10 Years is an American alternative metal band formed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999. The band consists of lead vocalist Jesse Hasek, lead guitarist Brian Vodinh, rhythm guitarist Matt Wantland, bassist Chad Grennor, and drummer Luke Narey. The group has gone through multiple line-up changes since their inception, with Vodinh and Wantland being the only remaining founding members. To date, they have released ten studio albums, their most recent being Descontructed in 2022.
History
Early years, Into the Half Moon (1999–2001) 10 Years were initially formed in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1999 with singer Mike Underdown, drummer Brian Vodinh, bassist Lewis Cosby, and guitarists Ryan Johnson and Matt Wantland. In 2001, Cosby left and the band recruited Andy Parks on bass. They independently recorded Into the Half Moon the same year.
Killing All That Holds You, The Autumn Effect (2002–2006) Lead vocalist Mike Underdown left the band to pursue a career in acting and start up a new band, Courage, You Bastards, in Los Angeles, California. 10 Years soon recruited current vocalist Jesse Hasek from another local band. In 2002, Parks decided to leave the band and Cosby returned. The band then released their independent album Killing All That Holds You in 2004.
10 Years were then signed to Universal Records in 2005 and released their major label debut, The Autumn Effect on August 16, 2005 with the songs "Wasteland" and "Through the Iris" picking up regional radio play. Their first single, "Wasteland", spent over 12 months on the rock charts, finally reaching No. 1 at active rock radio in December 2005.
That same summer, the band toured with Disturbed and Ill Niño. In the fall of 2005, they toured with Breaking Benjamin and Smile Empty Soul, then followed up with the Masters of Horror tour with Mudvayne and Sevendust. They opened for Korn and Mudvayne on Korn's See You on the Other Side tour. They also toured with Korn and Deftones on the Family Values Tour, which started in late July 2006.
In mid-February 2006, "Wasteland" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
In mid-2006, the band toured Australia in a lineup which included Hatebreed, Disturbed and Korn.
Their first music video, "Wasteland", addresses the social problem of human rights as well as addiction around the world. The video received a nomination for Best Direction and Best Art Direction at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, but did not win either.
On March 27, 2006, an EP was released on iTunes containing acoustic versions of "Wasteland", "Prey", "Through the Iris" and "Faultline" from The Autumn Effect.
As of December 2017, The Autumn Effect and its breakthrough single, "Wasteland", have been certified Gold by the RIAA.
Division (2006–2008) On November 19, 2006, 10 Years unveiled and confirmed the title Division for their second album. The band began recording Division in late June 2007 after spending the better part of a year writing.
Lewis told in an interview that the album is "so different from the first one [The Autumn Effect], but it's still 10 Years", and, "It just sounds like [the songs] would be from a totally different band, which was, you know, the goal". It was also revealed that the track titled "Focus" was co-written with Stone Temple Pilots and former Army of Anyone guitarist Dean DeLeo.
On May 21, 2007 a demo song titled "All Your Lies" from Division was released onto their MySpace along with a post stating the band had chosen producer Rick Parasher to produce the new album. On September 7, the band announced on their MySpace that the album was finished and would be released in 2008, following a tour with Dir En Grey, Sevendust, Operator, Thousand Foot Krutch and Chevelle.
A year later on January 29, 2008, "Beautiful", the new single from Division, was released to iTunes and a snippet was also posted on the band's MySpace page. Division was released on May 13, 2008 after being pushed back due to finalization of the album's artwork.
10 Years was featured on the Revolution Stage of Linkin Park's Summer Projekt Revolution 2008 tour with Atreyu, Hawthorne Heights and Armor For Sleep. They went on tour with Mudvayne until mid December 2008.
In December 2009, Matt Wantland announced he was leaving the band to pursue other interests.
The Album Was Dedicated To Actor Brad Renfro Who Passed Away In 2008 At The Age Of 25. Renfro Was Jesse Hasek’s Cousin.