Where Are They Now? Elliott Gruenberg: From Small-Town Ohio and Legacy to the Global Stages of Blessthefall
Blessthefall 2025
Where Are They Now? Elliott Gruenberg: From Small-Town Ohio and Legacy to the Global Stages of Blessthefall
For many fans, Elliott Gruenberg is best known as the longtime guitarist of Blessthefall, helping shape the band’s sound across multiple albums and countless tours around the world. But before international festivals, sold-out shows in South America, and recording acclaimed albums with Blessthefall, Gruenberg was a young musician grinding away in Ohio’s local scene, building bands with friends, recording with Joey Sturgis, and chasing opportunities wherever they appeared.
In this installment of Highwire Daze’s Where Are They Now? series, Gruenberg looks back on his journey from Settle the Sky and Before Their Eyes to the formation of Legacy, the release of With Peace In Mind, the creation of Watch This Burn, and ultimately his life-changing call from Blessthefall. Along the way, he reflects on friendship, loyalty, loss, perseverance, and the importance of creating your own destiny.
Untouchable by Before Their Eyes
From Before Their Eyes to New Beginnings
Prior to Legacy, you were in Before Their Eyes with Nick Moore and Landon Tewers and appeared on the album Untouchable. How did that chapter of your career come about, and what do you remember most about that time?
Yeah, so I was playing with a couple of the guys who eventually ended up being in Legacy in my high school band. We were called Settle the Sky, kind of an old MySpace-era band. We actually recorded with Joey Sturgis back when he was basically working out of a garage.
At the time, bands like The Devil Wears Prada, Emarosa, and Before Their Eyes had all recorded there. We would have those guys come up from Findlay, Ohio and play shows with us.
Long story short, Before Their Eyes lost a guitar player. I think his name was Brendan. They reached out to me, which completely caught me off guard. It was a much different style than what I had been playing, but I really loved it. Creatively, it was unlike anything I’d done before.
Landon is an incredible songwriter, so getting to work with him was really cool. Nick has done a ton of work with labels and has so much insight into the business side of music. There’s a lot of wisdom there because he’s been doing it forever.
It was simply an amazing opportunity to get in a room with those guys, make music, and learn from them. Honestly, it kind of fell into my lap. Maybe they just noticed I was the guy constantly practicing guitar and decided to give me a call.
The Original Legacy
Building Legacy
How old were you when you first joined Legacy, and where were you based at the time?
I think I was nineteen or twenty years old.
Before Their Eyes was kind of winding down at that point. Nick had left the band, and Landon, Jarrett, Anthony and I had done a tour in Japan. My last show with the band was actually in Tokyo.
It was funny because I went from playing this incredible show overseas to working three different mall jobs back home.
Some of my friends had a project called I Am Legacy. It wasn’t really intended to be a serious band. It was more of a fun project that sounded kind of like Attack Attack!, very much in that crabcore era.
I basically hijacked the project.
These were friends I’d been playing music with since high school, and I asked them if they wanted to start writing songs seriously. We ended up recording with a producer named Nick outside Columbus, and things started coming together quickly.
Honestly, I really started the band. It existed in its infancy, but they weren’t planning to do much with it. I suggested we drop the “I Am” and just call it Legacy.
We needed a drummer and a few other pieces, so I started recruiting people I thought were some of the best musicians around.
Originally, Legacy had two vocalists. One was JD Merrill, who had been the singer for Settle the Sky. Later, Dan Gardner came in, and for a while both of them were involved. They’re cousins and genuinely some of the most talented and pleasant people I’ve ever been in a band with. Even now, at thirty-six, I still think those guys rule.
My friend David, who had played in From the Shallows, came in on drums. He was incredible. At the time, he was one of the best drummers in Ohio and probably one of the best in the entire region. When he agreed to play with us, I remember thinking, “I’d better get really good at guitar really fast because this guy is such a monster player.“
Then there was our friend Devin on bass. He was also a graphic design major, so he helped us create artwork, branding, and merchandise internally.
It honestly felt like assembling a miniature version of The Avengers. We had all these talented people coming together, and it was a really exciting time.
I was honestly surprised you’d even heard of Legacy.
(Laughs.)
That caught me off guard.
The Original Legacy
The Call From Blessthefall
When I interviewed Legacy in 2012, I believe you were already in Blessthefall. I interviewed Gabe Lopez and Lupe Lopez. Do you remember them?
Oh yeah, absolutely.
With Legacy, I had written a lot of songs, and we had maybe five or six tracks finished. There was already some buzz around us, and we’d started getting interest from a few labels.
My biggest motivation was helping these incredibly talented friends of mine escape small-town Ohio and pursue something bigger.
Then I got a call from Blessthefall.
That moment was a huge crossroads in my life.
On one side, I had this band I’d built with some of my best friends. On the other side was an opportunity with Blessthefall. They told me they needed a guitar player and said the first show would be in Osaka. We would be headlining with Asking Alexandria, then heading to Australia to play festivals alongside Bring Me The Horizon and Iron Maiden.
I remember thinking, “My God, this is insane.”
You have to remember, at the time I was working multiple mall jobs just trying to get by. Suddenly, I was being offered the chance to play shows with Iron Maiden.
It was one of those moments where life puts an opportunity right in front of you, and you know you have to take it.
I remember Legacy had a show coming up, and I asked Lupe if he’d be interested in learning the rhythm guitar parts because some of the material was pretty challenging. He was totally down.
After that show, I sat everyone down and said, “Guys, I’ve received this offer, and I think I’m going to take it.”
I also told them I wanted to continue helping however I could because these were some of my closest friends.
Fearless Records had signed Blessthefall at the time, and they were asking questions about Legacy. Artery was interested as well, so there was genuine momentum.
Honestly, all I really wanted was to see my friends get a win.
With Peace In Mind by Legacy
Mixed Feelings About With Peace In Mind
With Peace In Mind by Legacy was released in 2012. What was it like seeing that record come out after you’d moved on?
To be honest, I had a lot of mixed feelings about it.
By that point, none of my original friends were involved with the band anymore. That was difficult because Legacy had originally been something I built alongside my friends.
My goal was always to help these talented people succeed and get opportunities beyond our small-town environment.
That isn’t meant as a knock on anybody involved. They worked hard, and I respect that. But at the time, there was definitely a bittersweet feeling watching something you helped build continue in a different form.
My biggest regret is probably that I never got to fully finish what I started with Legacy. I wish I’d been able to continue helping write the record and contribute everything I could creatively.
That said, I still really like a lot of the songs we wrote together.
Ironically, some of that material also helped open doors for me. Being able to write music in that style demonstrated skills that ultimately helped me land the Blessthefall opportunity.
So in a strange way, Legacy still served an important purpose in my life and career.
Elliott Gruenberg / Legacy era
Watch This Burn: Reclaiming the Moment
Tell me about Watch This Burn.
My friends were obviously pretty bummed by everything that had happened with Legacy.
One winter break, I came home and reunited with the original lineup. We recorded a song called “Depths” under the name Watch This Burn.
We released it, and people loved it.
A lot of our original supporters immediately connected with it because it felt like the continuation of the original Legacy lineup.
Nobody really treated it as a long-term band, but we did record a few songs together and had a great time doing it.
One of my favorite memories was when Settle the Sky reunited for a hometown Christmas show. Before that reunion set, Watch This Burn played a full performance.
The venue was packed.
It was this old post office-turned-venue in our hometown. We brought in gear, invited all our friends’ bands, and recreated the atmosphere we grew up with.
That was always my favorite part of music anyway: the community.
It wasn’t about labels or industry hype. It was about bringing everybody together and building something special in small-town Ohio.
Those fans had only gotten one proper show from the original Legacy lineup, so getting to revisit those songs felt really special.
It’s honestly one of my favorite memories.
Blessthefall 2013 Warped Tour
Filling Mike Frisby’s Shoes
Were you nervous about replacing Mike Frisby in Blessthefall?
Totally.
Mike’s a ripper.
Before Their Eyes had toured with Blessthefall several times, so I’d gotten to know the guys before joining.
I didn’t grow up listening to Blessthefall, but once I toured with them, I realized how talented they were and how great they were as people.
Honestly, I feel like I earned my spot by hanging out in their van and playing Mario Kart.
Back then everybody had Nintendo DS systems, and we’d link them together and play for hours.
I’d beat a few of them and they’d get so competitive.
“No, you’re not leaving. We’re doing another race.“
(Laughs.)
I love those guys.
Thankfully, everything worked out.
Awakening by Blessthefall
The Awakening Era
Looking back now, how do you feel about Awakening and the era surrounding that record?
I loved Awakening.
I remember Eric sending me a demo of “Bottomfeeder.” It was one of the last songs he and Mike Frisby had really worked on together. At the time, they’d been touring with August Burns Red, and when I heard the demo, I immediately thought, “Yeah, I can tell you’ve been touring with ABR. This song absolutely rips.”
My hands get tired just thinking about playing it.
Then we started writing songs like “40 Days...” and “Promises,” and it was just such a fun experience.
What was really interesting was seeing how Blessthefall approached songwriting compared to the way we’d written music in Before Their Eyes or Legacy. Eric is a phenomenal guitar player, and we got along immediately because we loved a lot of the same music and riffs.
It felt very natural.
Honestly, it felt like the kind of friendship where, if we’d met in high school, we probably would have been friends right away.
He’s an incredibly talented guy, and I had a great time creating music with him.
I absolutely love that album.
To Those Left Behind by Blessthefall
To Those Left Behind
To Those Left Behind recently passed its ten-year anniversary. What goes through your mind knowing that record is now over a decade old?
Disbelief.
It’s honestly crazy to think about.
But my first feeling is gratitude.
I’m incredibly grateful that we’re still able to do this at our age, even if it’s in a more limited capacity than when we were younger. We still get to travel and play music. We just got back from South America, and I was thinking, “This is insane.”
We sold out a show in São Paulo playing breakdowns.
How crazy is life?
What a gift that’s been.
I’ll admit that To Those Left Behind doesn’t always get as much love as some of the other Blessthefall records, but I personally love that album.
There’s a song called “Walk on Water” where I contributed a lot of the lyrical ideas. Around that time, one of my close friends had overdosed and passed away. I was staying in Japan, and I remember visiting a shrine and lighting candles for him.
He was part of the same community I was talking about earlier. He was one of those people who grew up wanting to play guitar and be in a band. He’d watched me playing shows throughout high school, and unfortunately he just got pulled into the wrong crowd.
That loss completely broke my heart.
There’s a lot of anger and emotion on that album that came from experiences like that.
I also got to work closely with Jared and Beau on various lyrical concepts, which I really enjoyed.
So yeah, it’s wild to think that record is more than ten years old now.
I’d love to sneak some of those songs back into a set one day.
Gallows by Blessthefall
And Now Presenting Gallows
Let’s talk about Gallows. That came out after a lengthy hiatus. What was it like finally releasing a new Blessthefall album?
Surreal.
We’d been on hiatus for quite a while.
We actually started writing before the pandemic, but every time we got momentum going, things seemed to fizzle out for one reason or another.
Then Eric went out to Los Angeles and started working with producer Hiram Hernandez, and honestly, Hiram was instrumental in getting the gears turning again. Once those demos started coming together, we realized we had a completely different creative energy happening.
At that point, it became, “Let’s stop worrying about everything we’ve written before and chase this feeling.”
I think Hiram really challenged us creatively and pushed us toward making something different.
By then we were several albums into our career, and that’s not easy. You have to find ways to keep inspiring yourself and keep growing.
I love that record.
One of the first things I think about when I think of Gallows is Iceland.
We had a friend named Doug, who does work for National Geographic and Amazon. He told us, “If you buy my plane ticket, I’ll come out and photograph everything.”
Instead of spending our budget in Los Angeles, we took that money and went to Iceland.
Eric had been inspired by photographs of this church he’d found online, and we built much of the visual concept around that location.
The trip became something far more meaningful than a photoshoot.
Eric’s mother had passed away not long before. My mom had passed away the year before as well.
So much had changed in our lives.
Things we thought were permanent simply weren’t there anymore.
It was heartbreaking, but it was also incredibly healing.
We got to come together as brothers, process those experiences, and document that moment in our lives.
The funny part is that when the album artwork came out, everybody thought it was AI-generated.
Laughs.
People thought we’d photoshopped everything.
But it’s real.
The church is real. Iceland is real. We were actually there.
Maybe we made the sky a little red for the album cover, but that’s about it.
That church is on Vestmannaeyjar, off the southern coast of Iceland.
It’s such an incredible place.
Elliott Gruenberg of Blessthefall via Zoom!
Creating Your Own Destiny
Do you have any messages for Blessthefall fans and fans of your earlier bands who are reading this interview?
First of all, thank you.
If you’ve followed me from my earlier bands all the way to Blessthefall, thank you for sticking with me through the entire journey.
I never imagined I’d go from working mall jobs to getting the opportunity to travel the world and play music.
When I left college to pursue music full-time, the head of my department told me I wasn’t talented enough to build a career in music.
And honestly?
I think about that person every time we’re in Australia, South America, or doing something incredible that I never imagined would happen.
You get to create your own destiny.
Don’t let anyone put you in a box.
Don’t let anyone make you feel small or inadequate.
You deserve a seat at the table.
And for Blessthefall fans specifically, we’ve got some really exciting things on the horizon.
We’ve been doing some sneaky things in the studio lately.
So there’s definitely a lot to look forward to.
In Conclusion
Looking back on Elliott Gruenberg’s journey, what stands out most is not the festivals, the sold-out shows, or even the albums themselves. It’s the loyalty he continues to show toward the friends and community that helped shape him. Whether discussing Settle the Sky, Before Their Eyes, Legacy, Watch This Burn, or Blessthefall, the same themes surface repeatedly: friendship, opportunity, perseverance, and gratitude.
From writing songs in Ohio basements to performing around the globe, Gruenberg’s story is a reminder that success rarely follows a straight path. Sometimes it begins with a chance phone call, a borrowed rehearsal space, a packed hometown reunion show, or simply refusing to listen when someone tells you that you aren’t good enough.
And judging from his enthusiasm about what’s coming next, the story of Elliott Gruenberg and Blessthefall is far from over.
(Interview by Ken Morton)
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