A Hero A Fake
A Hero A Fake was an American metalcore band from Charlotte, North Carolina. They formed in 2004 when high school friends Eric Morgan, Justin Brown, and Lenin Hernandez started making music, later adding freshman drummer Brendon Campau. They first called themselves Nothing Gold Can Stay, but changed their name during their first demo. In 2005 they recorded AHAF Demo 2005 and began playing regional shows, with their early sound blending melodic post-hardcore influences like Thrice and Underoath.
In 2005 Evan Kirkley joined on drums to help record the Friends Are Family EP, and by 2006 the band added Peter Gwynne (drums), Matt Davis (bass), and Patrick Jeffers (guitar). They released AHAF Demo 2007, which included the song F-16 that would be re-recorded for their debut album. Tim Burgess joined on drums in 2007 and stayed for the next three years. In December 2007 they entered The Basement Recording studios with producer Jamie King to record their first full-length album. They posted songs I Know I, F-16, and Superwoman on MySpace in April 2008 and later that year signed with Victory Records.
Volatile, the band’s debut album, was released October 28, 2008. It received mixed reviews, with critics noting their non-standard song structures and fresh approach to technical metal, though some felt the vocals and passages needed more development. The band built buzz and released a music video for the single “I Know I” on MTV2 in February 2009. After college commitments ended in 2009, they toured the East Coast and Midwest and started work on their second album.
Let Oceans Lie followed on January 19, 2010, with a music video for the title track premiering on MTV2 and Fuse TV in February 2010. Critics praised the album for showing clear progression from Volatile. A Hero A Fake toured the Midwest and East Coast, headlined the Rise of Victory Tour in 2010, and joined several other tours, including the Rage tour and the Blood In The Water tour. In December 2010 Victory Records released their cover of Paramore’s “Looking Up,” and they joined the Dismember December and Metal Christmas tours.
In 2011 the band demoed several new songs after a period of reduced live shows and announced a 17-stop tour, which brought them back to California for the first time. On October 17, 2011, they released a pre-album version of a new song, “The Constant.” They announced a new album, The Future Again, set for release in summer 2012 on Victory Records, and on May 23, 2012 revealed the album’s title. The Future Again was released in 2012, produced by the band itself.
On August 26, 2012, A Hero A Fake announced they were breaking up after a final show in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Discography:
- Studio albums: Volatile (2008), Let Oceans Lie (2010), The Future Again (2012)
- EP: Friends Are Family (2005)
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:06 (CET).