The Hope Conspiracy

by Greg PratoFeaturing former members of Harvest, the Boston hardcore outfit the Hope Conspiracy is musically comparable to such bands as Supersleuth, Snapcase, Ten Yard Fight, and Time Flies. The quintet issued a pair of releases early on, a self-titled EP, and their 2000 full-length debut, Cold Blue, the latter for Equal Vision Records. 2001 saw the re-release of their hard to find self-titled EP on CD (remastered and repackaged with a pair of bonus tracks), while the group toured with the likes of Converge and Sick of It All. In the spring of 2002 the group -- several lineup changes later, now including vocalist Kevin Baker, guitarist Aaron Lisi, bassist Jonas Feinberg, and drummer Jared Shavelson -- started writing again and started work on their next album. The resulting Endnote was released that fall. Rounds of touring with bands like From Autumn to Ashes and Boy Sets Fire ensued before the Hope Conspiracy went on hiatus in 2004, its members taking part in other projects, like Baker singing for Bars and Shavelson drumming with None More Black. They returned in spring 2006 on Deathwish Inc. with the limited 7" Hang Your Cross, which preceded the September release of their stellar full-length Death Knows Your Name; it featured the recorded debut of new guitarist Tim Cossar (American Nightmare, Bars) and marked the return of former guitarist Neeraj Kane (the Suicide File, Holy Roman Empire).