In August 2010, Witt Black, along with several local musicians, formed the heavy metal band Yesterday’s Saints. Yesterday’s Saints immediately pursued their dream of recording and touring. Within six months of forming the band, Yesterday’s Saints released their first extended play (EP) work and performed throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The aggressive and high tempo release developed the foundation of Yesterday’s Saints’ writing formula. Witt, as lead guitarist, collaborated with drummer Albert Born and bassist Phil D’Arcangelis to write music that inspired the lyrics of vocalist Matt Rice.
In 2015, after bass player John Batease joined the band, Yesterday’s Saints released a full-length concept album titled “Generation of Vipers.” “Generation of Vipers” solidified Yesterday’s Saints’ writing formula with story boards containing song themes and descriptions of how songs should “feel.” In the writing process, Witt and Matt would frequently exchange photos of art from the middle ages. When sharing a photo, Matt would often say, “I want to write a song that ‘feels’ like this,” or Witt would point to a photo and say, “This portion of the song needs to ‘sound’ like this picture.” Witt would bring these visual representations of what they aspired to write to Albert, John, and Matt for completion – and their method worked!
Upon release of “Generation of Vipers,” Yesterday’s Saints immediately charted on the CMJ Music Charts at number 20 and rose to number 15. Yesterday’s Saints was ranked alongside some of the world’s greatest metal bands. They toured more than half of the United States, performing for crowds of hundreds of people. Their music was regularly performed on the radio and Spotify, and the band members frequently were invited to give interviews. In the summer of 2016, after returning from a tour, Witt began to develop song ideas to share with Albert and John. Witt and Matt began share art again with plans to develop another concept album. On September 30, 2016, their collaboration ended abruptly with Witt’s death, leaving Albert, John, and Matt grieving the loss of their friend, bandmate, and brother in music.
Since the tremendous loss of their guitarist and best friend, the surviving members of Yesterday’s Saints are committed to remembering Witt’s incredible talent and genuine heart through The Witt Black Music Foundation. Each of the members of Yesterday’s Saints serve on the Foundation’s Board of Directors.