Black Tide come out of the gate with all guns blazing. Their Interscope Records debut, Light from Above, is a loaded salvo of fret-burning, hyper-charged riffs. Full Bio

Gabriel Garcia - vocals, lead guitar

Zakk Sandler - bass

Steven Spence - drums

Austin Diaz - guitar

Black Tide come out of the gate with all guns blazing. Their Interscope
Records debut, Light from Above, is a loaded salvo of fret-burning,
hyper-charged riffs. The Florida quartet churns out fist-pumping,
fast-paced metallic anthems with no remorse. Their sound channels the
forefathers of heavy metal, but with a dose of 21st century attitude.

Cuts like "Shockwave," "Warriors of Time" and "Show Me The Way" pack
enough explosive energy to ignite any crowd. Drummer Steven Spence lays
down a propulsive percussive backdrop for Zakk Sandler's volatile bass
lines. Meanwhile, guitarist Austin Diaz rips mean leads across the
rhythmic battlefield, picking each note with an unmatched fury. At the
eye of the storm is vocalist and guitarist Gabriel Garcia. Leading the
charge, his voice carries hooks to Hell and back, while he scorches his
strings. He fires off every chorus with conviction and charisma.

Gabriel started singing and playing guitar at eight-years-old, and
he knew that's what he was meant to do the second he donned an axe.
"When I started playing, I was like, 'This is what I have to do.' I
don't want to be a fucking lawyer or some shit like that. I told my
family I wanted to play heavy metal. My parents have supported my
decision the whole time. Anyone else would've been like, 'Shut up! Go
to school!'"

Gabriel's intense immersion into music has paid off. He formed Black
Tide along with Zakk in 2003. Steven joined the ranks in 2006, and
after an incendiary performance at that year's Florida Music Festival,
Interscope signed the band. Black Tide recorded their debut, Light from
Above, at Groovemaster Studios, with Johnny K (Disturbred, Staind).
Johnny K has since garnered the venerable "Producer Of The Year" 2008
Grammy-nomination for his recent body of work including Black Tide's
album.

Upon completion of Light From Above, the four lads hit the road on
OZZfest 2007's main stage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Lamb of God and
Static-X. Immediately, they began to build a buzz because of their
no-holds barred approach to infectious, arena-ready heavy metal.

Zakk sums up the band's sound: "Black Tide sounds like four pissed
off teenagers who listen to too much good music. When we come together,
we make something special. We love Iron Maiden, Pantera, Metallica and
Guns 'N' Roses, but we don't try to be anything we're not. We just get
up on stage and do what we love."

Leading up to album release on March 18, 2008 release, the band
toured with the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine and
All that Remains. Garnering instant acclaim, Light From Above sent a
"shockwave" of its own through the scene. Rolling Stone named Black
Tide one of the "Best Rookies of 2008" and "Metal's New Teen Titans,"
Spin tapped them as one of the "Next Big Things," while Revolver
featured them as a "Band To Watch" and included them on the cover of
the August 2008 Mayhem issue, and Kerrang! proclaimed them "Best
International Newcomer." The band followed its release with a main
stage appearance on the inaugural Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival
alongside Slipknot and Disturbed. The tour was a massive success, and
inspired them to start composing new songs.

"We've grown up and changed," Gabriel elaborates. "The new material
sounds different, but fans are going to like it. We try to write epic
songs. We learned from watching all of the bands we've toured with. The
next record's definitely going to be a lot more musical. The songs are
more intense and complicated for guitar players. We want to feel it
just as much as we want the fans to feel it."

Steven describes an important moment for the band internationally. "One
real milestone for us was when we played Download Festival 2008. It's
such a prestigious rock event, and we had the honor of playing on the
main stage. It was insane." The band left a big impression on the
Donnington crowd, solidifying their presence overseas. Steven
continues, "We want to build a hardcore fan base that grows with us. We
want to make strong, powerful meaningful music that affects people.
Fans can rely on us to be consistent. This is what we're here to do,
and there's no time for complaining. People would kill to be where
we're at. We just appreciate it."

After Download, the band added guitarist Austin Diaz to the fold,
and he's been the perfect fret foil for Gabriel. "Austin is awesome. He
learned all of our songs in two days, before the first date of Mayhem.
We played the sh Hide Bio