Playing their own punishing, passionate, and precise style of melodic hardcore and metalcore, Ghost Key hail from Peoria, Illinois. Featuring Austin O'Brien on lead vocals, Chris Bayless and Stephen Wegman on guitars, Ryan Murphy on bass, and Andrew Buchanan on drums, Ghost Key feature five close friends and originally came together in 2012 with little in mind besides playing occasional local shows. Ghost Key had only been together a few months when they recorded their first four-song demo, Winter, which the band released on cassette. Around the same time, Ghost Key joined up with the group Vanitas for a split single, and as their reputation spread, they soon went from periodic two-week tours in the Midwest to longer road trips with bands such as Beartooth and Silent Planet. MMXIII-MMXIV, a six-song EP, appeared in March 2014, and in 2015 the group partnered with No Sleep Records to release another EP, the four-song effort The Things I Am Not. After more rigorous touring, Ghost Key jumped ship to InVogue Records, which released their first full-length effort, If I Don't Make It, in February 2017. ~ Mark Deming