Still The Sky; The Ground Between Your Feet

Still The Sky, the Hardcore band out of Rockford, IL was first introduced on the blog in May. Since then, the band has been busier than ever, working on new material and playing several shows. We recently caught up with band vocalist, Tarek.

What has the band been up to since I last spoke to you guys back in May?
: Shows, shows, and more shows. Ya know, just trying to get a more public fanbase rather than relying on online followers. We love playing, and we love our music. So we try to do it as much as we can to let people know what we're about! Besides that we've been spending a lot of time writing new material and going over pre-production for our new EP "The Ground Between Your Feet".

The band recently parted ways with their drummer. What was his reason for departing? Has the band found a replacement?
: Tyler, decided to leave the band because as we all knew he was a heavier type of drummer. So, he continued on to make a new band called "Exorcist" with a few of our buds from Ex-In The Year Of The Plague! We wish those awesome dads a great amount of luck! We've been talking to a couple people, but we're always down to try someone out if you think what you've got what it takes! But for now, we'll be playin' with the good ol' laptop.

How was the online reception of your last album, Something Devious Is Upon Us? How will the new EP differ from this album?
:Well we're actually glad you asked this! We decided not to release "Something Devious Is Upon Us EP" because our style changed for the better. But what we will be doing is re-recording all of our older material for a bonus "Old School EP".

Talk a bit about this new EP. It comes out December 15th, what can be expected from the release?
: Energy & Emotion. We really liked our older stuff, but just listening to it we've came to the conclusion that it just wasn't jumpy enough! We like to bang our heads and jam out and we're sure you do to. So it just had to change ya know?

Tell me about E-void and Remember What Fell. These are singles from the EP? What was the influence behind these songs? Any big influences behind the EP?
: Indeed they are! And they are only a SMALL taste of what's to come from the EP. E-Void was generally about feeling emotionally void, and figuring out that the reason you were like that is because you're still in love with that one person. Remember What Fell is for anyone that has been screwed over, and yet somehow was still to blame. Basically this EP has a lot of influences from common situations and is meant for anyone to connect to it on a personal level.

As always, the band is playing a ton of shows. What are a few upcoming shows for the band?
: We've actually decided to go on a show Hiatus for a small amount time until the EP drops. Because, we are putting a lot of time into the album. Also when we find a new drummer we'll be making sure that we come back solid, so you can hear our songs played like they sound on the EP.

Whats the next few months looking like for the band?
: Just hard work. Promoting, and getting ourselves out there more than we already are. But that's where the fans come in too! We need YOUR help! So anything the fans can do, sharing us on people's walls, etc. IT HELPS. So thank you! We love all of you very much!

Be sure to check out the band's Facebook, where you can get the latest news from the band and check out their songs.

MyOhMy

    Taking their name from the famous Disney song,"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", post-hardcore band, MyOhMy has been playing shows across Dekalb, Rochelle, Dixon, and beyond. This Midwest 5-piece enjoys the camaraderie of their small local scene, but also enjoy getting out of safe waters when they can. "We come from a very small area, which has its negative effects on the scene, but a certain plus side is the sense of community. I know when I play a show near us that chances are I'll know most of the musicians in each band by name, which isn't Always what you want but it's nice to share the stage with friends and get to hear them play new music.” Says band guitarist, Matt Smith.
    After the split of his not-so-serious band in late 2007, Tim Hernandez (drums) decided he wasn't through with music. He soon called up Matt, who had been in the previous band with him, and he quickly agreed. High school friend, Nate Butler, joined up as the second guitarist and Tim's brother joined on bass in mid 2009. The band began playing shows in early 2010 without a vocalist and at one of the shows they saw Jesse Floto screaming in another band. About a month later Jesse messaged the band on Myspace about being their vocalist and the band was complete.

    Some of the several musical influences include Korn, A Day To Remember, and Of Mice and Men. When making music, the band tries to keep an equal balance of melody and aggression. "We're kinda heavy if you know what I mean. We try to write about overcoming lifetime struggles and prospering in personal gain." Says Jesse.
    Even in the midst of what the band calls a "Zombie Crowd," the band gives the show all they've got. "We just want our fans to have as much fun at our shows as we do. So always expect high energy and pits." Says Tim. The band has played all over, Bars, churches and everything in between. "We play wherever we can fit our equipment. You can expect a very lively performance from us for we don't mess around when we are performing. We get lost into our own world we illustrate for the general public." Says Jesse.

    The band has played with several national touring acts such as Ice Nine Kills, Corpus Christy, The Plot in You, Where The Ocean Meets The Sky, and Another Hero Dies. "Playing with Ice Nine Kills was one of our favorite shows. They were amazing performers as well as individuals. They showed us an attitude we never knew existed. We learn something new every time we play with signed bands." Says the band.
    Soon, the band will release their song,"We've Missed The Waves" which is part of a 5-6 song EP that the band hopes to release once they have the necessary funds. “We are just gonna continue to do what we do. We are going to try to make music that people will come to relate to and take into their hearts. That's what we always wanted to do and we're just gonna keep at it.”
    Check out the band on Facebook and check out their new song "We've Missed The Wave" on October 12th. You can check out the song early on October 6th at midnight on MFN.Heavy.

Experiments in Low Fidelity

    When getting a band together, singer/songwriter Edward Raney turned to old demo tapes for a fitting band name. "I have a habit of never naming songs, unless I absolutely have to. So I would simply label each tape 'experiments in low fidelity part 1' or whatever number it was." Says Raney. Experiments in Low Fidelity was born.
    After starting the band, the name took on a more literal meaning based on the definitions of the individual words. "I'm a generally a very, very honest, and loyal person. Sorta brutally honest, and stupidly loyal, even when I shouldn't be. Which tends to get me into alot of trouble. So I've been trying to be a bit more realistic, keeping more of my opinions to myself, and assessing whether loyalty to a person/thing, is really justified, or intelligent." Says Raney.

    In the spring of 2010, with constant urging from friends, Edward decided to put together a band. Putting together a band wasn't easy. Edward recruited his friend Chris on keyboard, but they had alot of trouble finding a 2nd guitarist and a drummer. "I already had alot of the Experiments in Low Fidelity songs, completely written, and finalized. So there wasn't really much wiggle room for people to inject their own style into things. I had a very distinct idea of how things should be. Which made finding a second guitarist nearly impossible." Says Raney.
    Justin Plantz contacted the guys about playing drums and they were blown away. "He'd had a week or so to listen to MP3s of the Demo's I had at that point, to familiarize himself with our stuff a bit. When we met up with him, we were both totally blown away. I mean, it wasn't perfect. But for the first time ever playing with us, he did amazingly well. So we gave him the job that day."

    Unfortunately, the honeymoon period didn't last long. Chris and Justin didn't get along for long and it escalated into a violent argument which gave the band no choice but to let Chris go. "The weeks leading up to argument, he'd missed several practices, due to going out of town to see other bands shows. An to us, if you care more about seeing another band play, than you do about practicing with the band you are actually in. Then you probably shouldn't be in that band."
    The band went through several bassists before meeting Dylan Lasley. "He came to every show, was always excited to see us play. So eventually we started getting him to help out with random stuff (load up, setup, selling merch, etc). When an opening for the position came up, we told him if he learned the songs, we'd let him play bass. He was dedicated to the band, before he was in the band. We probably should given him a chance long before we did."

    The band is influenced more by movies and television than music. "I try to think of a song, like a scene in a movie. If this song was the soundtrack, to a part of my life, what part would it be? What scene would it be? Thats how I determine what the overall feel should be. Its like trying to paint a picture with music. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Most times, it starts one place, and then takes on a life of its own while I'm writing and I just let it go where I think its pointing me."
    When it comes to lyrics, sometimes Edward will go out of his way to find inspiration. "I draw all my influence, simply from life. I'm not sure I could write about something I feel no connection to, and why would I want to do that?
I let the path of my life influence the tone of anything I create, cause thats sorta the point of making music, or creating art. At times, I've gone so far as intentionally putting myself in rather unsavory situations, or around unsavory people (which will eventually turn into an unsavory situation), simply so I have some sort of struggle, or strife, to play off of. Something that actually makes me HAVE TO write. Making music, is just about the most important thing in my life, and sort of how I define myself as a person. So I've always felt that suffering anything, is worth it, if I can get a good song out of it."

    The band strives to be different and unique. Often times, Edward has gone several months at a time without listening to music as to avoid any accidental influence. "The only way to really describe the way we sound would be to say, we're complexly simple. We're not so stripped down, as to sound like talentless a**holes. But never so complex as to sound like a big, busy, wall of sh*t either. We just do whatever the song needs, to be its best. Nothing more, nothing less."

    A lot of the band's music is negative. "Theres not a whole lot of hope, or positivity in our songs. I believe the best music/art comes from the worst times in life. Because, you only grow as a person, during the rough spots. Sure at the time its happening, you'll hate every miserable second of it. But once that time has passed, and you have a chance to look back on it. There's a reason people's memories of the bad times, are always more vivid than their memories of the good times. The bad times force you to think and reflect. The good times, just make you smile."

    "Really over all, the only "message" we have for anyone is simply "You're not alone." There might be different messages, or theme's, depending on the song. But over all, we're just trying to tell who ever is listening, "You're not alone." To me, thats really the whole point of making music in any sort of format that employs words. To give people a chance to see that someone else out there, understands how it feels."
    The band released their 052811 EP on, surprise, May 28th, 2011. "Each song is its own entity. There are moments of longing, lustful sadness, followed by spastic angry outbursts. We covered a pretty broad range of emotions. But overall, each song is its own thing. If anything, I'd say the overall sound and mood is just a bit dark, questioning, and hopeless at points. Sure, there's a glimmer of hope here and there, it'd be a bit boring if there wasn't. But overall, each song is just a moment in time. Theres no happy ending, because the end hasn't come yet." The band is currently working on their debut album. The album will include a few songs from the EP and lots of new material.

    Depending on the mood, the band can play a reserved, laid back set or they could play a chaotic, energized one. "It all depends on our moods, whats going on in life for each of us, and how energized the crowd is. But regardless, we're always in top form when performing. We put every ounce of ourselves into each performance, whether playing for 2 people, or a whole bunch of people. We have an insanely rigorous practice regime, so unless something is going terribly wrong, we always give the best performance we are capable of."
    The band is very considerate of the fans in the audience. "To us, the whole goal of performing, is to make sure that every single person in the crowd, whether they've heard us before or not, will fall in love with the band, and not simply go home, and completely forget about us. Performing isn't just about what we do on stage, its about what we do the entire time we are at a venue. Whether that be thanking the club owner for giving us the opportunity to play, making sure we stay to watch every band on the bill, or sitting and drinking a beer with some guy that just loves the band."

    Apart from the album, the band has a few things in store in the coming months. " we're currently in the process of planning a summer tour for 2012. Hoping to hit as many major cities as we are capable of doing. Expand the fan base further, sell more albums, Spread this disease as far as we can, try to get some real radio play, etc, etc, etc. All the things any serious band wants to do." Be sure to check the band out on Facebook!

Sleeze

    In December of 2009, through herbal influences, the band Sleeze joined forces to create a hard and mostly dangerous sound. This Rockford band has been around for over two years and have still managed to keep their music honest and BS free.
    The band describes their sound as disgusting, careless and violent. The band prides itself in it's performance. "There is no typical band performance with sleeze, expect the unexpected." Says the band.

    The band's upcoming Ep is different from their previous releases due to member changes as well as improved drumming and more soul. The band insists that "it's still Sleeze." "(We've) just taken the next step up, we're growing."
    Through their music, the band gives off the message to "Live your life with no limitations and to live like you're dieing, slip her the tongue." Check out the band's Facebook!

I Solemnly Swear

      Not very many bands will tell you that their band name was inspired by Harry Potter movies, but not very many bands are hardcore/nu-metal band, I Solemnly Swear. "We are huge fans of the film and were inspired by the cleverness of the Marauder's Map, as well as its ability to show you everything and anything. As a band we wanted to put all of our emotions out there for the world to see while still being "up to no good" and making people mosh it up as we do for our favorite bands."
      The Rockford band came together in March of 2011 after many line-up changes. "I believe we went through about 11 different people up until our first show. Then almost immediately after, we replaced virtually everyone again and found the lineup we have today. We actually had a member from Bloom practice with us and a member from 2KL both classic punk bands so it was an awkward couple of lineups."

      The band has a wide range of influences, as each member of the band comes from a different musical background. Garret Deporter (dirty vocals), Jon Frisk (bass), and Drew Dippel (guitar) were the only members to originally listen to the hardcore genre. AJ Maddrell (drums) listened to a lot of metalcore like Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine while Matt Anderson (guitar/clean vocals) listened to a lot of punk and emo bands like The Used and Four Year Strong.
      With all the different influences flying around, the band found a place between the hardcore genre and metal. "We incorporate thick heavy breakdowns with fast paced metal-style riffs and drumming. I think we sound very similar to our influences and there's nothing wrong with that. We love playing the stuff we love hearing." Says the band.

      The band has played several local Rockford venues such as the Bethesda Church and The ELB, as well as some venues in the surrounding area like The House Cafe and Spurgeon's Bay. The band hopes to play shows at Mojoe's and The Metro, and anywhere else in Chicago. They also have interest in playing shows up north in Kenosha.
      Performances for the band are very in-your-face with many of their fans claiming the band's performances are better live than the recordings. "We just love the energy of playing a live show and just letting it all be seen. We have a face that our guitarist has perfected called the mean mug and he basically does it the entire show because our riffs are just so mean and he loves just getting angry and energetic when he plays them."

      The band released their EP, Believe What You Hear, in the summer of 2011. The EP was recorded with Josh Wheeler, who produced their previous EP and the full-length of fellow Rockford band, A Journey To Fall. "We really wanted to get ahead of the wave of EPs coming this fall so we got into the studio and basically recorded every song we played live and got it all in there and ready to show off to our fans. There was such a big jump between our stuff from the demo to now so we wanted to get in and show it off as soon as we could get the money together."
      The EP takes it's name from a lyric in the song "Rumors" because the band thought it was a fitting title. "We want people to literally like us, not simply click a like button. We made our title a blatant message saying we have what you want to hear and you better believe it." The EP is available from the band for $5 and includes 5 new songs and 2 rerecorded songs from the demo with intricate artwork by Johnnie Grey.

Barrier

      The hardcore band, Barrier, formed recently in July. After writing a few songs, the band decided on the name based on the fact that their material focused on overcoming obstacles or barriers.
      Based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, the band is surrounded by many hardcore/metal bands. "There are definitely a lot of new metal/hardcore bands starting up around here which is always great to have bands to play with and listen to and everything. It's the most common genre for bands around here it seems like. Some of our best friends are in a metal band called Sworn In, although they aren't from Buffalo Grove, they're from right around here in Grayslake. There aren't a ton of venues to play at right around here, but it's cool to play in front of people who otherwise wouldn't hear your music when you're farther away from home."

      The members had been playing in other bands together and wanted to start something new and heavy. "It's definitely fun to be in a band with good friends AND good musicians." Says the band.
      The band is influenced by bands like The Contortionist, Legion and other metal/hardcore bands. They describe their sound as heavy, a bit melodic, and "bouncy". They feel that the vocals help give their music a "flow" and a sort of percussion role, as well as bringing emotion. The band has been compared to bands like Volumes and The Acacia Strain.

      The band is in the process of writing their EP. "Although we don't have a date set yet, we're thinking maybe a fall or early winter release is likely. The music will be hard hitting and we think it will go over well. The lyrics are about bettering yourself and resolving internal conflicts and obstacles. In the meantime though, look out for new songs we'll be posting along the way."
      The band is going to continue focusing on recording music, and giving it their all. They hope to play a few shows and try to better themselves as musicians as well as get the word spread about the new band from Buffalo Grove. "Hopefully people like our music and we'll just keep doing what we're doing to improve."

A Sound Heart

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      A Sound Heart, the hardcore band from Johnsburg, IL is one of the few remaining bands who still strongly believes in morality. " It seems a lot of the structures people model themselves after take away from the heart of any action: happinness. It's just ethics. The soul purpose for anyone to do anything is to be rewarded with some sort of positive emotion. Unfortunately, things like addiction, vanity, and greed can distort your definition of happiness. But, to truly grasp the concept of contentment and live a healthy, fulfilling life, you have to be the best person you can be. It can be difficult. Sometimes, you're forced to choose between that often strenuous path of doing what's right, or taking the easy way out and doing whatever you like, even if it harms others."
      The band also believes than in order to make a real, positive impact, one must use their head and their heart. "You need to be of sound heart. As we've grown up, we've had to face things we've only ever seen in movies. We've watched old friends become monsters and people we know ruin each other without giving it a second thought. It's scary and it's had a huge impact on all of us in one way or another. It's a bit dramatic, but that's the general idea of the name and the meaning behind our songs."

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      Since the band's formation just a few months ago in mid-May 2011, they have recieved great support from the local scene in Johnsburg. "We've been lucky enough to have played with and for some really amazing people early in our time together."
      When the band first came together, they were only interested in playing shows casually. Once the band realized that they really enjoyed what they were doing, they decided to takes things a bit more serious.
      Over the years, the different members had played in different bands together. After a conversation last year between Josh Blackburn (drums), Jeff Leber (vocals) and Reid Bright (guitar) which consisted of a lot of nostalgia and reminiscing that quickly turned into a jam session once Reid moved back into town. "We kept the songs simple and just wrote the kind of music we all love without over thinking anything and something clicked. It seemed so organic." Says Josh.
      Colton Smiricky joined the band a few weeks later as the bassist. As an old friend and former bandmate, the band felt it was only right to bring him on.

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      The first month as a band was difficult for the group. "Being in a band when we were sixteen was a whole different experience than playing now when we're three years graduated living in a tiny town where most of our support has moved out of state. We had to fight for our first slight bit of recognition. We had to scream in the faces of potential fans in those first few weeks to get their attention because they weren't all friends or people we knew."
      The band describes themselves as an accumulation of all the agressive music and goofy trends that have influenced them in the past five years. "Whether it was when our older friends introduced us to 'Son, I Loved You At Your Darkest' by As Cities Burn, we first heard Misery Signals in high school, when Defeater released 'Travels' or Have Heart passed through Chicago on their last tour, some moments have taken us through different phases of listening and songwriting. But now, we have finally reached a point where we've stopped trying to over complicate things. We've started writing organically and letting those moments that have influenced us and the music we love to present itself naturally in our songs." Says the band.

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      When it comes to playing shows, the band enjoys playing anywhere. From youth centers to clubs, bar to festivals, and even basements. "When we play, we try our hardest to engage the crowd and make them feel so incredibly uncomfortable that they can't help but drop their guard and become a part of the band."
      Since the band's decision to take things more seriously, they've come to an agreement which states that when classes start back up in the coming weeks, they're going to start booking about 1 show a month, but continue staying busy with writing and recording. When the band has time off from school, they hope to try and book as many venues as possible. "We hope to keep this band together and maintain momentum so that one day we can tour and grow uncomfortably close with people miles from home."

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      The band's friend, Logan, who dabbles in graphic design and photography, is filming many of the band's sets in HD and hopes to piece it all together into a live music video for the band. So look forward to that.
      Also, the band hopes to continue releasing new music within the coming months. "We will still sound like emotionally distressed suburban kids, but we've certainly developed a better understanding of our place in the music scene and the message we would like to convey. That being said, our newer material maintains the same intensity as previous songs but has a new less generic edge."

Case In Point

      Originally, the hard rock/metal band from Rockford, IL, Case In Point, went by a fairly different name. The band formed in 2007 and changed it's name from Spider Monkeys to Case in Point somewhere along the way.
      Every member of the band has slightly different influences, from Disturbed to Bon Jovi and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Breaking Benjamin. The band is inspired by A7X for their drumming, and even Rise Against for the bass. They are often described as a Breaking Banjamin/Avenged Sevenfold hybrid.
      The band's lineup consists of Neil Andrews (vocals), Jake McIntre (lead guitar), Jake Nelson (rhythm guitar), Andrew Bergman (bass), and Richard Wauchope (drums).

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      Since the band's formation, they have not only improved in skill, but have just about perfected the bass and guitar sound. "When Case In Point first developed it was just a test to see what could happen to the band. I'm sure Neil didn't imagine that Case In Point would become the band it is today."
      The band often has a tough time defining their sound into one style or genre. "We have songs that we play that are really hardcore and in your face, yet we also have mellow songs that slow down the tempo and the mood. So if you really wanted to say our band sounds like anything, I guess you can say we are just a well diverse hard rock band." says the band.

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      You can catch the band on the stage of a bar, a festival, and basically anywhere that sports a stage. The band really doesn't care what venue they play as long as the crowd is energized and ready to have a good time. In their performances, the band likes to be high energy and intense. "We want everyone to participate and we make sure that happens." Says the band.
      The band recently released their EP, Taste of Misery, releasing it on July 8th of this year. "The EP took about a month to record and have mastered. It was a huge undertaking. Andrew and Jake N. were brand new to the band so they had to learn the songs, and Neil was in school in Carbondale, IL. The whole band practiced together one time before going into studio and actually recording so there was a lot of pressure, but after starting it was pretty smooth."
      It's definitely a hard rock EP, according to the band, and the band tried to stay away from anything too soft, making sure to add a few good licks to their softest song "Cursed".

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      The band spoke breifly about the EP and what it meant.

"The cool thing is the EP kinda tells a story in a way. The first song is “So Be It” and it talks about always getting messed over in a relationship and saying that your out. Then the next song "Run" is about your daily struggles and wondering where you're future will take you

“Taste of Misery” is our track title and it really just kicks in the point of having someone screwed you over now your through and you want them to taste your pain. “Feels Like Fire” talks about the pain of breaking up. In the bridge of the song it talks about wanting to be taken back to the way things use to be. 

"Not Enough" is basically about bullying. although it can also be open for interpretation to a breakup, the song talks about how being bullied is not enough to change the person you are. the message of the song is basically to have respect for yourself, and to not let others oppose on who you are and who you wanna be. Our last song on the EP is titled "Cursed" and it's about hopelessness, and how that hopelessness can make you feel unworthy of anything that you treasure in life and this hopelessness can come from a painful breakup, death of a loved one, or failing a task that is important to you

I feel that the EP has been very well received and that people are digging our sound and direction."

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      The band is hoping to get more exposure and to maybe one day get signed. They dream of playing bigger venues and live the life many people just dream of.

This Obsession

      This Obsession, the punk band from Chicago formed over 2 years ago in July 2009. Mark Kronenberg (vocals/guitar) was in a heavy metal band called Poi Poi Poi, and was in desperate need of bandmates after his band members quit to play punk rock. Mark was interested in playing heavy metal and soon recruited Jessica Otto (bass). Then, they recruited Jordon Otto on the drums even though he had no prior drumming experience. "We pulled Jordan into the band because he was able to play a basic beat on his electric drum set he bought off of eBay. After that, we jammed with Jordan and it kind of just worked." Says Mark.
      After a few jamming sessions, the band decided to start playing punk rock. "I was losing so much interest in metal that I couldn’t keep doing it. The lyrics we wrote were cheesy and funny, and that also had to end. There was no way this band would make it anywhere with these kind of lyrics." In turn, the band decided to change their name to This Obsession.

      In the last two years, the band has matured in a way, they aim for a bigger sound and their musical abilties have definitely improved. They're playing bigger shows with bigger bands, and Jordan can even keep on time with his drumming.
      The songs are fairly straight forward and stay away from being too whiny and sappy. With such songs like "The Girl That I Work With" and "My Chevy Impala" the band isn't expected to be winning any Nobel prizes. Occasionally, the band will write something personal like "The Easy Way Out" which touches base on touchy subjects like suicide.
      "All the messages are just everyday things that I deal with." Says Mark.

      The band is influenced by some bands like Jimmy Pop, Alkaline Trio, NoFX, Green Day and Blink 182. Mark is especially influenced by the support of his sister, who has always kept his spirits high and attends as many shows as she can. "My sister has always been my number one supporter, coming to shows, and promoting my band. She has always told me I will make it."
      The band enjoys jumping into the middle of a show's lineup to insure they will get people listening. "we know bands bring their friends, and their friends only stay for the bands they come to see. Every show we play is always energetic. We always see people jumping around, going nuts, and having a great time."

The Crystal Vision

      Indecisive and unmotivated, two words that could have been used to describe the start of St. Charles alternative rock band, The Crystal Vision. The band had trouble finding a name that works, using Envision for a short while, considered Watch Out For The Glass, until finally The Crystal Vision was thought up by the group while brainstorming.
      The band's earliest formation was back in the spring of 2009. The band's vocalist, Tom Hinds, and drummer, Jon Belsheim, joked about forming a death metal band. The band quickly formed than broke up due to a lack of motivation and guitarists/bassists. It wasn't until a year later that Tom joked, yet again, about forming a band with Peter Procek (guitar), this time it was talks of a Korn cover band. Ryan Shannon (guitar) joined the band and a guitar battle was planned. The battle never happened, but the band did enjoy several games of Rockband.
      Jon joined the new band, and all the members started jamming together. After agreeing to commit to the band, they scrounged up $800 and bought a mixer and P.A. systems. The purchases served as sort of an unspoken oath between the members. They practiced all summer and recruited Nick Novotny on the bass.

      The Crystal Vision is populated by different musicians with different music influences. Their unique styles are vital to the band's grungy mesh of relaxed, blue-sy, post-rock.
       "Tom joined the band as more of a metal head, listening to bands such as Tool, Metallica, and slayer. Both Ryan and Peter always shared a similar style that came from more bluesy, alternative rock tones. Ryan's style had emanated from a lot of ambient music such as Explosions in the Sky and Minus the Bear. Peters musical style was largely influenced by Jimmy page, having been a Zeppelin fan a majority of his life, as well as other classic rock groups such as Pink Floyd. Jon's inspiration consisted of a classic rock upbringing as well, such as Zeppelin like Peter, but was also influenced by faster, and harder drummer lines by bands such as A Day to Remember. Nick had always had a more chaotic and even funky style influenced by groups such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Cage the Elephant." Says the band.
      "While we all came from different musical spectrums, we began making music without a hitch, and our sound was a resultant of everything that we were brought up by musically, and much of these influences are evident in our music. As we matured as a band, the sound became more refined, and we all started sharing and discovering common  music grounds, continuing to make the music we love."
      Overall the band sound is made up of very calm alternative songs, but occasionally throws a surprise at the listener in the form of AB3D with its harsh screams, or Wafflers with its more punk feel.

      The story behind the name of the band's upcoming album, Welcome to the Dark Room. In the band's practice space, there is a small storage room just out of the band's set-up. Whenever someone in the band needs that full focus for learning a part, or thinking up an idea, they often go into this "dark room" to do so. With a good portion of the songs written out of the dark room, it only makes sense to "welcome" the listener to the dark room.
      The band has noticed a small split in the album and sense two sides to the album. "The first side is seen in songs like Stories End and Recall the New a very chill mellow style and you can just relax and listen. Then there is a Bi-polar flip to songs like Wafflers Rebellion and AB3D where there is a chaotic heavy tone that just encompasses full on energy."
      The band will be playing several shows to promote the release of the album and will turn to Facebook and toilet fliers as forms of advertisement.

      The band sprinkles unique performances all around the St. Charles area in small venues with the support of their fans. The band occasionally plays a big venue when they're out of town in hopes of branching out a bit. The band is ver big on hanging out with fans after the show. "When you come to a Crystal Vision show, plain and simple you should expect to have a good time."
      Naturally, the band is looking to play more shows and even bigger shows. Their sole goal is to be able to look back on all they've done and know that they made good music that will stay with people for a long time. Keep a lookout for the release of the album sometime this month.

Miles From Exile

      If Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Metallica had a baby in 2010, that baby would be Miles From Exile. The Chicago progressive thrash metal band came together after years of talking about forming a band. After several mishaps, delays, and member relocation, the band was ready to conquer the metal scene by late 2010.
      The band takes elements from classic metal bands and adds a little modern spin to it. "We're progressive, we have thrashy parts, we have epic parts, we have melodic parts, we have singing, we have screaming, we have complex riffs, we have simple riffs. We're all over the place, and yet, it just feels so cohesive and right to us. We're not necessarily doing things that no other bands has done, but we feel that everything combined is what few other bands are doing." says the band.
      The current band line-up consists of D'andre Payne (vocals), Justin Lesko (guitar/vocals), Tony Notardonato (guitar/vocals), Mike Ludwig (bass), and Edirin Ibru (drums)

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      Miles From Exile lists a wide range of influences from classic metal bands like Slayer and Iron Maiden to contemporary bands like Trivium, Protest The Hero and As I Lay Dying. The band even lists a few non-musical influences such as literature, mathematics and even astronomy.
      "The most important lesson we have learned is that, in Chicago, you can book a show every weekend because there are so many bars that offer live music, but you must space out your shows in the city or your draw dwindles to nothing." Another important thing for the band is to always try and outdo themselves at ever show. Whether it be their sound or stage presence, maybe most importantly, their writing. "We're always challenging ourselves with each new song, and we're not going to write one just to add another song to our set, it's gotta make the cut by our standards."

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      Miles From Exile, their self-title EP is something the band is very proud of. "We recorded it with Nick Nativo at The Nook Recording Studio, and we really loved the whole process. We contacted an artist named Chris Noble in California to do our artwork and he was really cool about it. We just gave him the tracks and said "listen and draw" and that's exactly what he did. We feel like the whole package turned out really well. It's funny because our 5-song EP is about as long as a lot of LPs, coming in at around 33 minutes."
      The EP's heavy crisp sound has been recieved well online and the band feels like it's a great representation of the band and their capabilities. Of course, unsurprisingly, they will try to outdo themselves during their sophmore attempt.
      To support the release, the band has the EP streaming on Facebook and Myspace, and even have a limited number of hard copies for sale at some Chicago music stores. "We are also trying to get in touch with as many people who, like you, are supportive of local music or at least open minded enough to give our tracks a listen and review." You can get the EP on iTunes, Amazon, or Bandcamp!

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      The band is focusing on spreading out through the Midwest, hoping to book shows throughout Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and southern Illinois in the next few months. "The next step is to make Miles From Exile national and set up tours."
      Although the band enjoys playing shows, they are somewhat selective when booking. "if you flood the market with shows, then people feel no urgency to watch you play ?What you can expect from our shows is all of us just losing our mind. We love being on stage, and it shows. We have such a great band chemistry, we don't need to "try" to do anything, it just all comes out. We make fun of each other, have some laughs, and do everything we can to involve the crowd. It's all over the place, and we just have a great time....and we sweat a lot."

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      The Summer Slaughter Tour is full of bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Six Feet Under, Dying Fetus, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Oceano, As Blood Runs Black, Within the Ruins, and several other bands. "We're just stoked to be a part of it, and we can't wait to show Milwaukee what we're capable of. We were trying to book in Milwaukee with some locals, and then this came up, and we were like, yeah, that'll work."

Another Step Further

      Another Step Further, the punk rock band out of St. Charles, IL does exactly as their name implies. "We are taking music another step further, we are taking the messages of the music another step further. We don’t want to be just another typical band. We want to go past that. Every day, we become better musicians, and at the same time we're adding more meaning and passion to our songs. All of this takes us another step further towards our dreams."
      The band's agressive and distorted blend of punk rock blends in Bullet For My Valentine-inspired harmonies, metal-influenced rock/punk drum beats, a bit of double bass, and rough punk-style vocals with sprinkles of gang vocals and smooth backing vocals to create their dark, yet catchy sound, reminiscent to bands like Rise Against and Bad Religion. "Even though it’s a strong influence, we don’t just sound like another Rise Against. We have our own traits that make us different, even from our greatest influence. We're the only band of our kind in the local music scene. We aren’t defined by genre, we are only defined by the music we make. Because of this, we have a wide range of sounds, and that’s what makes us unique."

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      The band came together in the November of 2009 and was formed by bassist Andrew Stevens and guitarist/vocalist Keane O'Kelley. They found Josh Denson in the bathroom and he joined the band (He would later leave). They recruited Davis Cox on lead guitar and Grant Bonesetter on the drums to form the current line-up.
      Dystopia, the band's 7-track album was released in early 2011. The band says they have moved on from their first attempt and only play one of the songs off the album at shows. "It was basically a compilation of the first few songs our band had written in the past 10 months or so. Many of the songs were just cranked out without any significant meaning." Admits the band.

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      The band's local scene is overflowing with metal bands and numerous pop and punk bands and is home to many growing bands. The only problem is the lack of venues that are willing to let the bands play their loud music. " For a band in St. Charles, most of the bigger opportunities seem to be in other towns that are at least 20 miles away."
      The band tends to put on a loud, energetic show. "We don’t want to be another band who just stands on stage and gets the show over with. We enjoy it up there and spend every second giving it our all for the crowd. You can expect us to be playing with accuracy, but to be energetically moving around the stage as we put on the show."

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      The band has recently come out of a long show hiatus. After the band changed vocalists, they focused on practicing and writing new music for a new, full-length album and recording their single, Never Again, set to be released in August. "Every single new song we have written has been given our full time and effort; they aren’t just churned out mechanically. The band has undergone many changes in this break, and the new feel of the band is unified and clean, yet heavier while being more perfected and original. Not heavier as in metal or screamo, but more towards our original influences. If you compared our current sound to “Dystopia,” you would think it was a completely different band." Says the band.
      They hope to release the new album in early 2012 as long as scheduling and finances go smoothly. They have started booking shows in September and beyond. "We plan to have a decent show schedule with several every month until studio time."

Khaos Ordinance

      Khaos Ordinance, the metal band from the small town of Streator, IL got their name from the mind of band vocalist, Cory Angelico. "He had decided (on the name) years before forming, Just so happened we started a band and he threw the name out before our first practice and it stuck. The name is a double negative, chaos and order, can be taken as fear and order, Fear weapon, Or simply chaos law. Up for interpretation  whether political, psychological or military based" says the band.

      Cory and Jason Harlan (drums) had been in music projects together before. One day, Jason came across Marky Garcia jamming with a friend. Jason got on the drums and they had a small jam session together. Years later, they would cross paths agains and decided it wasn't a coincidence. Marky joined up on lead guitar. Jason basically told Cory he was the band's singer and in all the excitement of starting a band, Jason signed them up to play a Battle of the Bands. The only problem was that the band had no songs and no bassist.

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      The band kicked it into high gear and they shot out 5 songs. Cory's long time friend and martial arts instructor, Mike Rideout, decided enough was enough and used his paycheck to buy a bass and an amp. By the time it was time for the battle, the entire band had learned the songs and not only played well, but tied the victory with rival bands.

      "All of our fans have said we have a unique and odd sound as a band, we take a different approach with each song, trying to incorporate our feelings as well as something new in each song making each one unique and very different from the others in some way, Each song has the potential to appeal to several different fans with different tastes in metal." They cite friends and family as big influences in their music and claim that they all kep eachother motivated. "As far as musical influences go, it is way too much to even get on paper, but we've been inspired by several of the local acts who have given us the criticisms and feedback we needed to get where we are so far."

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      The band assures us that "the metal scene is well and alive in Streator" but that "there is a lack of metal bands recently."  "We have been trying to revive old bands and motivate people who wanna start projects in hopes to get Streator out of it's show slump. As far as venues go, it's hard to find one that is willing to support a metal act. We play in a town 20 minutes away and can pull in crowds of 80 to 100 on good nights, most from Streator. We are just at a loss for support and venues in town."

       "Explosive, powerful and energetic" is how the band describes their performances. "We like to be one with our crowd and go as far as walking into the crowd, moshing, and even allowing closer fans to sing. We like to make people feel like they are the reason we are there because that's simply the truth. We like to support other bands having played before and after us."

Terror In His Presence

      Chicago death metal/melodic thrash band, Terror in His Presence, was very much like most bands when they started. They had members and an idea, they just needed a name. "We wanted something that would stick out in your head. So after many trial and error names, we decided to sit in our old guitarist's basement and start looking through books for inspiration." Since the band's from the 708 area, they decided to look in the bible and turn to the page, in hopes of finding something interesting. Terror in His Presence stuck.

      The band has been through several line-up changes, but Ed Messina (lead guitar) and Kevin Gecan (bass) have stuck around since the beggining. They came across current singer, Zack Hnat, while searching for a new guitarist. The band's then drummer had suggested they ask Zack to play guitar. They taught him one of the songs on guitar and since they had a PA, he tried vocals as well. "When I heard his voice I knew he was our singer. " Recalls Ed.

      After the departure of their drummer, the band recruited Dan Valente, who they had known for a long time. "Originally, he was only a fill-in because he was in another band. Then after a while we asked him to play full-time and he said yes." Through a friend, Ed got into contact with former Calignosity band mate, Joe Sperlak, whom they recruited on rhythm guitar after clicking well with his attitude and abilities.

      The band tries to combine the sound of The Black Dahlia Murder with their "old school heroes" like At the Gates and Carcass. Then, the band takes the aggressive fast thrash sounds of Metallica and Anthrax and mixes it into the band's own unique leads, harmonies and vocal patterns to create Terror in His Presence.

      You can typically find the band playing death metal shows, but the band does enjoy playing for hardcore crowds because they enjoy the challenge and feel as if they can earn their spot. "We have to play harder and put on an amazing show so that we stand out from everyone else" The band's performance is fairly active. "We all do our own crazy things to get the crowd into the show, whether it be Kevin running around in the crowd and making people mosh, or Dan throwing his sticks up and doing crazy stuff on the skins, or Joe and Ed making funny gestures at each other and trying to one up each other on stage, and I definitely like to move around the stage and scream at the crowd to get moving and get into it" Says vocalist, Zack Hnat.

      The band's new EP, No Saviors was produced by Armando Terrazas and Jim Nicademus. "They have both been a huge help in making this EP sound amazing and have both been a pleasure working with" says the band. A lot has changed since the bands first EP, Quarantinatorium. "No Saviors features 2 tracks off of Quarantinatorium, No Saviors and Crucifixion, but are very different in sound (and) our writing has changed. We are a lot more technical and aggressive and have more hooks to bring the listener in and wanting more. The No Saviors EP is our current Golden Achievement and we are very proud to have had the chance to work with the people we did."

      Chicago-based heavy metal and tattoo culture magazine, Rock Scars Magazine, featured the band in an issue after the band was voted by their fans to make the magazine's cover.

Message from the band: If anyone wants to check us out, send us a hello, or set up a show with us, then go to our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TIHP1