tat•ter•mask. \'ta-tər-'mask\ n. an emotional façade, put forth by those who are crying inside, falsely signaling to the outside world that everything is alright, so that the aspersions cast by others on the outside will be deflected and won’t wound the vulnerable soul within. Few will see the true souls behind the battle-wounded, tattered masks we wear. Just when everybody thought they'd called it quits, Charlotte femme-metal band Tattermask finally pulled out an actual date (Nov. 11 or "11/11/11/) for the release of their long-await debut LP, "After the Storm." Having had two lineup changes since the tracks were recorded last August, Tattermask appeared to be struggling with stability, and that's no exaggeration. "I know it makes us look a bit like wishy-washy morons, but it was like every time we made a decision about what to call the album or what to put on it, something changed either member-wise or financially to make it impossible. We kept having to change our tune, and I know the fans had to feel like we were crying wolf," says singer Amanda Caines. It's really going to happen this time, though, and judging by the reactions of fans' RSVP posts on the CD Release Party's Facebook event page, the fans can hardly wait to finally get an actual Tattermask CD. Guitarist Josh Wright shares that sentiment completely: "I can't wait to be able to hold our CD in my hand!" You can hear the glee in his voice as he says, "They're making our cd at the factory RIGHT NOW." To some veteran bands, putting out just another CD isn't such a big deal, but this band of poor kids from South Carolina is just happy to be able to see the band's name in the iTunes store and to have something to hand to fans that doesn't have the title written in Sharpie. Though Tattermask has been together for almost four years, this is the first professionally pressed CD that they could afford to do. Even then, it took about 3 years. "We had enough material in 2009 to do a full-length CD, but our member lineup just didn't feel right, plus the money just wasn't there," admits Caines. While the lineup of members that recorded the CD didn't last, either, Ryan Fosnow (drums) and Richy Lewis (bass) showed remarkable skill on the recording. "I'm ultimately glad we waited because we've written some cool songs since 2009 that wouldn't have been on the record otherwise," smiles Caines. TATTERMASK would like to recognize those people without whose undying support this album, if not this band, could not exist: Linda & David Caines, Jeff Rumsey, Scott Friend & April Cooper, Scott Grube, Gene Lazo, Grown Up Avenger Stuff, Mike Genett, Wendy Pierce of Deadgirl Productions, A Light Divided, Kimmi & Davoren Kirk, “Twisted Todd” Holcombe, Divakar Shukla, Obraskai, DeAnne Small, Robin & Eddie Laws, David “Davy Bones” Berryhill, Ricardo Estrada, Roger Cullis, Tom & Mary Fosnow, and, most of all, the other founding members of Tattermask: Joel Blackmon (rhythm guitar), Adam Blackmon (drums), and Brandon Usher (bass). Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Daniel Gleason at Holographic Recording Studios, Chicago, IL All songs and lyrics written by TATTERMASK © 2007 - 2010 Vocals/Guitar - Amanda Caines Lead Guitar - Josh Wright Bass - Richy Lewis Drums - Ryan Fosnow Cover art by Kimberly Kirk Band Photo by April Cooper Produced by Starving Artist Records, Charlotte, NC Tattermask resides near Charlotte, NC Read lyrics & download extra tracks at the band's website