Based out of Dowagiac, Michigan, Larvamind was formed on January 13th 1999 by Bob Keys, who was ousted from his previous band for being "too metal", and a very agitated Justin Hicks (whose utter disdain for the music industry had led him to taking a leave from writing music for nearly 2 years). Having known each other from a brief stint in Michiana's progressive metal giant, MONIKER, it didn't take long before they found each other again. They knew exactly what they
wanted to achieve, and, in that very first rehearsal, gave birth
to
"Sliverswitch", a remake of the MONIKER classic
"A Quixotic Lust For Splendor"
and several other pieces that became the foundation of the wealth of songs they have today.
Having gone through numerous bass players and
vocalists, it seemed that the only person capable of handling the workload and tremendous stress of gigging was also the very same guy they used to borrow
bass equiptment from. Enter Nixon. Aside from the "No Tolerence"
project he and Bob had worked on in Dec 97, LARVAMIND became his first real band.
During that first crucial year, Lm had recorded several demos and played all over Michiana with frontman Daval (TONIC SOLFA, INFORRED) on vocals. Releasing 6 CDs in only 8 months soon took its toll on the band and after a brief hiatus, LARVAMIND regrouped under the roof of an abandoned furniture factory and soon began work on their own recording studio.
One show later, Daval leaves to persue personal interests whilst the rest of the band plots and plans what to do next. With a brief tour already booked with the Three Rivers, Michigan punk rockers, LOVE MUFFIN, Lm was forced to play a few instrumental shows. Those shows redifined LARVAMIND's sound and encouraged them to continue on despite Daval's departure. It was also in those few months that the band realized that it worked better as a three-piece. And through all its frustrations and trials, exceeded all previous levels of performance. While no one claims to be the new "frontman" of the group, Justin [who had long since gone by the name juz10] soon took on the lead vocal duties while Bob & Nixon began writing new music and hammering powerful vocal lines.
Each personality is a vital
organ to the soul of LARVAMIND. The way each member
plays comes from somewhere beyond the ear and logical
notation. In a whole, Larvamind come
straight from life's many experiences and write from the unity of the
heart, soul, and mind. And in closing, that mind is
still in the larva stage.