..In the early fall of 2004, the first incarnation of Canthus was born. Initially formed by singer Joseph Stoffa, of Patterson Blue, and self-taught guitarists Matt Rogers and Clifford Clark; Canthus was an acoustic trio based out of Waynesburg, PA, with barely a hint of direction. The first of many changes came when drummer Billy Harding joined the ranks and brought with him the focus for a higher goal of a complete band. Shortly after the addition of Billy, bassist Nathan Harmon joined, but his involvement was short-lived due to military duties. Billy, Matt, and Cliff, all three former members of the same drumline, began writing music inspired by the technical rhythms found in marching percussion. Without debate, the "laid-back and grab-a-beer" acoustic tone was abandoned and Canthus became a Modern Rock Project resolved to press on.
Canthus scheduled their first recording session at Hawkin's House of Sound, out of Carmichaels, PA, in September of 2005. Ultimately dissatisfied with the outcome of the vocal tracks, the end product was scratched. With the guidance of Andrew Harding, formerly of Soberpill, Canthus took a few steps back to avoid further mistakes. After months of writing and rewriting music more attuned to their developing sound, Canthus set another date to record. This time at the more acclaimed Innovation Studios, out of Steubenville, OH. It was during this recording session that Stoffa decided that singing just wasn't for him and took his leave from the band.
With two years invested, two failed recordings, and two members shy of a full band, Matt, Cliff, and Billy refused to throw in the towel. The core of Canthus underwent a grueling recruiting session, auditioning countless bass players and vocalists from the surrounding areas. During this time, they embraced the influences of more hard-edged bands such as Breaking Benjamin, Tool, and Killswitch Engage. This inspired Canthus to make some changes to their own line-up. Cliff switched to playing bass and Matt shouldered the burden of balancing both lead and rhythm guitar roles. And Billy rejoiced.
Along with the new instrumentation and attitude, Canthus found a new sound. This raised the bar even further for the auditioning vocalists, but in February of 2008, the search was over. Charles Honeycutt, of Awestruck and Trials of Ezra, joined as the singer and front man of Canthus.
With the addition of Charles, the new embodiment of Canthus demanded yet another call to arms. This time, the hair-pulling task of recruiting was made easy. Terry Cassidy, the former guitarist of Robotic Wasteland, was unanimously welcomed into the brotherhood.
Having fulfilled all roles, Canthus is now producing music with tenacity. Expect powerfully delivered lyrics that hit home, melodic instrumentation, in-your-face rhythms, and pounding breakdowns! Canthus has a powerful, innovative, fresh sound that feeds your hard rock needs without omitting the difficult technicalities of music. Basically, it is a killer sound that forces your body to move and your mind to think.
