Three line-ups of Dope performing in 2013, 2013 and 2015
Dope is an American nu metal, founded in New York City by brothers Edsel (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Simon Dope (keyboards, samples) in 1997.[1] The pair then recruited Sloane Jentry as lead guitarist, Preston Nash as drummer, and Tripp Eisen as bassist. The band currently consists of vocalist, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Edsel, alongside guitarist and bassist Acey Slade (who first joined in 1998), lead guitarist and keyboardist Virus (who first joined in 2000), bassist and drummer Daniel Fox (who first joined in 2004), and drummer Chris Warner (who first joined in 2017).
History
Sloane Jentry soon left the band in early 1999. In his absence, Tripp Eisen moved onto guitar, while Acey Slade was brought in on bass. In November 2000, Eisen was fired from the band,[2] Nash also left at the same time. Producer/guitarist Virus joined on lead guitar, while Slade moved to rhythm guitar, Jentry rejoined on bass, and Adrian Ost joined on drums, although he was soon replaced by Racci Shay. After releasing Life in 2001, Slade left the band to join Murderdolls in mid-2002.[3]
In late 2002, Simon Dope left the group to pursue a career as a video game producer.[4] Shortly before a tour in early 2004, Jentry again left the band, Shay moved onto bass, and Adrian Ost briefly rejoined on drums.[5] Brix Milner joined as permanent bassist in May and Shay moved back to drums.[6] Drum tech briefly Daniel Fox took over drums in September 2005 when Shay left due to family issues.[7] Ben Graves joined as new drummer in October.[8]
A new line-up appeared in 2013, consisting of one time drummer Daniel Fox (who had gone on to play with Mushroomhead), new guitarist Nikk Dibs and new bassist Jerms Genske.[11] In 2015, Slade and Shay returned, touring alongside Dibs and Dope.[12] Virus returned for a classic line-up reunion in late 2015.[13]
Fox and Dibs (this time on bass) returned to replace Shay and Slade in 2017.[14] Fox was soon replaced by Chris Warner in October 2017,[15][16] Slade replaced Dibs in late 2018.[17] Fox returned in May 2019.[18]
Since 2023, the band has had a fluid line-up with Virus and Acey Slade alternating lead guitar duties,[19] due to their commitments to teaching and Misfits respectively.[20] Daniel Fox alternates between drums and bass,[21] and Chris Warner plays drums when needed.[22]
^Slade, Acey (January 31, 2024). "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024. OK, well, Virus is doing that leg, I'm doing the dates posted, LOL. It can be confusing I know...