Who ever said Tennessee was the home of country music?

This statement has been broken time and time again when rock acts have been emerging from the ‘home of country music’, such as Fuel, Sevendust and Saliva. And now, another name has been added to that list.

10 Years is made up of five boys that hail from Knoxville---Jesse Hasek on vocals, Brian Vodinh on drums, Ryan “Tater” Johnson and Matt Wantland on guitars, and Lewis Cosby on bass.

Formed three years ago, 10 Years released an independent record titled Killing All that Holds You. Earlier this year, the band signed with Republic/Universal Records, went to work with producer Josh Abraham, known for his work with Staind and Velvet Revolver, and soon released their debut album The Autumn Effect.

“Humanity is slowly shutting down,” says frontman Hasek. “Music is supposed to be about intensity and feeling, but there’s no thinking behind the music that’s out there today. We want people to think, to feel emotions again.”

10 Years has evolved from a wake of high school metal bands, to the more melodic, heavy fusion that appears on The Autumn Effect. “Less is more,” is the way they describe their sound, and nowhere is that more apparent than their hit ‘Wasteland’, which peaked at number five on the Billboard Charts.

The Autumn Effect resonates as much lyrically as it does musically. “Prey”, for instance, was inspired by the band’s move to Los Angeles to record their debut album, and Hasek’s observation that people in L.A. drive cars worth more than some of their houses in Tennessee. “The Recipe” is about how casual consumption of lust with random strangers devalues and destroys the ability to love.

“Whether we’re talking about love, substance abuse, temptation, or whatever, all the songs are about life, and the emotions that we all go through,” says Hasek. “Life is an organic process of growth and decay, and it is unavoidable in nature.”

10 Years has opened for groups like Velvet Revolver and Static-X, and show no signs of slowing down. With ‘Wasteland’ still a big hit on the radio, and they just wrapped up a tour with Disturbed, and are about to start on a new one with Mudvayne and fellow Tennesseans Sevendust.

You can pick up your copy of The Autumn Effect in stores now, and find out more info about the Tennessee boys at www.10yearsmusic.com.

So check them out now, and the next time someone calls Tennessee the home of country, remind them that you can’t keep a good rock-n-roll boy down.