Night of 1000 Knives

How can you be in 1000 places at once, and make it seem like the universe meant for it to be that way?

Ask Night of 1000 Knives. They do it all the time... playing all over Michigan, as well as bringing countless elements into their music, experiementing wtih hard rock, metal core, and hardore, with 'softer' elements (by soft, we're talking a pillow full of rocks, instead of razors) that flow through and connect it all.

It's no wonder they're playing all over the place. - Mostpit Nation

If the U.S. is the 'melting pot' of the globe, then MCC is the 'melting pot' of West Michigan. Our campus displays a wide range of ages, races, personalities, and talents on a daily basis. Diversity is not an unusual occurrence here. It is also not unusual to notice MCC students excelling on and off campus.
Current MCC student, AC Grimes, is doing just that. AC is on 'track' to obtain a degree in graphic design, while recording 'tracks' with the band, Night of 1000 Knives. He is the drummer and co-songwriter for the band that has shared the stage with such acts as Dear Enemy, Taproot, Diecast, In This Moment, and Nonpoint. AC started playing the drums in 2000 because he wanted to jam with his guitar playing buddies. Grimes' friend, guitarist Nate Proctor started playing and writing together as Night of 1000 Knives in 2007. Nate added his longtime friend, Joe Wilkinson, on vocals and the band recruited bass player, Tony Rheeder, after seeing him perform live with another local band. The band's name is based on the phrase, "night of long knives", which in German, generally refers to acts of vengeance. Also, "we just liked teh way it sounded," stated Grimes. The band lists Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust, 36 Crazyfists, and Korn as their biggest influences. Fans have compared them to Papa Roach and Five Finger Death Punch, but AC seems to find it difficult to find a band that represents their sound with such broad comparisons.
Night of 1000 Knives have enjoyed some recent success when they made it to the finals of the tenth annual Heavyweight Championship of Rock held at the Intersection in Grand Rapids this past February. Their collective goal is to continue writing and releasing material in the hopes of securing a distribution deal. Night of 1000 Knives plan to record their new album, "Insides", this summer. Their current album "Beauty of the Breakdown", is on iTunes and can also be heard on their Myspace page (myspace.com/nightof1000knives). Check them out and support a fellow Jayhawk!
You can witness Night of 1000 Knives live on Friday April 9th at the Blue Note here in Muskegon and on Saturday April 24th at teh Comstock Bar. - The Bay Window

Get ready to party hard and loud with Muskegon's Night of 1000 Nights who will host a CD release party 7 p.m. Friday at the Intersection, 133 Grandville, Grand Rapids - MLIVE

Night of 1,000 Knives (shown left to right): Nate Proctor, 24, guitar; Joe Wilkinson, 25, vocals; A.C. Grimes, 26, drums; and Tony Rheeder, 24, bass. Proctor and Wilkinson hail from Grand Rapids, Grimes lives in Muskegon and Rheeder is a Grand Haven resident.

• Music style: Hardcore/metal/experimental.

• Next scheduled performance: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mixtape Cafe, 133 S. Division, Grand Rapids.

AUDIO FILES
Download or listen to "Goodbye."
Download or listen to "Questions."



• Background: The original band -- Proctor, Grimes, Rich Marvin and Josh Erb -- started playing together in October 2006, and quickly established a name for themselves with their onstage intensity and their unique blend melodic metal sounds. In 2008, the band underwent a lineup change with Wilkinson becoming the new vocalist and Rheeder taking over the bass-playing duties.

• How the new lineup came together: "Joe is Nate's friend, so they knew Joe could sing," said Rheeder, who noted that Wilkinson needed a little coaxing to come aboard. "Joe had never performed in a band before."

• Quote: "We're all pretty close," said Rheeder. "We like to get together as a band and hang out."

• Band influences: Killswitch, Engage, Mudvayne, Sevendust, Deftones and Korn.

• Best Experience: Opening for the nationally known band Taproot, whose members later praised Night of 1,000 Knives for their performance and complimented them on their large fan base. The group has also opened for several other national acts: In This Moment, Diecast, Dear Enemy and Adakain.

• Most memorable experience: The band was performing at Teasers club in Grand Rapids, when a large group of "biker chicks" showed up and started hitting on Wilkinson. As the bar became more crowded, some of the bikers climbed onto the bar where they proceeded to "flash" the band.

• Making tracks: The group is putting the finishing touches on thbum, with plans for a release party tentatively scheduled for July. The band's previous releases include a four-song EP and a seven-song live CD.

• Check out the band at: www.myspace.com/nightof1000knives

- Muskegon Chronicle

There's a lot of one-upmanship when it comes to the metal culture. Play a song for a metal-head, and he or she will probably retort back with something like "You want to hear some real metal...?" and then proceed to play something that supposedly rocks even harder. This has resulted in music that's more focused on loudness than artistry. For the most part, Night of 1000 Knives, has managed to avoid this pitfall while still churning out a passionate selection of songs on "The EP".

Indeed, there seems to be an encouraging sense of restraint on album opener "That Feeling," which attempts to do more than just rock: it actually sings about something meaningful. A novel concept for metal, eh? The running theme seems to be getting over past relationships and the mood ranges from mournful on "That Feeling" to cantankerous on album closer "No Regrets."

At the end of the day, it's still metal however. The true colors rear their ugly head on "Last Straw," which sounds like a caricature of the genre with its stereotypically shrill howling. Repitition impedes on "Life That's Not Mine" and cliched metaphors of the heart find their way onto "Cardiectomy" and "No Regrets." Still, there's certainly enough positive here to warrant consideration from fans of the genre. - West Michigan Noise!