Skrape formed in Orlando, Florida in 1997, initially performing under the name "Jojo" before adopting the Skrape moniker two years later. Drummer Will Hunt said he became inspired to form his own band while touring Europe with Stuck Mojo in late 1996, after seeing how enthusiastic crowds were toward the band Life of Agony, whom they were performing alongside. Hunt already knew vocalist Billy Keeton prior to forming the band, and the other members were recruited afterward, with Hunt and Keeton citing Deftones as a key influence on the sound they were chasing. The classic lineup rounded out with guitarist Mike Lynchard, guitarist/keyboardist Brian Milner, and bassist Pete Sison, several of whom had cut their teeth in acts like Stuck Mojo and Genitorturers before converging in Orlando.
The band's breakthrough came after signing with RCA Records in October 1999, leading to the 2001 release of their debut album, "New Killer America." To support the album, Skrape went on an American tour with Disturbed beginning March 16, 2001, and later that year embarked on the Extreme Steel Tour of North America with Morbid Angel, Pantera, Slayer, and Static-X, a tour that was Pantera's last in America prior to their original breakup. These tours with popular metal acts helped the album sell in excess of 100,000 copies in the US, and it found even greater success in Japan, where it became the twelfth highest selling album of 2001. On August 19, 2001, Skrape performed at the second day of the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan , cementing their popularity overseas. The album spun off singles including "Waste" and "Isolated," and critics noted its "groove-based, mysterious aura," largely shaped by producer Ulrich Wild.
Skrape returned in 2004 with a second RCA album, "Up the Dose," which built on tracks from their debut but met mixed reviews, with the Orlando Sentinel calling it "a predictable though solid regurgitation of the power chords and angst of 2001's New Killer America." A couple of months after the album's release, the band was dropped from the label , and the group effectively disbanded in 2004, though Will Hunt hinted at possible future activity before the band reunited briefly for a 2005 gig opening for Dark New Day . Lineup shuffles had already marked their run, with guitarist Randy Melser replacing Mike Lynchard in 2002. After the split, members scattered into other notable projects: Will Hunt joined Dark New Day and later Evanescence, while Brian Milner went on to join Dope as their bassist. Billy Keeton kept the Skrape name alive in spirit through subsequent ventures, most notably Audiotopsy, which featured guitarist Greg Tribbett and drummer Matt McDonough of Mudvayne alongside bassist Perry Stern . Skrape itself remained dormant for over two decades, though after twenty-one years of inactivity, the band is currently attempting to reform, pending the outcome of a legal challenge to Billy Keeton's use of the band's name . Despite never becoming a household name outside the nu metal scene, Skrape's brief but intense run left a mark on the genre's early-2000s heyday, remembered for their aggressive, melodic sound and their ties to bigger acts like Mudvayne, Evanescence, and Dope through their alumni network.
This archive holds a small but meaningful record of that era: Wayne Dennon photographed Skrape at one show back in 2003, capturing the band during the touring cycle for "Up the Dose." The 17 photographs from that night remain part of this collection, viewed by archive visitors 12,988 times, a quiet testament to the enduring curiosity fans still have for the bands that defined early-2000s hard rock and nu metal.
