| Denis Shaforostov | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Birth Name: | Denis Olexandrovych Shaforostov |
| Native Name: | Денис Шафоростов |
| Birth Date: | 1992 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Khartsyzk, Ukraine |
| Years Active: | 2010–present |
| Current Member Of: | Drag Me Out |
Denis Olexandrovych Shaforostov (Ukrainian: Денис Олександрович Шафоростов; born 4 May 1992),[1] also known by his stage name Denis Stoff, is a Ukrainian musician, best known for his work as a guitarist and singer of the metalcore group Make Me Famous. He also replaced Danny Worsnop as lead singer of the English rock band Asking Alexandria, during Worsnop's 18-month hiatus from the band.
Shaforostov's music career began with his YouTube channel "above92", where he posted vocal and guitar covers of his favorite songs. He then formed the band Make Me Famous, before becoming involved with Asking Alexandria. He is currently the lead vocalist for the band Drag Me Out.
Stoff experimented in electronic music with a short lived project called Cat!Cow!MilkyWay!.[2] He also played as guitarist in the Russian post-hardcore/emo band Origami.
The first major project Stoff involved himself in was metalcore act Make Me Famous which he helped form in 2010 with members Serj Kravchenko on unclean vocals, Sergei Hohlov on bass, Dusty Boles on drums and Igor Yestrebov on guitar. The band gained recognition on the video sharing website YouTube, where Stoff previously released covers of songs and would eventually gain members after contacting each musician after gaining a following.[3] The band released their debut album "It's Now or Never"[4] in March 2012 via Sumerian Records and successfully charted in the US top 200, peaking at 151.[5]
In late 2012, Stoff had announced that he had quit the band, which itself had announced to be disbanded after their final headlining tour that same year, officially disbanding in early 2013.[6]
After the news arose that Make Me Famous had broken up, Stoff quickly announced a new band named Down & Dirty. The band was officially announced under the Sumerian label like his last project, and released their first single and music video in December 2013 titled "Move It".[7] The band also released a second single and music video in December 2014 titled "I Will Never Lose My Way".[8] After these songs, Stoff later announced he would be joining Asking Alexandria, which was followed by Down & Dirty confirming he was no longer a part of the group. Down & Dirty continued with a new lead vocalist, Ezekiel Pierson, and released a new single "Heaven Sent" in February 2017.
On 22 January 2015, lead singer Danny Worsnop announced his departure from Asking Alexandria to focus on his new band We Are Harlot, of which it was quickly stated that his replacement was already found.[9] On 26 May 2015, Stoff was officially announced as the new lead vocalist when they released their first single together titled "I Won't Give In" on 27 May.[10] Speculation regarding Stoff's involvement started shortly after Worsnop's departure due to similarities between Asking Alexandria and Make Me Famous (who were said to have been ripping off the band); the fact that they were label mates would have made the transition easy for Stoff to make, and on his personal YouTube account he had covered multiple Asking Alexandria songs.[11] Ben Bruce was asked if he considered anyone else for the role and he stated that "it has to be Denis" before praising his vocal ability. When Shaforostov himself was asked how he would distinguish himself from Worsnop, he stated he would not make any comparison since he is a completely different person.[12]
In October 2016,[13] Ben Bruce announced that Stoff left the band.[14] In December 2017, Rock Sound interviewed Denis and explained that his home country, Ukraine, is like a warzone now. He said there was stress for him and his family, and he had to stop touring to focus on family.[15]
Formation Of The Band (2017-2019)
Denis Stoff (Ex Asking Alexandria, Down & Dirty, & Make Me Famous) posted on Twitter on 27 September 2017 "New album and new band... so worth every minute of the work and da wait we've already invested in this. Be ready for something new and FRESH. His new band named "Drag Me Out" Consisted Of The Lead Vocalist Denis Stoff Himself, Guitarist Stas Belove (Ex Down & Dirty & At The Ruins), Bassist Easy Target, & Drummer Chris Nokia (Ex Down & Dirty)
Pressure (2019)
Drag Me Out released their first single, titled I'm Sorry, on 15 January 2019. An accompanying music video was also released. On 1 February 2019, the band surprise dropped their debut album Pressure. Shortly after the album's release, connections were made between Drag Me Out's "Hollow" and Asking Alexandria's "Alone in a Room" (Stoff's Former Band) sounding similar in terms of instruments and the bridge section of the song, afterwards the band's label Sumerian Records (who at the time, were also Asking Alexandria's label) took down the song from their official YouTube channel.
On 14 July 2019 Easy Target announced on his personal Instagram that he had left the band, later Kiryll Medvedev (Ex Down & Dirty) would replace him as Bassist Of Drag Me Out (Kiryll Also Does Backing Vocals) that meant that every single Current Member Of Drag Me Out at that point was a Ex Down & Dirty Member
Demons Away & Leaving Sumerian Records (2020-Current)
On 30 October 2020, Drag Me Out released a new single "The Watch of the Buried" and its corresponding lyric video. It was revealed on 11 December 2020 that the artwork for this single was plagiarized from an artist named Maxime Taccardia. The artist claims that neither Denis nor the band reached out to him for permission. Denis posted on his social medias about how they would reach out to said artist to discuss how to properly settle this case, claiming that the artwork was sold by a third party artist, who was never disclosed. Since then, the lyric video for the single had been taken down and the artwork had been removed from iTunes. Sumerian Records has since re-uploaded the song with no lyric video or artwork to YouTube.
Denis has also announced that these allegations will not impact the upcoming album that Drag Me Out is working on. Denis has said on multiple occasions (mostly on Instagram stories and other methods that disappear after 24 hours) that this album is going to be a two part album that'll be released throughout 2021. One half will being going back to metalcore roots, the other half will be experimental.
Drag Me Out Split with Sumerian Records In 2021, they later unveiled that they would go independed with Stoff his own Record Company Lödereih (Also Known As Lödereih Music), Drag Me Out unveiled their new album Demons Away on 26 August, the album was delayed initially from its original release date (6 May 2022) Because of the war in Ukraine where Denis & Chris are from. The album reportedly is a trilogy consisting of three parts. The 1st part being "Demons Away"
In 2023 Felipe Elioenay joined Drag Me Out & replaced Lead Guitarist Stas Belove, now the band wasn't completely former Down & Dirty Members anymore.
Stoff announced in 2018 that he will have a solo project under the moniker "STOFF". The first single was given a release date on 12/19/20 called "Детка Покажи Язык" (Baby Show Me Your Tongue), which marked a departure from his rock roots in favor of a more hip hop sound.
Stoff has also announced a new solo album consisting of English, and Russian language music. The release date has not been announced but it appears that the album is ready and has shared many snippets via Instagram.
Stoff also has done numerous guest features for 2022 including "Isn't Pretend" by LUURK, "1M Followers" by Space of Variations and "Last Second Chance" by Kiss of Betrayal.
| Artist: | Denis Stoff |
| Studio: | 4 |
| Ep: | 1 |
| Singles: | 21 |
| Title | Year | Band | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep This in Your Music Player | 2011 | Make Me Famous | EP |
| It's Now or Never | 2012 | Studio album | |
| The Black | 2016 | Asking Alexandria | |
| Pressure | 2019 | Drag Me Out | |
| Demons Away | 2022 |
| Title | Year | Band | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "We Know It's Real" | 2011 | Make Me Famous | |
| "Move It" | 2013 | Down & Dirty | |
| "I Will Never Lose My Way" | 2015 | ||
| "I Won't Give In" | Asking Alexandria | ||
| "Undivided"[16] | |||
| "The Black"[17] | 2016 | ||
| "Let It Sleep" | |||
| "Here I Am" | |||
| "I'm Sorry" | 2019 | Drag Me Out | |
| "The Watch of the Buried" | 2020 | ||
| "Детка Покажи Язык" (Baby Show Me Your Tongue) | STOFF | ||
| "Bullets in My Teeth" | 2022 | Drag Me Out | |
| "Bullets in My Teeth" (Reimagined) | |||
| "Crystal Arms" | |||
| "Bullets in My Teeth" (Live Sessions) | |||
| "The Watch of the Buried" (Live Sessions) | |||
| "Let Me In" | |||
| "My Mistakes" | 2023 | ||
| "Into the Dire" | STOFF | ||
| "The Heart of the Hydra" | |||
| "Symbol Of Hope" | 2024 | The Serpent's Tears |
| Song | Year | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Limitless" | 2011 | Limitless | Crown the Empire[18] |
| "#OIMATEWTF" | 2012 | 'Til Death | Capture the Crown |
| "Once Upon a Life" | Fear Is What You Call I | Hide & Dream[19] | |
| "10,000 Miles" | At the Ruins[20] | ||
| "Just Another Night[mare]" | Skarlett[21] | ||
| "Valde Tribuo" | 2013 | Of Sun & Seed[22] | |
| "C.O.D.Y." | Ocean Inside Me | A Reason to Breathe[23] | |
| "Sink Your Teeth Into This" | 2015 | Conquer Divide | Conquer Divide[24] |
| "Lucid Dreams" | Divide to Unite | Forever in Combat[25] | |
| "Hale's Own" | Polarity[26] | ||
| "Isn't Pretend" | 2022 | Luurk | |
| "1M Followers" | Imago | Space of Variations[27] |