Instruction

The thunderous, screaming rock of Instruction can be traced back to its members' days in Quicksand and Errortype: 11, but the real story is how this New York City unit got ignored at home, made the Brits fall in love with them, and then became the darlings of Geffen. Former Errortype: 11 members Adam Marino (bass), Ti Krek (drums), and Arty Shepherd (vocals) got together with former Quicksand guitarist Tom Capone in 2002. Word of mouth was helping them a bit in their home base, but the band knew its growth was too slow. With too many years behind him, Shepherd was especially eager. He figured that the gritty, rocking band had to make it soon or he was going to have to "pull out the stool" and "turn into Paul Weller." That was just one of the quotes that endeared him and his band to the British press when Shepherd took Instruction to the U.K. in 2003. Shepherd bet that the smaller geography of the U.K. would make the word spread faster, and he was right. With The Great EP released on the small label Gravity in April, a U.K. tour supporting Funeral for a Friend, and Shepherd's quick-witted and F-word-filled interviews appearing in all the mags, Instruction were getting some massive support from the Brits. Back home, Geffen took notice when the influential metal magazine Kerrang! declared the band "rising stars." The label signed Instruction, hooked them up with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, and released their debut, God Doesn't Care, in August of 2004.