About
Hess was founded in early 1995 by brothers Tom and Scott Hess as Gothic Empire, and the band used to play live shows in the Chicago area; according to Tom, the name was changed to Hess in 1998, "just before recording of Opus 1 started". In 1996 Scott left the band to finish his college degree and a replacement was found in Chris Dowgun, but from that year to 2001 the band had no bass player and they kept on playing live shows as a three-piece with pre-recorded bass and keyboard parts. In the current line-up, definitely established in 2001, Tom Hess plays 6- and 7-string guitars, Mike Walsh plays 7-string guitars and Mark Carozza plays 5-string bass.
Discography
Opus 2
Full-length · 2003
- 1 Nexuses 4:48
- 2 Kingdoms 3:34
- 3 Into the Pinnacle 4:40
- 4 The Cynic, the Sad, and the Fallen 7:35
- 5 What Could Have Been... and What Is Not 6:31
- 6 Through the Trials 5:27
- 7 Behold 4:37
- 8 Stained 3:52
- 9 Beyond the Brink 4:32
- 10 Waves of Far Reaching 7:28
Opus 1
Full-length · 2000
- 1 Exploration 5:44
- 2 Homage 4:40
- 3 Phoenix Rising 6:12
- 4 Empire 3:39
- 5 Modes of Expression 5:42
- 6 Lydian Speaks 6:28
- 7 Imperial 4:08
- 8 Through Space and Time 4:20
- 9 Golden Colloseum 2:55
- 10 On the Brink 8:48
- 11 Queen of Me 6:28
- 12 Palette of Shades 7:58