"In order to really fall in love with music again, I had to fall out of love with everything I thought I loved about music... and if there's anything I want you to take away from this new music it's simply that. Sometimes before you can ever really find yourself you have to lose yourself first."

Messenger Down is an Alternative Pop/Rock artist from Charlotte, NC. Dating back to early 2012, Messenger Down began as an outlet for songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Garrett Foster. After recording a handful of singles and covers on his own, Foster built a band around his eclectic and ever-changing brand of Alternative music. The 3 years to follow bared 2 EP's, 2013's "The Gentleman's Guide to Keeping Away from People Like You" and 2014's "What Should Have Been Said," as well as countless performances and a handful of tours up and down the east coast, before ultimately breaking ties with a revolving door of former band mates and continuing on his own in late 2015.

Re-establishing as a self sufficient artist wasn't an easy task, but it was necessary for the 23 year old Charlotte native. After scrapping over 20 songs and spending the latter half of 2015 writing and exploring those very ideas and sounds, Foster teamed up with long-time producer and friend Jeff Long at Trap Door Recordings in January 2016... but this time, he had an entirely different vision in mind. "I found myself listening to a lot of electronic, pop, and indie music, whereas I had spent the last 10 or so years of my life listening to just about anything but. The hard part wasn't figuring out how to make it all work, but rather, creating a sort of balance between where I had been and where I wanted to end up in a year's time." As that balance began to take shape and sound he began compiling the 7 songs that would come to be known as Cheating Death.

"This record is about falling out of and back in love with music. From start to end, top to bottom, and front to finish, this is the most honest and genuine snapshot of who I am and where I am in my life right now."

Pairing the raw instrumentation and soaring melodies Messenger Down fans have come to love for years with electronic soundscapes and a newfound pop sensibility, Cheating Death takes on an identity all it's own. The 7 track effort is a breath of fresh air for Garrett Foster himself and music listeners alike; one which you'll want to breathe in as deeply as your lungs will allow and hold until you're blue in the face.

Don't forget to tell your friends.