Since forming in 2006, The Host has become a staple of the Hard Rock scene in Cincinnati, Ohio. What started out as a labor of love for the four-piece has become an outright obsession. "The need to write and perform outweighs anything else in our lives, and we work hard to ensure that everything we do has a special quality to it," says Host singer, Chris Charlton. Drawing on a full spectrum of musical influences, The Host's overall sound lies around the edges of bands like Muse, The Mars Volta, and Queens of the Stone Age. Their unique style and unusual songwriting methods offer a more stream-of-conscious feel that stretches beyond the boundaries of modern Alternative Rock. Exotic verses and powerful choruses are supported by a solid framework of hooks that sink in and don't let go. In keeping with their namesake, song themes range from tales of revenge to restlessness to co-dependent relationships. Following the release of the Dual EP Project; 2007's “Receive” and 2008's “Transmit”, word-of-mouth for The Host has spread rapidly. Intense live shows and radio airplay, (including a variety of internet podcasts), have only fueled their fire. The Host received a nomination for the 2007 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards in the category of Best Hard Rock Band, and also forged their way to the Regional Semi-Finals of the Nationwide Bodog Battle of the Bands. The Host has been invited to join the 2008 Van’s Warped Tour and the annual MidPoint Music Festival (the regions largest music showcase). These high caliber shows have enabled The Host to establish further recognition with a fast growing audience. With the Receive/Transmit Dual EP Project now under their belt, The Host has started work on their first full length album while continuing to play LIVE, consistently attracting new listeners to their growing fan base.

Marc Sherlock, (drums), Stephen Streit, (bass), and Chris Charlton, (vocals), have been writing music together since 1994. They experienced a good amount of success in an experimental industrial rock band called Levelnine. They toured the East Coast, were nominated for a couple local music awards, and managed to support themselves on a small scale via t-shirt and CD sales until 2003, when the band split up. During their tenure, Levelnine found common ground and a common crowd with another Cincinnati-based band, Dropshadow. Eventually Dropshadow members also went their separate ways. Tim Kindberg set sail for Florida, where he attended college and graduated with honors. His return to Cincinnati in 2004 coincided perfectly with a semi-Levelnine reunion. Marc, Steve and Chris had started to pick up the pieces of their former band and began concentrating on a completely new project. They contacted Tim and dragged him into the mix.

Currently playing Cincinnati, with plans to shower the outlying areas this summer. (Chicago, Detriot, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis)

Dredg, Failure, Kyuss, Mars Volta, YES, Gratitude, Far, Deftones

The Host EP "Receive" Review Category: Music BY MIKE BREEN THE HOST -- RECEIVE This Cincinnati four-piece became one of the "you gotta hear these guys" new bands of 2006, thanks to impressive live shows and song leaks on their MySpace page. The Host's debut release, the five-song Receive, lives up to the hype. Featuring former members of Levelnine and Dropshadow (both of whom displayed a more far-reaching, imaginative take on Hard Rock than most of their local peers), The Host make sweeping, majestic Rock music with hints of Metal and Prog. Singer Chris Charlton has some pretty impressive pipes, guiding the band's songs with a soaring, elastic voice that recalls Cedric Bixler of The Mars Volta, while the echoing, cascading sheets of Tim Kindberg's Edge-like guitar-playing evokes the depth and ambient textures of groups like Deftones and Tool. The rhythm section is equally effective, providing a big and dynamic backdrop. The songs on Receive twist and crawl, avoiding rote verse/chorus/verse structuring for the most part to create something more engaging and stream-of-conscious. While inherently powerful, songs like "On to the May" and "She Came with the frame" have a hypnotic magnetism, as riffs wash over your ears like crashing waves and Charlton's voice sounds like a Siren, with its memorable, high-ceiling melodicism. "Red Smalltalk and the Lava Rose" follows a similar tact, but is infused with a tweaked verse section that takes an almost Ska-like rhythm and turns it inside out. Receive contains some really absorbing material that already seems fully-realized and, overall, it feels far from a first effort. I can't wait to hear where they take it from here (I might not have to wait long; another EP is already in the works). Grade: A