Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky: Biography
Origin and Formation
Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky (often abbreviated as SWWAATS) is an American extreme metal band formed in Tampa, Florida in 2006.
The group was founded by guitarists Aaron Haines and Ian Sturgill following the breakup of their previous band, Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus.
The band’s unusual, lengthy name was inspired by a 1989 text titled “Apocalypse” by author William S. Burroughs.
As Sturgill explained in an interview, the name was also fueled by “a healthy amount of paranoia,” reflecting the band’s provocative and dystopian vision.
Early on, SWWAATS established a gritty death metal/grindcore style marked by socio-political lyrical themes and an unapologetically confrontational attitude toward humanity’s flaws.
Vocalist John Collett joined in 2007, completing the initial lineup alongside Haines and Sturgill on guitars, Mike Petrak on drums, and Chris Woodall on bass.
Together they began crafting brief but intense songs that channeled nihilism and anger, quickly making a name in the Florida underground scene.
Discography
SWWAATS’s first release was the Subhuman Empire EP in July 2007 on Debello Recordings.
The EP contains six tracks and runs just under 13 minutes, delivering a relentless blend of death metal and grindcore with politically charged lyrics. Despite its short length, Subhuman Empire earned praise in the extreme metal community – one metal outlet even hailed it as “the best grind release of 2007”.
The EP’s chaotic riffs and ferocious drumming were balanced with surprising grooves and memorable shouts (such as the line “OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!” bellowed by Collett) that made an instant impact.
This strong debut garnered the band enough attention to land a deal with Nuclear Blast Records by the end of 2007.
Cover art for The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry (2009), SWWAATS’s debut full-length album.
The band’s first and only full-length album, The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry, was released via Nuclear Blast on April 3, 2009 in Europe and May 5, 2009 in the U.S.
Produced, mixed, and mastered by veteran guitarist James Murphy (of Death, Testament, and Obituary fame), the album showcased a polished yet utterly brutal sound. It featured 14 tracks (including a hidden track) of high-velocity deathgrind, with tightly executed blast beats, breakdown-free grinding riffs, and even re-recorded songs from the earlier EP (such as “A Path” and “Despot”).
The Grand Partition... runs about 41 minutes, and its production was widely praised – reviewers noted that “Murphy’s meaty production sumptuously crystallizes the playing,” allowing every furious detail to cut through clearly"'. This clarity heightened the impact of SWWAATS’s attack, delivering what one press release described as “unadulterated and immaculate violence performed at break-neck speeds”.
The album further solidified SWWAATS’s reputation for intense, socially critical metal music.
Lineup and Member Changes
SWWAATS went through several lineup changes in their active years. The original lineup circa 2007 consisted of John Collett on lead vocals, Aaron Haines and Ian Sturgill on guitars (with Sturgill also handling backing vocals), Mike Petrak on drums, and Chris Woodall on bass.
After the Subhuman Empire EP, bassist Chris Woodall departed in 2007; he was replaced by Jesse Jolly, a 7-string bassist known from the Florida metal scene.
By mid-2008, both drummer Mike Petrak and bassist Jesse Jolly had left the group to pursue other projects.
In June 2008 the band announced the addition of three new members: Pete Lamb on drums, Matt Simpson on bass, and Jennifer “Jen” Muse as a dedicated samples/electronics player.
This revamped lineup – Collett (vocals), Sturgill and Haines (guitars), Simpson (bass), Lamb (drums), and Muse (samples) – would become the core that recorded and promoted the 2009 album.
Notably, the album’s drum tracks were actually performed by session drummer Mike Heller (of Malignancy) during the studio recording process, before Pete Lamb fully took over drumming duties live.
Following the release of The Grand Partition..., guitarist Aaron Haines eventually parted ways with the band (sometime after 2009). In 2012, Shaun DeLeon joined SWWAATS on guitar, replacing Haines in the lineup.
The last known lineup of the band thus featured Sturgill, Collett, Muse, Simpson, and DeLeon, although no new recordings came from this era. Over the years, SWWAATS also employed a few session and touring members for live performances – for example, guitarist Sally Gates and drummer Zack Simmons filled in on tours in 2009, and drummer Angel Cotte did so in 2013.
Tragically, some former members have since passed away (bassist Chris Woodall died in 2021, and guitarist Shaun DeLeon in 2024), underscoring the band’s now-storied but turbulent history. Despite the changes, Ian Sturgill and John Collett remained constants at the helm throughout the band’s run.
Critical Reception
Though SWWAATS’s discography is small, it made a strong impression on critics and fans of extreme metal. The Subhuman Empire EP (2007) was very well received in the death/grind underground – its blistering intensity and pointed commentary stood out among grindcore releases that year. Metal Injection praised the EP’s ferocity and message, highlighting how the band delivered “political messages in the most chaotic manner” yet still managed to craft catchy, passionate moments amid the chaos.
The chemistry between Haines and Sturgill on guitars and Collett’s guttural roar drew positive notice, as did Mike Petrak’s pummeling drumming.
This early acclaim built high expectations for their full album.
When The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry dropped in 2009, it garnered a generally positive critical response in the metal press. Reviewers noted that the album nearly never lets up in its brutality and speed, delivering a concise onslaught just over 30 minutes (excluding a noise-laden secret track).
Exclaim! magazine remarked that the record was essentially “a big ‘fuck you’ to all of humanity” in thematic tone – a reflection of the band’s scathing socio-political lyrics addressing topics like wage slavery, war, human rights abuses, globalism, and eugenics.
Critics often pointed out the band’s ability to avoid monotony despite the extreme style: Teeth of the Divine wrote that The Grand Partition... has a “sturdy and varied” framework, shifting smoothly between blast-beats, grind riffs, and groove-laden chugs so that it never becomes sterile.
The involvement of producer James Murphy was widely noted as a strong asset – BraveWords and other outlets highlighted how Murphy’s expertise gave the album a powerful, clear mix without sacrificing heaviness.
One review even mentioned that former Obituary bassist Frank Watkins endorsed the album, calling it “****ING GRIND 2009!!!” as a stamp of approval.
While some critics felt the album didn’t necessarily revolutionize the genre, most agreed it was a high-quality deathgrind release: Teeth of the Divine concluded that SWWAATS were “armed to the teeth in almost every respect” and delivered a focused, modern grindcore assault with this record.
Fan reception was similarly enthusiastic within the death metal and grindcore community, praising the band’s intensity and the intelligibility of Collett’s deep growls. Overall, SWWAATS’s work received strong reviews for its uncompromising brutality and sharp production, cementing the band’s cult reputation despite their brief output.
Tour History and Notable Live Performances
SWWAATS backed up their recordings with a series of live shows that became known for being as intense and unforgiving as their music. In their early days around 2007–2008, the band performed frequently in Florida’s metal circuit and the broader Southeast US, often appearing alongside other underground heavy acts. According to their label, SWWAATS shared the stage with notable extreme metal bands such as Macabre, Nile, Chthonic, Today Is The Day, Pyrexia, Rwake, Maruta, Anal Cnt, and The Minor Times, among others, while touring in support of the Subhuman Empire EP.
These gigs – ranging from local Tampa Bay area venues to regional metal fests – helped the band build a reputation for violent, high-energy live performances, with the band members unleashing ferocious energy on stage in line with their music’s chaos.
Audiences noted the band’s sheer intensity and the confrontational atmosphere they created live, which perfectly matched the aggressive tone of songs like “10,000 Sermons, 1 Solution” and “Cattle.”
In mid-2009, following the release of their album, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky embarked on a significant national tour. They joined the Conquer and Curse Tour 2009, a summer U.S. tour package that also featured Goatwhore, Abigail Williams, Daath, and Abysmal Dawn.
This tour kicked off June 14, 2009 in Pennsylvania and ran through August 14, 2009 in California, giving SWWAATS exposure to crowds across the country.
Sharing the bill with those established extreme metal acts allowed SWWAATS to bring their music to a wider audience, and their live ferocity reportedly held its own next to the veteran bands. Beyond that major tour, SWWAATS also played select one-off shows and smaller tours. For instance, they had been slated to perform a hometown show in Tampa in May 2008 but had to cancel due to ongoing studio work on the album.
They made up for such cancellations by hitting the road hard once the album was ready. Although there is no record of extensive international touring, SWWAATS did manage to leave an impression on the U.S. live circuit in their active years. Fans recall their sets as short, blistering barrages of sound that rarely let up – much like the tracks on their record – making SWWAATS’s concerts a memorable onslaught of grindcore intensity. Notable live moments included the band’s December 2007 show in Winter Park, FL (documented in an early live video), and their ability to incite mosh pits with the breakdowns and grooves embedded in their otherwise lightning-speed assault. SWWAATS’s touring activity largely ceased after 2009 as the band’s lineup shifted and eventually wound down, but their brief live tenure had already secured them a loyal following in the death metal underground.
Label Affiliations and Collaborations
From the outset, SWWAATS aligned with niche and then major players in the metal label scene. Their debut EP was released on Debello Recordings, a small independent label known for extreme music, on July 4, 2007.
Debello helped the band get their initial footing with Subhuman Empire. The big break came in December 2007, when Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky inked a deal with the renowned German metal label Nuclear Blast Records.
Joining Nuclear Blast’s roster (alongside major acts like Testament, Dimmu Borgir, etc.) was a significant step for such an abrasive grindcore band.
Nuclear Blast supported the recording and release of the band’s 2009 album, and the partnership was notable – at that time it was somewhat rare for a band of SWWAATS’s ultra-extreme style to be on the NB roster. This affiliation gave the band a higher profile and distribution reach worldwide.
In terms of collaborations, SWWAATS worked with a few notable figures in the metal community during their run. Most prominently, they collaborated with producer James Murphy for the creation of The Grand Partition and the Abrogation of Idolatry. Murphy, a celebrated guitarist from death metal legends Death and Obituary, produced, mixed, and mastered the album, bringing his expertise to the project.
The result was a crisp yet crushing sound that arguably elevated the album’s impact. The band members spoke highly of working with Murphy, noting his hands-on approach and wealth of knowledge from the “old days” of death metal production.
Another collaboration was the involvement of Mike Heller (drummer of Malignancy, who later played with Fear Factory) as a session musician. Heller performed all drum parts on the album in studio, filling in after the departure of the previous drummer and before Pete Lamb was fully integrated.
His precise and relentless drumming on the record is a defining feature of the album’s sound. Outside of studio work, SWWAATS’s members have had tangential links to other acts: for example, vocalist John Collett later joined the international death metal project Nightmarer and had performed live with New York death metal band Dehumanized, while bassist Jesse Jolly had ties to veteran bands like Diabolic and Malevolent Creation.
These connections reflect the members’ deep roots in the metal scene, though they are more side-notes than formal collaborations by SWWAATS as a band.
Throughout their brief career, SWWAATS showed a willingness to work with established figures and labels to sharpen their assault. Their partnership with Nuclear Blast gave them a major platform, and the collaboration with James Murphy in the studio yielded a well-crafted album that stands as their legacy. In hindsight, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky split up in the early 2010s (Metal Archives lists them as split-up after a few years of inactivity), but their collaborations and label support during 2007–2009 helped create an enduring cult impact. SWWAATS’s name may have been long, but their time in the spotlight was short and fierce – a concentrated burst of apocalyptic sound that left an imprint on extreme metal connoisseurs.
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…shrink me down again