Stavesacre are an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West. Stavesacre has released six studio albums, two EPs, one split album, one compilation, and one DVD. In 2007, the band stated they would disband following the recording of new songs with original guitarist Jeff Bellew, who had departed in 1999 after the recording of Speakeasy. Those songs were released in the 2009 Against the Silence EP/DVD documentary. However, after a period of inactivity, the band began writing new music in 2014, and in 2016 the group announced a crowdfunding project for its sixth studio album.<ref name="S6">{{cite web|url=http://hmmagazine.com/blog/hmtv/stavesacre-crowdfunding-new-album-stavesacre-vi/|title=Stavesacre crowdfunding new album, 'Stavesacre VI|last=Stagg|first=David|date=March 11, 2016|publisher=HM Magazine|access-date=April 10, 2016}}</ref> MCMXCV was released in August 2017. History Stavesacre was formed in 1995 as a post-hardcore band following the breakup of the Crucified. Vocalist Mark Salomon and guitarist Jeff Bellew played in The Crucified and, following its disbandment, the two still had a desire to write music. Salomon and Bellew recruited bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Jeremy Moffett. They knew Lemmenes from his former band, Focused, which The Crucified toured with. Salomon and Moffett had been roommates for a while, and Moffett played in the band the Blamed. They signed to Tooth & Nail Records because The Crucified was on the label and Salomon enjoyed working with the label owners. The band soon got to work on its debut album, Friction, which was released on June 7, 1996. After the album's release, Moffett left the band and was replaced by former Scaterd Few drummer Sam West. The following year, they released Absolutes. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, saying the lyrics didn't stand out to him but "the sound is so heavy and foreboding that the lack of strong writing becomes a moot point." Following the release of Absolutes, Ryan Dennee joined the band as a second guitarist. Bellew soon departed to focus on his marriage; however, he recorded additional guitars for the band's next album. Their third studio album, Speakeasy, was released on November 16, 1999. Doug Van Pelt of HM magazine praised the album and its lyrics, saying, "Lyrically, the band seems to open up its heart for surgery." Speakeasy gained the band its first chart position, debuting at number 44