If there were a music industry award for a tireless, endless work ethic
and perseverance throughout trying times, it would unequivocally go to
Columbia/INO Records' Decyfer Down. The North Carolina-bred band toured
endlessly through the front half of this decade, opening for national
bands such as Crossfade, Breaking Benjamin and Theory of a Dead Man.
Add in "Fight Like This," a charting active rock single, which was
featured as a promotional song for Ultimate Fighting Championship, and
the aggressive outfit is certainly entering an ascending chapter of its
burgeoning career.

While the band has clearly been able to embody its artistic calling,
its brand new breakthrough CD Crash almost never happened, given a near
tragedy that found the foursome literally fighting for their lives. In
addition to the basic perils of the road (including two robberies that
resulted in missing equipment), the guys faced an even more alarming
accident. While a fender bender could easily be forgotten, it's been
much harder to shake visions of the group's tour van veering off the
road during an icy snow storm, colliding with a parked car, spinning
across three lanes of traffic (with trailer in tow) and crashing
against a guard rail.

"After the accident, we all questioned what we were doing because that
was just another factor in it being such a big sacrifice to be on the
road," guitarist Brandon Mills recalls, also citing the fact that the
guys miss their families when they're gone. "When we posted a blog on
our MySpace page explaining what happened, it was so encouraging to see
a whole page full of thoughts and support from people all over the
country--and other countries as well--plus people who told us how much
our music meant to them. That really helped us see that we are meant to
do this, and even though we still run into obstacles, we're a better
band because of it."

As much as Crash is a metaphor for Decyfer Down's ability to rise above
its most straining circumstances, it's also a call to action for anyone
downtrodden to bounce back from whatever hurdle may hang between where
they are and what they hope to achieve. "It's an impact of our ideals
and beliefs in today's culture and it's why we have named our album
Crash," continues drummer Josh Oliver. "Our life experiences have lead
us to where we are right now and circumstances that once affected our
lives can no longer control us. This is just a way of expressing and
illustrating the scars and the breakthroughs in our lives."

Not only does the disc overflow with ambition, confidence and overall
creative excellence, but the aggressive endeavor also finds the players
digging in an even more mature lyrical direction that simultaneously
meets listeners of any association exactly where they are, while
challenging them to make assertive strides towards increased personal
fulfillment.

"As has been the band's tradition, Crash is certainly capable of
connecting with crowds, if only for the unflinching degree of honesty
within the lyrics and the overall vibe of the album," notices fresh
faced front man TJ Harris. "As a band, our hope is that listeners will
be inspired to explore themselves to an even deeper degrees and that's
an energy I continue to feel every time we deliver these songs on
stage."

From a strictly musical perspective, Crash comes under the production
helm of Paul Ebersold (3 Doors Down, Saliva, Sister Hazel) and further
amplifies the band's bone crunching execution, razor sharp riffs, and
monstrous melodies. As a result, Decyfer Down maintains a remarkably
relevant spot within the active rock scene, evoking the likes of
Sevendust, Shinedown, Alter Bridge, Theory of a Deadman, Three Days
Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Hinder or Seether, while still maintaining
its own alternative and inventive stamp.

"We wrote a ton of songs going into these sessions and Paul helped us
narrow them down and shape the direction of the disc," shares Josh. "We
gained a lot of influence from the bands we were listening to and
playing with, plus touring as much as we had really gets you excited
about getting back in the studio. The results are some of the hard rock
stuff and some of the more ballady stuff, but it's all stepped up into
a new level of artistry for us. Paul really stretched us and helped
take our musicianship and songwriting to the next level."

The new album is a constant highlight reel of strong songs that help
define the group's current direction, but are also remarkably cohesive
as an entire body of work. "We worked hard to not have any fillers in
this record and we want each song to be as strong as we could possibly
make it," Josh confirms. "We come right out in the beginning of the
record with some great rock songs and some intimate ballads that come
from a very honest part of our lives. We trust those that listen to our
record can find hope and purpose for their lives."

After exploring the ten track sonic and thematic exploration, it's
clear that Crash will once again find footing with audiences wanting to
get their lives on track no matter how derailed it may appear. The
group credits bands like P.O.D., Switchfoot, and Flyleaf for inspiring
an optimal quality level and sincere lyrical dichotomy to truly stand
out from the class of relative newcomers.

"Beyond the maturing process on this record, we want to influence
culture more than ever before," echoes Josh. "The way we write songs is
based on the things that have inspired our lives the most. The songs
throughout Crash speak on a lot of topics that we haven't addressed
before and we hope to take a walk through your life--your triumphs,
your struggles, maybe even some of your addictions--and confront those
to the point where you find yourself being impacted by love, hope and a
clear vision of how to move forward."