Forever in Terror Items Added to Rock Hall Exhibit

The hardcore band Forever in Terror came together in 2006 when members of a few different local bands, who were in high school at the time, jammed together and decided they liked what they heard. In just its second week as a group, the band went into the studio and started recording; it would eventually ink a deal with Metal Blade and play throughout Northeast Ohio. The group also toured with national acts such All That Remains, As I Lay Dying and Chimaira, heavy hitters in the hardcore world. It even played Canada.

“The biggest highlight was getting to travel at such a young age,” says singer Chris Bianchi via phone. “We got to play in about 40 states. Getting on the road to experience that life was great. Getting to play with and meet some of our idols was great too. Having our music video on MTV when it mattered was a game changer for us for sure. We filmed our music video in New Jersey at Battery Potter, and Frankie Nassau, the guy who did that directed it, has gone on to do movies and documentaries and DVDs. We were the early band he learned with.”

Bianchi has just announced that the Rock Hall will include several of Forever in Terror’s artifacts in its Cleveland/Midwest collection, including Derek Hess artwork and lyrics to the tune “The Chosen One.”

The group will donate the items at the end of the month.

“I do artist management and have done some speaking engagements with students at the Rock Hall and got to know the Rock Hall curators a little bit,” Bianchi says. “One of the women who works there knew of my band and grew up listening to us and happened to be a metal fan. She mentioned that the Rock Hall has things from [Cleveland metal bands] Mushroomhead and Chimaira and was wondering if we had any artifacts because they wanted to add something new.”

Bianchi contacted Hess, who still lives in Cleveland, and he had still the original artwork he made for the band.

“That was really exciting to know that he still had that artwork and Derek was excited that he found it,” says Bianchi. “I still have everything from our band. I have old demos, and I even have our old record contract.”

Bianchi remains active in music. After Forever in Terror broke up, he turned to artist management and formed CB Entertainment. It includes a label division as well as a merchandising division and a staging division. In 2022, he launched the Ohio-based non-profit Bianchi Foundation with the hopes of helping children discover how music can heal. He’s also published The Music Agenda: Best Practices For Your Music Career, an e-book designed to help bands understand how they can make money from their music.

Coming up, Bianchi will speak at the upcoming National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show that takes place later this month in Anaheim, CA.

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