Exit Lines: The Brief History of Behind Closed Doors

Behind Closed Doors were a young hardcore band from Baltimore, MD. Formed in 1996 and disbanded by 1998, they quickly became renowned in the Baltimore/DC region for their unusually long, dynamic songs and alarmingly unhinged live shows. They broke up while in the process of writing what would have been their debut full-length for Temporary Residence in 1998, leaving behind a recorded legacy of what they were, and a blueprint of what they could’ve been. Bridging the crazed emotions of early screamo bands like Heroin and Angel Hair, the thoughtful complexity of Unwound, and the sinister heaviness of His Hero Is Gone, Behind Closed Doors was a huge bolt of lightning in a very tiny bottle. They are perhaps most notable for splintering into so many more bands after their dissolution; Blakeslee joined Tonie Joy of Moss Icon/Universal Order of Armageddon in his new band, The Convocation Of – and eventually formed his own well-known ensemble, The Entrance Band. Meanwhile, drummer Aaron Friedm