Bio
Frank Campobasso - Lead vocals
Ryan Westward - Guitars, vocals
Denny Sipes - Guitars, vocals
Doug Kenworthy - Bass, vocals
Bobby Hoskins - Drums, percussion, vocals
Sometimes things can be sweeter and just a little more refreshing the second time around. Case in point, Kansas City's Load Point Pull. The Midwestern quintet originally got together in November 1997 when frontman Frank Campobasso and bassist Doug Kenworthy met through mutual friends. Finding a common bond with their mutual love of heavy music, the pair quickly developed a friendship and working relationship that would take them on a decade-long (and counting) ride.
"We set out to build a band that would create a fresh sound and fill what was missing in the music industry, ' says Campobasso. "Those were the days when music was completely dismal and everything was up in the air in the industry. Okay, well, the start of all of that anyway." The duo began working on what would be their first demo at Redhouse Studios in Lawrence, KS with Ed Rose (Puddle Of Mudd, Motion City Soundtrack, Senses Fail) and shortly thereafter picked up drummer Bobby Hoskins and guitarist, John Pyne.
Early 1998 saw the release of Load Point Pull's debut effort, 'We've Come To Take What's Ours' - a bombastic mix of melodic hard rock, metal and in your face aggression, the band made a solid impact on the Midwestern heavy music scene. Simply put, They Had Arrived. The band's first gig was with Puddle Of Mudd and they spent the rest of the next two years going out with acts such as Creed, Stabbing Westward, Vince Neil and Anthrax among others. In short order, Load Point Pull had become the band to watch.
The band spent the next few years on the road touring with anyone who would share a stage with them, all the while writing material for what was to be their second album. After years of nonstop touring and eventual band members changes, the members of Load Point Pull decided to end the band's run a few years into the new century.
"Our friendships were much more important to us than all the stress and inner turmoil that we had building up," relates Campobasso. "It was better to get out at the right time and keep the things that meant the most to us intact rather than letting everything boil over and losing it all."
The guys spent the next few years hanging out and playing in cover bands to pass the time and keep their chops up. "We started hanging out together more and more and we had friends and fans telling us that we needed to get back together again," says bassist Kenworthy. "And before long that hunger was building again so we knew that we had to finish what we started. In mid-2005 the duo got a hold of guitarist Pyne and drummer Tommy St. John, who spent a little time in Load Point Pull during the band's first run. They also added guitarist Ryan Westward to the fold and began work on their second album, 'Down In Flames.' Before its completion, Pyne and St. John found themselves on the street, replaced by new guitarist Denny Sipes and original stickman Bobby Hoskins. Recording at Doug Kenworthy's own facility, The Digital Edge, the band could work at their own leisure and spent time going over old ideas and adding a new twist to them as well as writing all new material. The band recorded everything and slimmed the album down to their 11 strongest songs.
With 'Down In Flames' what you get is a lethal mix of industrial-fused modern metal delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the skull. Opener "Alive" is an explosive melodic metal masterpiece that lays the groundwork for what's to come and in so doing slams straight into the album's first single and video, "Shatter'd World", which details a loner's battle with society and his surroundings. "The Cause Of It All" is a grinding, ugly scream for help from the viewpoint of someone who can't deal with life's tragedy while "Out Of Reach" instructs the listener to never give up on your dreams. In "The Good Life", singer Campobasso delivers his verses with a tongue-twisting ferocity while in total contrast the chorus is highly infectious and memorable. "SSDD" is the stadium anthem for the new age. "Change" starts life as a beautifully haunting ballad but segues into a heart pounding rocker before ending in a melancholic round, and the album's closer, "Family" leaves you with a stern warning - don't fuck with the family, you haven't earned the right.
Load Point Pull has seen the top of the mountain and they've come close to the brass ring. It looks like the second time around will be the charm for this bunch of Midwestern metalheads.
