Hawthorne Heights And Victory Bury The Hatchet

Hawthorne Heights have dropped their August 2006 lawsuit against Victory Records, which will now release the emo/punk group's Fragile Future on Aug. 5.

Victory issued Hawthorne Heights' first two albums: 2004's The Silence In Black And White and 2006's If Only You Were Lonely. While both were successful, the Dayton, Ohio band were unhappy with the Chicago-based label and said they were leaving it because they didn't like the way president Tony Brummel did business. Hawthorne Heights sued Victory, citing fraudulent accounting practices among their accusations.

Victory maintained that the band still owed it two more studio albums, according to their agreement, and filed a countersuit for breach of contract and libel. Victory also sued Virgin Records and EMI Music North America, which it claimed wrongfully interfered with its contractual relationship with the group and was trying to steal them.

A judge ruled in March 2007 that Victory didn't have exclusive rights to Hawthorne Heights and that the band were free to record for any label, but he maintained that they still owed two albums to the punk label.

Hawthorne Heights continued to do pre-production work for Fragile Future with producer Howard Benson (Daughtry, Hoobastank) while they were in legal limbo, but now the two sides have finally reached a settlement and are making nice.

"We now regret having begun the lawsuit we filed in 2006," says Hawthorne Heights drummer Eron Bucciarelli. "We should not have listened to those who, for whatever reasons, were then advising us to pursue this strategy.

"We are sorry for having put Victory Records and Tony Brummel through this ordeal, and regret any negative publicity that may have resulted. Many false, hurtful and incorrect statements were made, especially on the internet, none of which were true. Tony Brummel and Victory gave us our start, and did an unprecedented job with our first two albums. We hope they can repeat that success with our third studio album. Unfortunately, we cannot change the past, but we're now taking steps to heal the wounds and start fresh."

"Everyone at Victory is ecstatic about the forthcoming album from Hawthorne Heights," says Brummel, joining in on the lovefest. "It is by far their best material to date.

"Everything happens for a reason and there is tremendous positivity in the air. We have lived in a reality of petty disputes, unresolved misunderstandings, unhealthy friction and negative sensationalism for too long. Forgiveness and the ability to reunite are powerful gifts. They create a spirit. Couple that spirit with great music and you have something that is extraordinary and transcendental. You cannot change the past, but you can affect the future. There is a bigger lesson and story here than just releasing a new album. Victory, and I know Hawthorne Heights, are thankful to be a part of that."