Conducting From The Grave formed in the fall of 2003 from members and ex-members of local Sacramento bands With Passion, Promising Tomorrow and others. By mid 2004 a solid line-up had been established: John Abernathy on guitar, Gregory Donnelly (formerly of Promising Tomorrow) on drums, Jeffrey Morgan (formerly of With Passion) on guitar, Philip Williamson on bass, and Shaun Gier (guitarist of With Passion) on vocals. In October 2004 Conducting From The Grave released their first recording, a 4-song demo entitled "Breathe The Blackened Sky." Then in early 2005 Shaun had to leave the band to dedicate more time to his other band (With Passion) who had just signed to Earache Records. Shaun was quickly succeeded by new vocalist Drew Winter (formerly of Murder at Hand). By this time they had established a significant following in Northern California and were ready to hit the studio in preparation for the April 2005 release of their debut EP, "Trials Of The Forsaken". Conducting From The Grave then spent the summer of '05 touring the US in support of the release. When the band returned home Phil Williamson decided to leave the band to persue personal interests. In the following weeks Conducting From The Grave decided to part ways with Drew Winter as well. Drew is now the vocalist for Debello Castrum In the process of searching for new members, the band discovered that their good friends With Passion had also recently suffered a severe loss of members. Due to the bands having shared some of the same members previously, John Abernathy, Jeff Morgan, and Greg Donnelly decided to join forces with Michael Nordeen and Shaun Gier (the two remaining members of With Passion) to form a new, more solid line-up as With Passion on Earache Records.