire. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  29. ^ Geist, Kelly. "We Are Harlot At Vinyl/Hard Rock Hotel In Las Vegas, NV On 28-May-2014". NationalRockReview.com. NationalRockReview. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  30. ^ Hagen, Paul (April 2015). "We Are Harlot". Big Cheese. No. April-May 2015. Big Cheese. Big Cheese. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  31. ^ "New Noise: We Are Harlot". Rocksound. No. 198. Rocksound. Rocksound. April 2015. p. 63. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  32. ^ McMahon, James (21 March 2015). "We Are Harlot". Kerrang!. No. 1560. Kerrang!. Kerrang!. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  33. ^ Bird, Ryan (April 2015). "We Are Harlot 'We Are Harlot'". Rocksound. No. 198. Rocksound. Rocksound. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  34. ^ Ruskell, Nick. "We Are Harlot - We Are Harlot". Rollingstoneaus.com. Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  35. ^ "We Are Harlot". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  36. ^ a b "We Are Harlot Top Mainstream Rock songs". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  37. ^ Biddulph, Andy. "Danny Worsnop and co. Judge a beauty contest in the new We Are Harlot video. What could go wrong?". Rocksound.tv. Rocksound. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  38. ^ "Metallhammer 2015 Best New Band". http://goldengods.metalhammer.com/. Metalhammer. Retrieved 26 March 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  39. ^ Carter, Emily. "Relentless Kerrang! Awards 2015 Nominees". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  40. ^ Carter, Emily. "The Relentless Kerrang! Awards 2015 Winners List". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  41. ^ Lewry, Fraser. "Classic Rock Roll of Honour: Live Blog". Teamrock.com. TeamRock. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
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