A Skylit Drive is an American post-hardcore group from Lodi, California, active since 2005. Their sound is associated with emo, emocore, post-hardcore and screamo.

History

The original members meet while attending Lodi High School in Lodi. The band forms in 2006 and releases its debut EP, She Watched the Sky, in January 2007 through Tragic Hero Records. After that release, they tour widely with acts including Four Letter Lie, Blessthefall, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Greeley Estates, Oh, Sleeper, The Blackout, Alesana, Before Their Eyes, Dance Gavin Dance, Kenotia, Pierce the Veil and From First to Last.

In late 2007, original vocalist Jordan Blake leaves because of health issues that stop him touring. Jonny Craig briefly replaces him and records a demo version of “Knights of the Round”, before Craig Mabbitt also passes through the role and Michael Jagmin becomes the permanent vocalist. Blake later forms Speak of the Devil in 2013.

Albums and releases

The band’s first full-length album, Wires...And the Concept of Breathing, appears in May 2008. It is produced by Mitchell Marlow and Allen Jacob and reaches number 171 on the Billboard 200 and number 20 on the Top Independent Albums chart. The group follows it with the live DVD Let Go of the Wires in December 2008.

In early 2009, A Skylit Drive signs with Fearless Records and announces a co-headlining tour with Dance Gavin Dance. They take part in the 2009 Warped Tour and issue the single “Those Cannons Could Sink a Ship”. Their second studio album, Adelphia, arrives in June 2009 and reaches number 64 on the Billboard 200. In the United Kingdom, it is released through Hassle Records. A music video for the single follows later that year.

During 2010, the band begins work on a follow-up with producer Cameron Webb. Their third album, Identity on Fire, is released in February 2011. To support it, they tour with Underoath, Thursday and Animals as Leaders, release the video for “Too Little Too Late”, appear on the 2011 Warped Tour, tour Europe, and record a cover of “Love the Way You Lie” for another Punk Goes... compilation.

In January 2012, they release a video for “The Cali Buds” and tour Southeast Asia with For This Cause. By that year they are working on the next album. In September 2012, lead guitarist Joey Wilson leaves, saying both sides want to move in different directions. The standalone single “Fallen” appears in November 2012, and the band returns to Tragic Hero Records after two albums with Fearless Records.

For 2013’s Rise, the group works with producers and songwriters including Jim Wirt, Kit Walters, Mitchell Marlow and Al Jacobs before recording at Chango Studios in Florida with Cameron Mizell. The title track and “Unbreakable” are released as singles, and the album sells more than 10,000 copies in its first week. The band tours nationally with For All Those Sleeping, I the Mighty, Wolves at the Gate, Pvris and Incredible Me.

In 2014, A Skylit Drive tours with Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive, Hands Like Houses and Beartooth, and appears on Warped Tour. Later that year, bassist Brian White and drummer Cory LaQuay leave, citing creative differences. The remaining members continue, releasing the acoustic reworking Rise: Ascension in January 2015. Guitarist Michael Labelle and drummer Brandon Richter then join, while keyboardist Kyle Simmons moves to bass. The fifth studio album, ASD, follows in October 2015 and is supported by a tour.

Line-up changes and later activity

By 2016, the group is reduced to four members and no longer has a permanent drummer. In March 2017, it enters a hiatus after vocalist Michael Jagmin departs. On 23 January 2022, several original members announce a reunion to mark the fifteenth anniversary of She Watched the Sky. Performing as Original A.S.D., the line-up includes Jordan Blake, Brian White, Joey Wilson, Cory LaQuay and Nick Miller, and the group is scheduled to appear at festivals including So What?! and Swanfest. Legal action follows over the A Skylit Drive name, and the reunion name changes to ASD.

In May 2022, the A Skylit Drive line-up led by Jagmin and Jonathan Kintz expands with guitarist and vocalist Louie Caycoya and drummer KC Marotta. In March 2023, Blake and Jagmin issue a joint statement saying tensions between the two factions have eased. The following month, the band announces a fifteenth-anniversary tour for Wires and the Concept of Breathing. Jordan Blake dies in April 2023. KC Marotta leaves in September 2023 and is replaced by Ethan Church, who departs in April 2025 after the spring tour; Myles Clayborne then joins. The group remains active under Michael Jagmin’s leadership and continues to perform and tour.