The Worshyp

    The idea for Toronto metal band, The Worshyp came when Marz Nova was jogging one morning. "I always listen to music when I work out. One day I just could not find any new music that I really wanted to hear, so I thought to myself 'I guess what I want to hear isn’t being made these days, so I’m going to have to write it myself.'" Recalls Nova.
    A few days later, he whipped up a song demo and showed it to friends. One song led to many and after getting a very positive online reception, Nova decided to put a band together. He found both Mig Diablo(bass) and Thor Rune(lead guitar) online via ads. Mig suggested KK Devina as they had played together with Paul Di’Anno.
    Nova decided on the name, The Worshyp because he felt it was a worthy representation of metal fans. "In other genres you are only as big as your latest hit. You’re here today and gone tomorrow. Metal fans follow their favourite bands for life like a priest follows the church."

    The band is influenced by a large range of music, from Rush to Pantera and Black Sabbath to Motorhead. Their sound is a perfect blend of the last 4 decades of hard rock and metal. "Each song offers the listener a totally different experience." Says the Nova. "I think there is certainly both a Canadian and American element to our music."
    Their debut album, Kingdom Earth, was released early January of this year. "Kingdom Earth is a broad scoped album. It has songs that are in-your-face thrash as well as elements of Grunge metal (The Sewers), progressive metal (Crop Circles) and even mainstream commercial heavy rock (The Manic’s Mantra). We did not want to corner ourselves musically and I think we avoided that with Kingdom Earth." Says Nova.

    Evil Abounds, the band's next album, will broaden the band's already broad scope. "There are heavier songs on there as well as our first ballad. I do not believe in “filler” songs and if I write a good song I delete it. I am very fastidious about my song writing. Good is not good enough for The Worshyp. Overall I think the writing, sound quality, vocals and musical performance has been improved greatly from that of Kingdom Earth." The band hopes to release the album some time in 2012.
    With an online following of over 50,000 people, the band couldn't be happier. "The fans have totally blown me away. Getting our logo tattooed on their arms, putting up badges on their profile, buying second and third copies of the CD for their friends. It really has been a surreal 9 months." After the band releases Evil Abounds, they hope to begin touring to support the release.
    Be sure to like the band on Facebook to get all the album and show updates!

Eminence

(Photo Credit: Taylor Leigh Photography)

      Joliet, IL isn't exactly the most welcoming city for musical talent. Illinois fourth largest city has very few affordable options for young up-and-coming music acts, charging upwards of $1000 to rent out a venue. This doesn't stop hardcore/thrash band Eminence from putting on a show.


      The word eminence means a position of great distinction, superiority, or of a higher power. This thrash band believes in the word of God, but don't consider themselves to be a christian band.  "(The) band fully believes in God and his power. We use him in our daily life". The name has somewhat of a double meaning, as well. "Eminence is also a word that symbolizes how big something in one's life can be"

(Photo Credit: Taylor Leigh Photography)

      The band came together last year. Mark Daniel (guitar) and Mike Negus (vocals) had both played shows in their respective projects and actually weren't too fond of each other. Somehow, they ended up in Mike's garage in Joliet with a drummer who would go on to play with them once in the band's first show. The two hit it off, Mark helped Mike form a closer bond with God and they continued to jam several more times. Pretty soon, they had recruited a full band, adding Conrad Allsworth (drums) and Romel Pinnix (bass) to the line-up. "The four of us have a really good connection with music and our friendship. I couldn’t ask for more than that. At times, when I'm down they pick me right back up. That’s something you don’t find in most bands now." Says Mike.


       Eminence describes their sound as the Love child of Metallica and Terror. The band is a fan of "heavy" music, whether it be death metal, hardcore, or thrash. They incorporate slams, two-steps, fast thrash and punk beats, and basically anything else that feels right. They prefer to use positive messages over hate-filled ones, and attribute their positive vibe to the people who are actively involved and care about the music scene.

(Photo Credit: Taylor Leigh Photography)

      In the beginning, the band had a slow start as far as performing goes. "The writing process took awhile, and we put most of our effort into that. As a result, we didn't play our first show until after 5 or 6 months of jamming and preparing. We have played 4 shows since the beginning of the year and we have 3 shows booked now. We are good friends with a few booking agents and promoters, so now we're focused on playing." A few of the band's current priorities include merchandise, playing, and recording.


      The EP has been in talks for about a month now and the band hopes to set some time out for the writing process this summer. The band says to expect new things from them by the end of the year, hoping for late summer at the earliest.      

New Clear Threat

      Representing Chicago, IL, hardcore punk/thrash band, New Clear Threat doesn't quite fit in. With so many genres in the Chicago area and each with their own respective scenes, the lack of a pure, raw punk scene makes the band that much more interesting. "We have punk rock, but it's usually watered down to the point where it's almost embarrassing to call it punk.  I guess that's true for most music nowadays though. We've never been a band about being in your face just for the f**k of it, but I think we do pride ourselves in being a bit louder or faster than people would like." Says band vocalist, Eric Williams.

      The current line-up consists of Aaron Jaramillo (bass/vocals), Charlie Medina (guitar/vocals), Eric Williams (vocals), James Kolasinski (drums/vocals) and Warren Mendoza (guitar/vocals).

      The band, influenced by Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and other D.C. hardcore bands, has always been politically charged. Although they stay away from getting down to specifics, only occasionally mentioning issues by name, the band often criticizes politics in general. The band's sound has been compared to Suicidal Tendencies, Municipal Waste, and Exodus. "I think it's refreshing to be a band that is as hard as punk is supposed to be and metal enough that we're not just a bunch of punks. We're not doing anything new, but somehow I think we have a sound that can't easily be compared to any other band." Says Eric.

      The band has been around since 2001, a lifetime when compared to the average unsigned band lifespan. When asked about what keeps the band motivated, Eric's reply was unexpected. "The band isn't motivated. I think that's what keeps us going. 10 years of working to make it big would be exhausting. 10 years of making music and having a good time is just that, good times.  If we make it big, we'd like it to be because people like what we're doing. Not because we've successfully marketed ourselves."

      With over 200 shows, the word 'experienced' would be an understatement. The band has played small locals shows, as well as, large shows, like the Chicago Peace Fest in 2010, with Genral Patton & His Privates, where over 600 people were in attendance. Most bands would find it hard to play small shows after playing a huge crowd, but the band had this to say, "The size of the show doesn't seem to make much of a difference. What really makes a good show is a crowd of any size that gives and takes just as much energy as we do."

      The band will be at the Chicago Peace Fest Camp-Out in Elgin, IL on Friday, July 29th through Sundy, July 31st. They're currently recording a new EP that is due out in late July.

~joeEFFINGmayo