The idea for Held in Scorn (HIS) was born during the Winter of 2002 in Stockton, CA on the now-defunct message forum for the regional underground metal website Powerslave.com. Influenced by such bands as In Flames, At The Gates, Satyricon, as well as local acts SIN and Winter Reign, the band wanted to bring melodic death metal to the region in lieu of the ever-growing pop-punk/nu-metal movement of the early 2000s.

Guitarist Ray Marquez posted an ad in the Musician’s Wanted section of the Powerslave forums and one of the first replies was from vocalist Derrick Scott (drummer at the time for Stockton hardcore band Setrip) who was looking to start a melodic death metal outfit as a vocalist. The first jam session was hosted at the “Sheds”.

The “Sheds” were a colony of storage units inhabited by local bands at the A-1 U-Stor located off the 99 freeway in South Stockton. This was to be the home of both Setrip and Held in Scorn. After a few jam sessions, the lineup started to come together. Phillip Pathoumnorack on the bass, guitarist Mike Butler (of Stockton grindcore band DeadEyedStare), and Mike Chavez on drums. Both Butler and Chavez left the project relatively early and were replaced by Matt Young and Hobart Thomas respectively. This was the core line-up going forward and the band started writing.

Source : https://heldinscorn.com/bio/