The newest punk rock band straight out of Cherry Hill East to hit the scene is Burn the Pages. Their post-hardcore sound is illustrated perfectly through their five members playing in perfect harmony.

The story of Burn the Pages began in the fall of 2003 when drummer Mike Dameo (’05) and guitarist Nathan Pozen (’06) teamed up with guitarist and vocalist Jarid Goodman (’05) and bassist Bill Magee (’05) to form a band called Ill Fated.

"Our biggest influences were Rise Against, Thrice, and Thursday," said Dameo.

They played a few shows around the area such as East Battle of the Bands, Café J, as well as the Revo Youth Church. In February of 2004, the band had a major lineup change when Magee and Goodman left the band.

In March of 2004, bassist Mike Ippolito (’05) and guitarist Kyle Forgason (’06) joined the band and their new lineup was almost complete. In April, the band held tryouts for a lead vocalist and Keith Badtorff (’06) was the man for the job. With their new lineup complete, the band was able to start playing shows.

They played their first show at the Grace Episcopal Church. Soon after, they began to grow by playing at small parties, the Theater of Living Arts and, most recently, the Troc Battle of the Bands.

This summer, they released their first CD, called the Black Sun EP.

The CD was recorded at Gradwell House Studios and contained five songs: "Black Sun," "Soldiers and Slaves," "Conspiracy," "Identity" and "These Days". The songs are a good illustration of the post-hardcore sound. They all have a "punk" feel to them.

"We are writing new songs now and our new feature song is ‘The Rest is History’," said Pozen.

Burn the Pages will be featured on a compilation CD by Skyline Records along with Fallout Boy, Hidden in Plain View and Socratic. The CD will be coming out in March.



"We take our band very seriously. We practice two to three times every week," said Dameo.

The band plans to tour this summer in the tri-state area. Burn the Pages is a talented post-hardcore punk band born at Cherry Hill East. Their sound is sweeping across the area and they are definately worth the investigation.

For more information on Burn the Pages, visit their website at www.purevolume.com/burnthepages.