Combining technically driven guitar with impassioned vocal delivery, letlive.’s brand of progressive post-hardcore, spans various genres including alternative metal, experimental rock and hardcore punk. The band’s debut came in 2003 with the EP “Exhaustion, Salt Water, and Everything in Between" released on At One Records, with the line-up consisting of vocalist Jason Butler, bassist Christian Johanson, lead guitarist Ben Sharp, rhythm guitarist Keeyan Makif, and drummer Alex Haythorn.
letlive.’s full-length debut “Speak Like You Talk” arrived two years later in 2005 and marked the beginning of a series of line-up changes that resulted in Butler remaining the only original member in 2007. The band’s popularity grew at this point with a extensive touring schedule across Canada and the U.S. and the group returned to the studio to release their sophomore album “Fake History” in 2009. The album, released on Tragic Hero Records, was supported by another relentless tour including parts of Europe and produced by Kit Walters.
After Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oliver Sykes saw a letlive. performance in 2008 he arranged for the band to sign with Epitaph Records who rereleased the band’s sophomore album. With greater exposure the album earned high praise both critically and by fans and led to appearances at Download Festival, Leeds Festival and support slots for Enter Shikari, Your Demise and Underoath.
Subsequently, letlive. released their third full-length album in July 2013 peaking at No. 74 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 62 in the UK album chart. Featuring the singles “That Fear Fever” and “Younger” the band proved their critical and commercial viability; achieving universal acclaim.
Los Angeles post-hardcore quintet Letlive have amassed quite a reputation for themselves in a career that is little over a decade old. Although they have not been a commercial hit, their relentless devotion to the live circuit has proven over and over again that albums sales do not directly correlate to the size of gig venues or the intensity of a live performance.
Although lead singer Jason Butler is the only founding member left in the band's lineup, it does not seem to bother the long standing fans as Jason truly feels like the soul of the band. Although the other musicians all throw themselves into their instrumentals, it is Butler who is tearing around the stage and passionately recreating the music of the discography with his characteristic vocal. It is unsure whether he reveals his tattooed torso for the benefit of the crowd or because he is sweating so heavily beneath the stage lights yet this seems to only improve the reaction to final track '27 Club'.