Somewhere in middle America, Des Moines, IA to be exact—meet America’s hardest working Blue Collar laborers, Too Pure To Die. You might not call Iowa the average breeding ground for heavy music, but you might be impressed. Small town would be the wrong description—think King’s “Children of the Corn” sans the excess of blood and you might have an accurate idea of our setting. Too Pure To Die grew up on all the essential northeast and west coast bands, not to mention hometown heroes, Slipknot. When guitarist and forerunner Jordan Peterson started the band 5 years ago he never imagined that they would accomplish so much. In an era where the average band’s shelf life is lucky to last that good ole’ 15 minutes, Too Pure To Die has far surpassed the ante and are raising for version 2.0 of the band...
The background, in 2006—after years of DIY touring and a self released LP, the band inked a deal with west coast buzz label, Sumerian records. In summer of 2006 the band recorded their first serious release “Confidence and Consequence” which was released later that year. The band did a series of full US and Canadian runs alongside such bands at August Burns Red, Misery Signals, Sworn Enemy, Caliban, Kataklysm and The Acacia Strain to support the release. Throughout 2006, the band saw all too many faces on stage. Recognizing that a revolving door of members was a confusion to their fans, the band had to get back to the start and figure out where they really wanted to be. “I’ve always been looking for a full band of people that are ride or die like I am, I feel we finally have that group of guys,” comments Peterson.
Forward, summer of 2007, only months after the release of their first legitimate LP, Too Pure To Die welcomed new players to the game. New York’s Paul Zurlo formerly of Beyond All Reason joined as front man completing a lineup with existing Jordan Peterson on guitar, Zach Johnson on guitar, Chris Towning on bass, and Kyle Rossi on drums. To ring in the new lineup, the band headed out on the road with Trustkill’s First Blood and Victory’s the Warriors. “Having come up in the hardcore scene, playing VFW halls, and building Too Pure as a DIY band we wanted to make sure kids knew we weren’t taking a step away, new line up or not,” comments Peterson. The band draws influence from pioneers like Hatebreed, Pantera, Machine Head, and Crowbar; however, with a 30 second listen to the intro of Confidence and Consequence’s title track it’s apparent that Too Pure To Die are doing their own thing. In a scene inundated with trends, the band has no intention of straying from their roots. “The band wagon has plenty of room, but we’re not interested in jumping on any time soon,” comments the always sarcastic Zach Johnson. Living in such an off the radar location with a rather lackluster scene has never slowed the band, having built on the “go-getter” mentality Too Pure To Die has become one of the most respected bands in the underground hardcore scene. “This band is constantly impressing me, the work ethic must be a midwest thing” comments the band’s manager Lucas Keller. He adds, “Confidence and Consequence makes me feel young again, growing up listening to Pantera records, there’s a sense of youthful angst and energy to this band that I think kids relate to, they’re not trend followers they’re trend setters—that’s my measure of how REAL this band’s music is. A lot of people haven’t heard the record and really need to check it out the second time around, I can only imagine how far the band will have come by the 2008 release.”
In late summer of 2007, the band began talking to staple hardcore and metal label Trustkill records in which they eventually signed a deal in fall. Peterson comments “When I started this band one of my original goals was to be on Trustkill, I don’t think we could make a better move than by joining forces.” Trustkill President, Josh Grabelle echoes the sentiments by saying “There are some bands that get together and expect the world handed to them on a silver platter. Not Too Pure To Die. These guys get out there and DO what other bands TALK about doing, they're running circles around most bands. I went and saw them play live with new singer Paul and was floored, they killed it. We are super excited to see what the future holds for TPTD!” When Grabelle met with the band there was a lot of excitement about writing the next record, everybody collectively agreed that it was time to release new material—that’s where the band and Trustkill looked to “Confidence and Consequence.” There was an overwhelming feeling that more people needed to hear this great record first, and with that a November 20th release was slated. This time, the band entered the studio with Matt Sepanic and Andreas Magnussen behind the board to bring some new life to the record—this result BIGGER and BETTER. Paul’s vocals were added to all songs and a previously unreleased track was completed for the re-release.
With new releases in 2007 and 2008 already on the books not to mention major tours coming up with All That Remains, The Acacia Strain, August Burns Red, and a full US and Canadian headline tour late this year—you can bet your bottom dollar these guys will be parking the tractors and getting in the van. “The re-release and our headline tour this fall are very important to us and Trustkill,” comments Peterson. He continues, “We’ve made a lot of friends along the way and lost a few as well, this re-release is for the people that have supported Too Pure To Die all along, we know who you are and can’t wait to see you at the shows.” If the recent events are any indication of how serious the guys in Too Pure To Die are about staying true to their music and taking that next big step, then it’s apparent that the next few years are going to be quite the ride... and why not visit some places along the way that exceed a 10,000 person population—give it time boys, you’ll get there.
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