‘Locally grown’ album one of Rolling Stone’s ‘50 Best of 2019’

The night of Moon Tooth’s first show sticks out in lead singer John Carbone’s memory. “It was December 2012 — the day the world was supposed to end,” he said. Surviving the would-be apocalypse — the supposed end date of the Mayan calendar — proved indicative of the Long Island-based band’s success, as its second album, “Crux,” was included on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 50 Best Albums of 2019.”

Following its debut gig at Revolution Bar & Music Hall in Amityville, the four-man rock band went on to play 100 shows in its first year, including “many strange and wonderful nights” at Bellmore Billiards, Carbone recalled. The members of Moon Tooth met through the local music scene. Carbone is from East Meadow, bassist Vin Romanelli lives in Bellmore, drummer Ray Marte lives in Wantagh and guitarist Nick Lee lives in Farmingdale.

The conception of “Crux” began while Moon Tooth was touring after finishing its first album, “Chromaparagon.” At the end of 2017, the band connected with Mark Morton, the lead guitarist of Lamb of God, who helped the musicians with pre-production on the new album. Carbone said the process was “incredibly intense” — some days began at 8 a.m. and ended at 2 a.m.

When “Crux” was complete, the band had little luck shopping it to different record labels. Opportunity came knocking when two local musicians — Tom Gnolfo, of Bellmore, and Travis Gentile, of Long Beach — started their own independent record label, Modern Static. Moon Tooth was their first client.

“I’ve been friends with these guys for a while, and saw them locally at small venues, and they were always amazing,” Gnolfo said. “Playing shows alongside them and knowing them on a personal level, you could see they were destined for more.”

Gentile recalled hearing “Crux” for the first time. “I was sitting in Vin’s living room and my mouth hit the floor,” he said. “I knew that this was going to be something special.”

The album, financed by Modern Static, dropped on March 29, and “did well out of the gates,” Carbone said. “Crux” received positive buzz from the press, an initial write-up in Rolling Stone and even attracted the attention of new management, Lee said.

Over the summer, in the midst of two different tours, Pure Noise Records, a punk rock label based in Berkeley, Calif., contacted Moon Tooth. After the record deal was finalized, “Crux” was re-released by Pure Noise on Nov. 15, just weeks before Rolling Stone announced “The 50 Best Albums.”

Carbone said the recognition was “unbelievable.” “When I was growing up, I had cut-outs of Rolling Stone all over my walls and read about my favorite bands,” he said. “Pursuing [music] is incredibly difficult, but this makes us feel vindicated.”

Rolling Stone described “Crux” as “wildly adventurous while delivering unshakable hooks.” Although Moon Tooth is often classified as heavy metal, Carbone said their sound features hints of blues, R&B and soul.

“They play an amazing conglomeration of sounds and moods,” Gentile said. “They make music that’s mainstream at times, but [also] satisfies everybody’s palate. They are their own animal.”

Landing on Rolling Stone’s list of “records that defined the year” was just one of Moon Tooth’s accomplishments in 2019. While touring with other acts this summer, the band performed at Gramercy Theatre and Irving Plaza, two venues its members frequented as concertgoers in the past.

“I was backstage at [Irving Plaza] looking at the ropes and ladders behind the curtain that the crowd doesn’t see, and I remember being down there,” Carbone said. “Now I’m seeing the view from up here.”

Carbone said that when the band returns from the road, its next stop will be the studio, to produce its third album. Gnolfo said he was excited about Moon Tooth’s future, and believed the nod from Rolling Stone would help give other “locally grown” bands a shot at the spotlight.

“When bands come out of Long Island sounding like this, it brings more eyes and attention to this community,” Gnolfo said. “There are a lot of talented artists and content creators living here that need a light shone on them, and being on that list will take [Moon Tooth] to the stars.”