Nick Hipa | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Samuel Nicholas Hipa |
Born | November 30, 1982 |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitars |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | Metal Blade |
Member of | Wovenwar, Mire |
Formerly of | As I Lay Dying, Evelynn |
Website | Nick Hipa on Facebook |
Samuel Nicholas Hipa (born November 30, 1982) is an American heavy metal guitarist. He has performed with several notable acts. He is the current lead guitarist of Mire, and was the longtime former lead guitarist of As I Lay Dying.
Hipa started his musical career with the band Evelynn. [1] [2] The band was signed to Pluto Records. In 2001, Evelynn toured with As I Lay Dying. [2] [3] As Evelynn started to disperse, Hipa joined As I Lay Dying in 2003. [3] [4]
As I Lay Dying ran its course with the same lineup since 2007, up until Tim Lambesis' arrest, when Hipa, Phil Sgrosso, and Josh Gilbert departed from the band. Alongside AILD drummer Jordan Mancino and Oh, Sleeper and Hipa's former band-mate, Shane Blay, the group of friends formed Wovenwar. [1]
In a more recent interview, Mancino stated that AILD is still technically five members, himself, Lambesis, Hipa, Gilbert, and Sgrosso. [5] Hipa performed lead guitars for Wovenwar, appearing on both Wovenwar (2014) and Honor Is Dead (2016) to date. In 2017, Lambesis reformed As I Lay Dying, with all new members, stating that none of the previous members, Hipa included, would return. [6] [7] Nevertheless, on June 8, 2018, it was confirmed that Hipa along with the "classic" lineup of As I Lay Dying reunited with Lambesis with the release of "My Own Grave". [8] On April 12, 2019, the band released a second single, titled "Redefined", which also features August Burns Red frontman Jake Luhrs.
Hipa was featured on Billy on the Street . [9] [10]
On August 15, 2020, it was reported that Nick Hipa had left As I Lay Dying. [11] In July 2022, it was announced that Hipa would be performing with the band God Forbid for their reunion show. [12]
Lambesis, after his arrest, said negative things about the rest of the band, Hipa included. [13] [14] [15] [16] Hipa responded to these statements–particularly accusations of the entire band secretly being atheists and lack of contact with Lambesis after the arrest–calling them slanderous. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
In November 2016, Hipa stated that Lambesis was, at the time, still of the same mind and that the relationship between the two remained damaged. [19] [20] Hipa's tone however, changed in an October 2017 interview with Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta when asked about a potential As I Lay Dying reunion with the classic members–Hipa replied: "Man, I'm on the spot… people ask us about it a lot. But what it comes down to is what makes sense with what we have going on in our lives. And we've got a lot of important things going on that don't relate to that and we've made commitments to, and that's what we are honoring at this moment. Honestly it's just not something we try and consume our thoughts with. Because it's like we have families, businesses, professions, and a band—and all these things we’re super invested into. It's like all of our attention is there with that at the moment." [21] [22]
In 2018, Hipa reunited with As I Lay Dying, [8] but rumors surfaced in 2020 that he had left the band once again. [11] Hipa broke his year-long silence in 2021, stating that "Respectfully, I left because the story and meaning we built our reunion upon decayed considerably over time. What primarily endures is a superficial pursuit I cannot justify supporting or being part of." He further elaborated that making music with the band came "at the cost of tolerating behavior which at times mistreats, disrespects, and hurts other people." [23] [24] [25]
Hipa was raised with Christian values. [26] [27] Over time, Hipa started to exhibit some skepticism, though only on a lower scale, never disclaiming the belief system as a whole. [27]
Current
Former
As I Lay Dying
Wovenwar
Guest performances
Production
As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Formed in 2000 by vocalist Tim Lambesis, the band's first full lineup was completed in 2001. The band has released seven albums, one split album, and two compilation albums.
Jordan Mancino is an American drummer. He has played with several metal acts as the official or as a live member, including As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, and Wovenwar.
Timothy Peter Lambesis is an American musician and producer, best known as the founding member, lead vocalist, and the sole continuous member of the metalcore band As I Lay Dying. He also has a solo/side thrash metal project in tribute to actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian Death Machine, in which he performed all the instruments. He also formed a death metal band called Pyrithion and was the former guitar player for Society's Finest and Point of Recognition.
Shadows Are Security is the third studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. The album was released on June 14, 2005 through Metal Blade Records, and was produced by Tim Lambesis, the band's vocalist, and Phil Sgrosso, one of the band's guitarists, along with Steve Russell. A Limited Edition was released on June 23, 2005 with a bonus DVD of a show filmed at the Substage Club in Karlsruhe, Germany on November 28, 2004. The CD was released again as a Special Edition on October 17, 2006 with a DVD on the making of the album and included videos of "Confined", "Through Struggle", and "The Darkest Nights". It also featured additional liner notes from vocalist Tim Lambesis on the concept of the record and little known facts on the making of the album.
God Forbid is an American metalcore band formed in East Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996.
Philip Joseph Sgrosso is an American heavy metal musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of the American metalcore band As I Lay Dying, the former rhythm guitarist of the band Wovenwar and the touring lead guitarist for Saosin and Nails.
An Ocean Between Us is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying, released on August 21, 2007, by Metal Blade Records. It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, with sales close to 39,500. The album includes the singles "Nothing Left", "The Sound of Truth", "Within Destruction", "I Never Wanted" and "An Ocean Between Us", with music videos produced for all five. "Nothing Left" appears on the radio soundtrack of the 2008 video game Saints Row 2.
Joshua Kyle Gilbert is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer, who performs primarily metalcore. He currently performs bass as a member of Spiritbox. He has played with several acts, and first became known for his former role in As I Lay Dying. After their initial breakup, he formed Wovenwar with other members of As I Lay Dying. He is also a contributor to Alternative Press.
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. After independently releasing The Titan EP and traveling in the full Van's Warped Tour 2013, the band went on hiatus to allow clean vocalist and lead guitarist Shane Blay to join As I Lay Dying members in starting California-based metal band Wovenwar. The band's fourth full-length album, Bloodied / Unbowed, was released on July 12, 2019.
Austrian Death Machine is an American thrash metal side project from San Diego, California, founded by As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis to be a parody of and tribute to Arnold Schwarzenegger's films.
This Is Who We Are is the first DVD by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It was released on April 14, 2009, through Metal Blade Records. The video album sold 4,200 copies in the US during its first week of sales allowing it to debut at number 2 on the Top Music Videos chart. On May 18, 2009, the DVD was certified Gold in the US. It was also certified Platinum in Canada by the CRIA.
The Powerless Rise is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. The album was released on May 7, 2010 in Europe, and on May 11, 2010 in the United States. The Powerless Rise debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 38,000. The album features three singles: "Beyond Our Suffering", "Parallels", and "Anodyne Sea". Music videos have been released for all three, with the latest one consisting of live footage. The album title is taken from their lyric of the song.
Decas is the second compilation album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It features three newly recorded songs, four cover songs, four remixes and one re-recording. The album was released through Metal Blade Records on November 4, 2011, in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; on November 7 in the UK and the rest of Europe; and on November 8 in the US.
Awakened is the sixth studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It is the final album released by the band before their hiatus in 2014. The album was released on September 25, 2012, through Metal Blade Records. The album was produced by Bill Stevenson and recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado and Lambesis Studios in San Diego, California. On June 22, 2012, the album title, release date, and first single were announced. On June 25, the first single "Cauterize" was released for free download and became available online for purchase the following day. On June 27, a lyric video for "Cauterize" was released along with album artwork, also the band created an event on Facebook inviting fans to participate in a music video shoot for "A Greater Foundation". Fans were able to pre-order a copy on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival tour of 2012.
Wovenwar is an American metal band from Southern California, formed in 2013. They released their self-titled debut album in 2014. The band's musical style on the album has been described as alternative metal, melodic metalcore, hard rock, and modern heavy metal.
Shane Brandon Blay is an American guitarist and vocalist that performs primarily metalcore. He has performed with bands such as Oh, Sleeper, Between the Buried and Me, and Wovenwar.
Honor Is Dead is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Wovenwar. It was released on October 21, 2016, via Metal Blade Records.
Poison Headache is an American thrash metal band that formed in 2010. The band consists of guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Phil Sgrosso, vocalist and guitarist Andy Kukta and drummer Kyle Rosa.
"My Own Grave" is a song by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It is their first single in six years. It was the first song released following singer Tim Lambesis' incarceration in 2013 and the first to feature Phil Sgrosso playing alongside Nick Hipa, Jordan Mancino and Josh Gilbert since Sgrosso's departure from Wovenwar in 2016.
Shaped by Fire is the seventh studio album by American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. It was released on September 20, 2019, through Nuclear Blast. The album was produced by the band themselves and is the follow-up to the group's sixth album, Awakened (2012). It is the first album in seven years after the band went on hiatus in 2014 when Tim Lambesis was incarcerated and sentenced to six years in prison for soliciting the murder of his estranged wife. It is also the last album to feature lead guitarist Nick Hipa before he left the band in 2020, and the last to feature drummer Jordan Mancino and bassist/clean vocalist Josh Gilbert, both of whom left the band in 2022. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.