Approximate area settled by Illyrians in antiquity.

In classical antiquity, Illyria (Ancient Greek: Ἰλλυρία or Ἰλλυρίς;^[1] Latin: Illyria;^[2] see also Illyricum) was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians.

The prehistory of Illyria and the Illyrians is known from archaeological evidence. The Romans conquered the region in 168 BC in the aftermath of the Illyrian Wars. "Illyria" is thus a designation of a roughly defined region of the western Balkans as seen from a Roman perspective, just as Magna Germania is a rough geographic term not delineated by any linguistic or ethnic unity.

The term Illyris is sometimes used to define an area (now in modern Albania) north of the Aous valley such as Illyris Graeca.^[3]

Mythology[link]

In Greek mythology, the name of Illyria is aitiologically traced to Illyrius, the son of Cadmus and Harmonia, who eventually ruled Illyria and became the eponymous ancestor of the Illyrians.^[4] A later version of the myth identifies Polyphemus and Galatea as parents of Celtus, Galas and Illyrius.^[5] The second myth could stem perhaps from the similarities to Celts and Gauls.

Kingdoms[link]

The earliest recorded Illyrian kingdom was that of the Enchele in the 8th century BC.^[6] The era in which we observe other Illyrian kingdoms begins approximately at 400 BC and ends at 167 BC.^[7] The Autariatae under Pleurias (337 BC) were considered to have been a kingdom.^[8] The Kingdom of the Ardiaei began at 230 BC and ended at 167 BC.^[9] The most notable Illyrian kingdoms and dynasties were those of Bardyllis of the Dardani and of Agron of the Ardiaei who created the last and best-known Illyrian kingdom.^[10] Agron ruled over the Ardiaei and had extended his rule to other tribes as well.^[11] As for the Dardanians, they always had separate domains from the rest of the Illyrians.^[12]

The Illyrian kingdoms were composed of small areas within the region of Illyria. The exact extent of even the most prominent ones remains unknown.^[13] Only the Romans ruled the entire region. The internal organization of the south Illyrian kingdoms points to imitation of their neighboring Greek kingdoms and influence from the Greek and Hellenistic world in the growth of their urban centers.^[14] Polybius gives as an image of society within an Illyrian kingdom as peasant infantry fought under aristocrats which he calls in Greek Polydynastae (Greek: Πολυδυνάστες) where each one controlled a town within the kingdom.^[15] The monarchy was established on hereditary lines and Illyrian rulers used marriages as a means of alliance with other powers.^[16] Pliny (23–79 AD) writes that the people that formed the nucleus of the Illyrian kingdom were 'Illyrians proper' or Illyrii Proprie Dicti.^[17] They were the Taulantii, the Pleraei, the Endirudini, Sasaei, Grabaei and the Labeatae. These later joined to form the Docleatae.

Roman and Byzantine rule[link]

Map of the Illyrian Wars.

The Romans defeated Gentius, the last king of Illyria, at Scodra in 168 BC and captured him, bringing him to Rome in 165 BC. Four client-republics were set up, which were in fact ruled by Rome. Later, the region was directly governed by Rome and organized as a province, with Scodra as its capital.

The Prefecture of Illyria in the 4th century (light green).

The Roman province of Illyricum replaced the formerly independent kingdom of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern Albania to Istria (Croatia) in the west and to the Sava river (Croatia) in the north. Salona (near modern Split in Croatia) functioned as its capital.

After crushing a revolt of Pannonians and Daesitiates, Roman administrators dissolved the province of Illyricum and divided its lands between the new provinces of Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south.

The province of Illyricum was divided into Dalmatia and Pannonia in 10 AD, but term Illyria remained in use in Late Latin and throughout the medieval period. After the division of the Roman Empire, the bishops of Thessalonica appointed papal vicars for Illyricum. The first of these vicars is said to have been Bishop Acholius or Ascholius (died 383 or 384), the friend of St. Basil. In the 5th century, the bishops of Illyria withdrew from communion with Rome, without attaching themselves to Constantinople, and remained for a time independent, but in 515, forty Illyrian bishops renewed their loyalty to Rome by declaring allegiance to Pope Hormisdas. The patriarchs of Constantinople succeeded in bringing Illyria under their jurisdiction in the 8th century.^[18]

Legacy[link]

Fictional "coat of arms of Illyria" in the Fojnica Armorial, compiled in Bosnia in the 17th century.

The name Illyria only disappears from the historical record after the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans in the 15th century, and re-emerges in the 17th century, acquiring a new significance in the Ottoman–Habsburg Wars, as Leopold I designated as the "Illyrian nation" the Serbs on Hungarian territory.^[18]

A fictional "kingdom of Illyria" is postulated alongside historical late medieval states of the region in the Fojnica Armorial (17th century). An extensive history of Illyria by Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange, was published by Joseph Keglevich in 1746.^[19]

The name Illyria was revived by Napoleon for the "Provinces of Illyria" that were incorporated into the French Empire from 1809 to 1813, and the Kingdom of Illyria (1816–1849) was part of Austria until 1849, after which time it was not used in the reorganised Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The land of Illyria is the setting for William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Mains Sales and in Lloyd Alexander's The Illyrian Adventure.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Illyria & Illyrians

• Dalmatia
• Diocese of Illyricum
• History of the Balkans
• Illyrian provinces
• Illyrian warfare
• Kingdom of Illyria (1816–1849)
• Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
• Roman province of Illyricum

References[link]

Citations[link]

Sources[link]

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Illyria is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker. She is a regular during the last third of season five, after she possesses Fred Burkle's body.

Biography[link]

Character history[link]

Illyria is one of the legendary Old Ones, original pure demons from the Primordium Age who ruled territory including modern-day California. She was one of the most feared of all the Old Ones, and ruled from her citadel, Vahla ha'nesh, which corresponds to modern-day Los Angeles. Illyria was eventually defeated and murdered by her many rivals.

Illyria was loved and feared as few of the Old Ones were, so much so she still had followers and acolytes in the modern day. When the Old Ones lost their claim over this world, Illyria's essence was placed in a stone sarcophagus, her powers drained and placed in jewels embedded on her coffin. Her sarcophagus was placed in a mystical graveyard known as The Deeper Well along with the coffins of other Old Ones. A warrior of good and his army were assigned to guard the Deeper Well to prevent anyone from extracting one of the coffins, as Old Ones are capable of resurrection. In the 20th century, the Keeper of the Deeper Well was Drogyn the Battlebrand.

Before falling, Illyria planned her resurrection. She hid her temple in a different time plane, rendering it completely intangible, until she could return to open the gateway and enter it. Illyria's army was placed there as well, waiting to be raised once again by its leader. In the passing centuries, the army was destroyed, leaving only dust in its place.

Resurrection[link]

As pre-ordained, Illyria's sarcophagus is teleported to the general area of Los Angeles, but due to continental shifting, it ends up outside of the United States of America. Somehow, it is delivered to American soil, but is held up in Customs on its way to Wolfram & Hart. Dr. Sparrow manipulates Charles Gunn into releasing the sarcophagus in exchange for fixing his brain enhancements. Knox, Illyria's self-fashioned Qwa'ha Xahn (high priest) and the mastermind behind her resurrection, has the sarcophagus delivered to Fred Burkle at Wolfram & Hart's science lab. Curiosity draws Fred to the sarcophagus, and when she touches one of the coffin's embedded crystals, Illyria's essence is released into her body. Illyria's spirit acts as an infection liquifying Fred's organs, hardening her skin, and allegedly consuming her soul. After hours of agony, and despite Angel and Spike traveling to Illyria's former prison in an attempt to find a way to draw her out of Fred, Fred's body is completely taken over by Illyria, who also absorbs her memories (which she later likens to "sparks").

With the aid of Knox, Illyria attempts to bring about the destruction of humankind by resurrecting her ancient army. Despite the best efforts of Angel, Spike, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, she manages to fight off all three of them and open the portal to where her army is waiting, but soon she discovers it was destroyed long ago. Lost and without purpose, Illyria agrees to learn how to adjust to the modern world with Wesley's help, who is drawn to the ancient being that now occupies the body of his love. She spends her nights with the oft-drunk Wesley and her days wandering the corridors of Wolfram & Hart.

When Wesley mentions to her Gunn is trapped in a Wolfram & Hart-imposed pseudo-Hell, Illyria opens a portal and rescues Gunn without hesitation, later noting the great debt the group owes to her. In the process of finding Gunn, she destroys eleven torture units, two troop carriers, an ice cream truck, eight "beautifully maintained" lawns, and "rendered useless" dozens of Wolfram & Hart employees, according to Marcus Hamilton. At this point, her pastimes include talking to plants and training with Spike (or, more accurately, beating him up while he tries to ask her how she feels when he hits her and record the details on a clipboard). Although she criticizes Spike's adaptability, declaring adaptation to be a compromise, Illyria enjoys beating him up; at one point, she expresses her desire to keep him as a pet.

Eventually, Illyria's power becomes extremely unstable. To others, the Old One appears to be going mad. In truth, Illyria is being thrown out of linear progression of the timeline, altering her perspective as her power seeks a way to escape its shell. Initially, she kills Spike, Wesley, Lorne, and Angel in a confrontation, interpreting their actions as an attempt to kill her, but, during her time jumps, she drags an earlier version of Angel into the present, revealing what just took place before she detonates, potentially causing enough destruction to wipe out the continent. Fortunately, the explosion sends Angel backwards in time to shortly before Illyria killed the others, allowing Angel to use his new foreknowledge of their deaths to save his friends and calm Illyria down. Before Illyria can detonate again, Wesley uses a Mutari generator to extract a large portion of her power, effectively ending the threat.

As a result of the Mutari generator, Illyria is stripped of much of her super-strength, as well as her abilities to alter time and talk to plants. She grows bitter and withdrawn after the loss of her powers, which she considers a significant defeat. Her primary emotional connection is with Wesley, who continues to help her adjust to the world. After recognizing Wesley's feelings for the "shell" (Fred), Illyria wishes to explore her relationship with Wesley in a more sexual or romantic direction; he rejects any possibility of accepting her in Fred's form. She also develops a connection with Spike, who can relate to her newfound situation and treats her with acceptance and dignity, communicating easily with her and helping her venture into the world.

Illyria is brutally beaten and humiliated by Hamilton, which fuels the Old One's extreme anger and motivates her to join the final battle against the Senior Partners. In the Angel series finale, "Not Fade Away," Illyria, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Lindsey, and Angel each fight separate groups of demons from the Circle of the Black Thorn. After killing her demon victims, promising to "make trophies from their spines," Illyria seeks out Wesley and finds him dying. Perceiving his imminent death, she comforts Wesley in Fred's form. Filled with unexpected and uncontrollable grief, Illyria violently dispatches his killer, Cyvus Vail, shattering his head with a single punch—an action that does not begin to assuage her grief and leaves her with a strong desire to "do more violence." Her wish is granted when the Senior Partners send their army against the surviving members of Angel's team; Illyria joins Angel, Gunn, and Spike in the final battle against the Senior Partners.

Despite Fred's soul supposedly shattering in the process of Illyria taking over her body, Joss Whedon originally intended for either Fred and Illyria to be split in two had Angel gotten a sixth season, as revealed by Amy Acker in an interview: "As I’m playing this new character now, it was just some stuff that he was going to do with her and bringing Fred back and getting to work with both characters",^[1] or for Illyria to take on more and more of Fred's memories.^{[citation needed]}

In the canonical comic Angel: After the Fall, it is confirmed Illyria survived the final battle against the Senior Partners.^{[citation needed]}

Literature[link]

Illyria appears substantially in the comic books published by IDW Publishing following Angel's series finale. Several titles featuring Illyria have nothing or very little to do with the larger Buffy and Angel franchise. Until the advent of the canonical comics of 2007, most Illyria stories were set during Season Five of Angel. The comic book Illyria: Spotlight (2006) by Peter David depicts Illyria's encounters with Fred's friends and family, and she even begins to cry when she watches home movies of Fred's life; she later asserts to Wesley that she feels no regret. Peter David also published an Illyria crossover with his own comic book, Fallen Angel. In volume one of Fallen Angel Reborn (2009), set in Season Five, Illyria is transported to the dimension of Bete Noire where she attempts to reclaim her lost power; flashbacks depict her battle with the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart as well as other Old Ones like herself, in a primordial era; in the present-day, she faces the series' heroine Liandra. Illyria appears on the cover of each issue. In the miniseries Spike: Shadow Puppets, she appears in flashbacks and as puppet in the narrative of that story, a sequel to Season Five episode "Smile Time".

In canonical comics, she first appears the second issue of Angel: After the Fall (2007), the official Angel continuation. The spin-off miniseries Spike: After the Fall charts Illyria's journey between "Not Fade Away" and Angel: After the Fall. All After the Fall stories are written by Brian Lynch, who receives substantial input from creator Joss Whedon. In Angel: After the Fall, Los Angeles has been sent to hell by Wolfram & Hart. Illyria is established as the Demon Lord of Beverly Hills, and working with Spike saves innocents by placing them in Connor's care. Spike: After the Fall details their acquisition of Lord status. Throughout the series, Illyria features temporary reversions to her Fred state as the hell dimension causes her powers to go out of control. Later, when Gunn (now a vampire) kills the last of her memories of Fred, these stop, and she reverts to her primordial form and begins savaging Los Angeles. Telepathic fish Betta George is able to fill her with Spike and Wesley's memories of Fred, and Fred's humanity causes her to stop. Though Wolfram and Hart reverts time to before they destroyed Los Angeles, Illyria retains the memories of her experiences like everyone else. Illyria guards a hospitalized Gunn — human once more — in his hospital bed from angry demons, and her new memories of Fred make her crisis of humanity even more apparent. The two depart Los Angeles and an encounter with an Old One from her past while she and Gunn learn to accept their humanity.^{[citation needed]} In IDW's ongoing Angel series, a storyline depicts Illyria attempting to seduce Connor as part of her mating cycle.^{[citation needed]} She fails due to Connor's reluctance. At one point she makes clear to Angel that while she's not and never will be Fred, like him she's now a formerly evil being trying to be good and redeem their past sins.^{[citation needed]}

In the comic Illyria: Haunted (2011), Illyria begins having nightmares consisting of Fred's partial memories. She tries to reach out to an emotionally unavailable Angel and finds no comfort. Illyria then seeks out Spike for advice. He believes she should return to the Deeper Well for answers and comfort. She then, in an unprecedented show of humility, formally asks Spike for help. Spike takes Illyria to Sally, a Frellian demon who grants favors for a price. She sends them to retrieve a charm from a potential suiter of hers and then opens a portal for Illyria to the Deeper Well. Illyria quickly dispatches the Vastari demons guarding the entrance and enters to find the new guardian is a rare matriarchal demon. The new guardian sends two Yastigilian Hounds to attack Illyria, unaware that Illyria has the knowledge to control them. Illyria explains that they are kindred species. She is granted access to the Deeper Well but is warned not to touch anything. Illyria finds nothing but Gylphs on the wall where her coffin once was and begins smashing things in disappointment. Drawn to a gem on the wall, she touches it and is magically enlightened to her new place in the world, unaware that she has accidentally released a former rival old one, Arsgomor. Illyria attempts to both fight and reason with Arsgomor until he kills one of her new Yastigilian pets. Illyria commands the local plant life to subdue Arsgomor and then degenerates him to a fetal form. She releases this new baby Arsgomor to the new guardian and returns to L.A. with her pet Yastigilian hound, Pancakes. She then uses her restored powers to open a dimensional portal and go traveling (possibly due to the need for the authors to get her out of the universe before the events of the last Buffy comics that wipe out magic. (How that will affect the Deeper Well and its residents remains unknown.)

Powers and abilities[link]

The full scope of Illyria's power is unknown. When Illyria takes over her new "shell," she possesses tremendous physical strength, far superior to that of most vampires, demons, or Slayers. Spike likens a blow from Illyria to being hit by a Mack Truck. Her strength, reflexes, and agility make her a formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Illyria uses an ancient fighting style that Spike compares to Tae Kwon Do and (fictional) Brazilian Ninjitsu. Although Spike's adaptability gives him an occasional advantage, Illyria dominates their sparring sessions. Her skin is a hardened shell, providing her body with a heavy armor capable of withstanding blows from forged weapons, such as swords or axes. In the episode "Time Bomb", she managed to single-handedly kill Spike, Wesley, Lorne and Angel in a matter of seconds, a testament of her prowess in combat.

Illyria is aided in combat by her ability to selectively alter time, which allows her to easily dodge both attacks and bullets; she can accomplish a goal and leave an area before her opponent even realizes she has moved. She has only been shown altering the flow of time to produce a slow motion effect, though it is possible that she can alter time in other ways. She can also open interdimensional portals. In the episode "Underneath," Wesley Wyndam-Pryce comments on her not needing to sleep.

Illyria can alter her physical appearance on a basic level, and she is capable of recreating Fred's persona accurately enough to fool Fred's parents. She tells Wesley that she can take any form she chooses. Illyria has empathic abilities that allow her to perceive the emotional states of others. She was, for instance, capable of sensing Connor's lust for her and Wesley's frustration with Angel as well as his grief over Fred's death. Illyria communicates with flora, often spending hours at a time communing with a plant. She is also capable of distinguishing humans (or "primitives") from demons, vampires, and other non-human life forms.

Illyria retains the insights from her experiences as an Old One, which enable her to effectively analyze the power dynamics, personal motivations, and emotions that influence those around her. She is stronger than Spike and Angel combined (having proven at one point to be able to engage both in battle simultaneously and come out victorious).

In her natural form, Illyria is a massive cephalopod-like monster with inhuman size and numerous tentacles, with all of her powers at full capacity.

Powers diminished[link]

After being drained by the Mutari generator, Illyria's abilities are significantly diminished. Her physical strength is decreased (although retaining a high level of strength, well above that of Slayers, vampires and the vast majority of demons shown in the series), and she no longer has the ability to open portals or commune with plants. Wesley perceives that Illyria is no longer invulnerable, as she once was (cf. "The Girl in Question") and she is later beaten unconscious by Marcus Hamilton in "Power Play". In addition to this, she successfully kills several members of the Circle of the Black Thorn with minimal difficulty. She retains her ability to morph her physical appearance, and also her ability to differentiate between humans and non-humans.

In the series Angel: After the Fall, Illyria's powers behave erractically and are closer to their full potential. Early in the series, she was shown to hold herself unarmed against a grown dragon at full strength, enduring a blast of fire from its mouth and being swallowed by it without visibly losing her taste for the fight - all this while sporting a stab wound to the torso from Angel which seemed to only offend and irritate as opposed to hurt her.^[2] Her ability to alter time, while removed by the Mutari generator, seems to have at least partially returned as a result of the aftermath of L.A.'s relocation to hell. To what extent this ability can now be used has yet to be seen; during her fight with Angel, he reverted briefly to his former human self (Liam), his puppet self ("Smile Time") and a baby due to her manipulation of time, but the erratic nature of these shifts seems to indicate that she lacks any real control of her powers.^[2] Later in the series, it transpires that the only thing keeping her from her true primordial form in After the Fall are the remnants of Fred's personality; when Gunn 'kills' the Fred persona, her true Old One form is unleashed.

After After the Fall, after the Senior Partners reversed time so that the fall never occurred, Illyria was returned to her former late-Season Five levels. In the comic book Angel: Only Human, when facing her old enemy Baticus (who had been empowered with the energy drained from Illyria by the Mutari generator) Illyria again regained some of her former power, being able to teleport and freeze time. However, when she left the scene, she lost these powers.

In her own miniseries, Illyria undergoes a transformation. Her hair is now completely blue, as are her eyes (as opposed to merely her irises). She can once again communicate with and control plant life. Illyria is depicted as more compassionate in this form but must sleep at least 20 minutes for every ninety four hour period of activity.

Nicknames[link]

Illyria is referred to as "The Leather Queen", "Little Shiva", "Babe the Blue Ox", "Blue" and "Blue Meanie" by Spike. While in a drunken and irritable state, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce calls her a "Smurf". When Lorne is following her through Wolfram & Hart, her codename is "Blue Bird." In the final episode "Not Fade Away", Gunn refers to her as "Blue Thunder". In Angel: After the Fall #3, Spike also refers to Illyria as Fred Sonja while she was battling Angel's dragon.

Relationships[link]

• Spike – After her resurrection, Illyria shares an emerging bond with Spike. Each is on a path from demon to hero, and they share a love of violence. Their sparring sessions are mutually satisfactory; Spike hones his fighting techniques and Illyria is able to regularly inflict pain and dominate Spike in combat. She, at one point, expresses a desire to keep Spike as a pet. After Illyria's powers are diminished, Spike helps her regain confidence and venture into the world again. Their relationship remains non-romantic, but develops into mutual respect. In After the Fall, Illyria apparently considers Spike a pet and comes to his defense when Angel attacks him.
• Wesley Wyndam-Pryce – Though their "relationship" is not a true romantic one, the undertones of attraction being based mostly on Fred and Wesley's relationship, Wesley wanted to be around the one part of his deceased love and Illyria was influenced by Fred's memories. When Wesley dies at the hands of Cyvus Vail, Illyria takes revenge on Cyvus by putting her fist through his skull, killing him instantly. Afterwards, Illyria is the one who informs the team about Wesley's death and says that she feels grief and wishes "to do more violence" in the series finale's final battle. In After the Fall issue #9, Illyria takes ownership of Wesley's corpse, repeating "You're staying with me."^[3]
• Charles Gunn - Possibly due to Illyria's memories of Fred she rescues Gunn from Wolfram and Hart's holding dimension and also tells him to not die in the finale, as he is "not unpleasant" to her eyes.

Appearances[link]

Angel

Illyria was a regular towards the end of the Angel's fifth season in 2004, first appearing in "A Hole in the World," replacing Fred. Technically, since she is played by the same actress as Fred, it could be said that she was credited as a regular from her first appearance, but the first instance of the opening sequence showing Amy Acker specifically as Illyria and not Fred is in "Underneath". Illyria appears in 8 episodes in total.

Angel: After the Fall

Central to the "Angel the Fall" storyline, Illyria has appeared in all but the first issue and the First Night stories of issues #7-8. She also appears in all four issues of the spin-off comic book series Spike: After the Fall.

Illyria has also appeared in Angel expanded universe material such as comics, most notably her own one-shot comic Illyria: Spotlight in 2006.

Fallen Angel

Illyria appears in the first three issues of Peter David's comic book series Fallen Angel Reborn in 2009.^[4] According to PAD, "The story is set early in Illyria's involvement with Angel & Co. Having been deprived of her power by Wesley, she is drawn to [the town of] Bete Noire as a potential source for not only becoming what she was before, but even achieving her previous status. Remember, what we see of her in Angel is not her true appearance."^[5]

See also[link]

	United States portal
	Television portal
	Fictional characters portal

• Woman warrior
• List of women warriors in folklore

References[link]

External links[link]

• Illyria at the Internet Movie Database
• Illyria at Buffyverse Wiki

A Change of Pace is a five piece post hardcore and pop punk band from Peoria, Arizona. The band was on both the 2005 and 2006 Warped Tours.

Biography[link]

A Change of Pace formed in 2001 when singer Torry Jasper and drummer Jonathan Kelly began playing together in freshmen year of high school (while attending Centennial High School). In 2003, after a few years of jamming and playing small local shows, bassist Johnny Abdullah and guitarist Adam Rodgers joined the band. From there they were discovered by manager Jorge Hernandez, and within a few months they had a deal with Immortal Records and released their EP Change Is The Only Constant.

In 2005 the band released their first full-length album, An Offer You Can't Refuse, and landed a spot on the Vans Warped Tour. Just a year after their first album, on August 15 A Change of Pace released their second record, Prepare The Masses. The band also added a fifth member to the band, Dan Parker (previously in Don't Let Go).

On June 1, 2008 the band announced that they had parted ways with former vocalist Torry Jasper, and announced a new lead singer, Micah Bentley. They also announced the release of their EP, Just No Better Way. With new singer Micah Bentley they have adopted a lighter tone to their music, contrasting drastically with their previous singer Torry Jasper who screamed vocals in the older material.

The new album, entitled It Could Be Worse was released on February 22.^[1]

In 2011, Micah Bentley married Ashley Bentley. Bentley currently lives with his wife in Peoria, Arizona where he continues to write music for his new project. This new project is called "Micah and His Friend".

Style and influences[link]

A Change of Pace's music is drawn from a number of different bands, ranging from pop bands such as the Beatles, to metal bands such Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin and to the piano pop/rock of artists such as Five for Fighting and Ben Folds.^[2] The band however cites their major influence as alternative rock band Third Eye Blind.^[2] They have also been noted by AllMusic reviewer Jo-Ann Greene as showing: "the sparkle of U2, the attitude of Green Day, a stinging arena rock-styled lead guitar solo, and a splash of new wave synth, deftly delivered by Dave Holdredge."^[3]

AllMusic commented on how all members of the band shared a love for pop punk and Third Eye Blind leading to A Change of Pace's style being described as "explosive, pop-edged alternative rock".^[4] Reviews have cited them as showing influence from a variety of rock genres including: pop punk,^[3][4][5] alternative rock,^[4] post-hardcore,^[5] screamo,^[4][5] melodic hardcore,^[6] pop rock,^[4][5] hard rock,^[3] punk rock^[3] and indie rock.^[4]

Breakup and Departure of Micah Bentley[link]

On March 13, 2011, drummer Jon Kelley announced via Facebook that after 10 years, A Change of Pace was calling it quits. Their last show, "A Change of Pace Farewell Show", took place on April 22, at The Clubhouse in Tempe. Opening bands included Greeley Estates, Desole, It's Like Love, and In It for Storms.

In April of 2011, A Change Of Pace played their final show with singer Micah Bentley as he began to prepare for his solo career.

Reunion, New Album and Return of Torry Jasper[link]

On Christmas Day 2011, A Change Of Pace was asked to reunite with Torry Jasper and play the ‘South By So What’ festival in Dallas, Texas on March 17th of 2012. After several discussions, the band agreed to perform at the festival with other acts such as The Early November, Motion City Soundtrack, HelloGoodbye and Cartel.

After several meetings, the band decided to work on a full length album with Torry Jasper. The album is expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Band members[link]

Current

• Torry Jasper: lead vocals (2001–2008; 2012-Present)
• Jonathan Kelley: drums (2001–Present)
• Johnny Abdullah: bass, vocals (2001–Present)
• Adam Rodgers: lead guitar (2001–Present)
• Dan Parker: guitar, vocals (2006–Present)

Former

• Micah Bentley: lead vocals (2008–2011)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• An Offer You Can't Refuse (2005)
• Prepare the Masses (2006) U.S. #156
• It Could Be Worse (2011)

EPs[link]

• Change Is the Only Constant (2003)
• Just No Better Way (2008)
• In This Together (2009)

Compilations[link]

• Masters of Horror Soundtrack (2005)
• A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas (2006)
• Rockin' Romance (Summer Girls - LFO Cover) (2009)

Demos[link]

• Connect Set (2000)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• A Change of Pace on Facebook
• A Change of Pace on Myspace
• A Change of Pace at Allmusic
• A Change of Pace on Purevolume