7" Ink And Dagger The experiement...

Ink & Dagger was a Vampire-themed indie band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active in the 1990s. The two permanent members throughout the band's career were guitarist Don Devore and vocalist Sean Patrick McCabe. Other members included Ryan McLaughlin, Joshua Brown, and Jennifer Park. Band members frequently incoporated references to vampires in their music, painted their faces, and played with fake blood. Some members were previously in Crud is a Cult, The Mandela Strike Force and Frail.

                          
The band's influence is evidenced in the work of mainstream acts such as Refused, Frodus, The Murder City Devils, At the Drive-In, The Icarus Line, and Thursday.

An example of their influence can be seen on the record The Fine Art of Original Sin which featured several tracks breaking completely from established norms of post-hardcore, incorporating aspects of techno, or drum and bass music. Following in their footsteps, both Refused and Frodus would include similar sounds on their landmark albums The Shape of Punk to Come and We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea.

Initially the band had a post-hardcore sound akin to Swiz and DC-focused rhythms, Ink & Dagger grew to be a popular band in Philadelphia[citation needed]. Additionally, the influences of past emotive hardcore band Frail can still be heard in the yelps and falsettos on Ink & Dagger's 7"s. The band also developed attention from an incident with Syracuse NY militants Earth Crisis, when McCabe allegedly threw yogurt on the pro-vegan moshmetal outfit. [citation needed] The band My Chemical Romance cited Ink & Dagger as one of their main influences, which is also apparent through their adoption of Ink & Dagger's Vampire theme.

In 1999, Ink & Dagger formally announced that they were disbanding. Shortly after recording what was to be the band's final album, singer Sean Patrick McCabe was found dead in a motel room in Indiana in 2000. He was 27. The final and self-titled album was released on Buddyhead Records with a picture of a young Sean in a vampire costume featured in the CD booklet.

Don Devore currently plays guitar in The Icarus Line, and also plays in Souls She Said, a band consisting of him and Joe Cardamone from the Icarus Line. Also, during the band Refused's final tour Don played bass during their American shows.

Microsoft Xbox videogame Amped uses three songs from The Fine Art of Original Sin. In 2005, former drummer Ryan McLaughlin sued Microsoft, claiming that they were used without the band's knowledge. The suit was settled out of court in 2006.