For this week, I chose the West Virginia based metal band Byzantine to be featured. Byanztine was formed in 2000 by bassist Chris "Cid" Adams, guitarist Tony Rohrbough and vocalist/guitarist Chris "OJ" Ojeda after their former bands New Family and Temper split up. The band eventually picked up drummer Matt Wolfe to complete the line up years later after using a drum machine for demos in place of a drummer. Since West Virginia isn't exactly a heavy metal mecca, the band didn't really have much of a scene to gain attention. "We are quite alienated from any big scene," explains Ojeda. "Therefore, we tend to think for ourselves a lot more when writing material." Eventually, the band completed their demo album, Broadmoor. This demo managed to get the attention of Chris Adler, drummer of Lamb of God, who got Byzantine an opening slot on Lamb of God's East Coast tour. This tour got the band signed with LA based Prosthetic Records. The band then recorded their debut album The Fundamental Component. It was more raw, metalcore based and less polished then their later works. Still, it defined Byzantine's signature sound; thrashy , forward thinking and complex but still pure metal in the end. Liz Ciavarella from Metal Maniacs magazine uses formulations such as "Scrupulous time-shifts and strategically-placed off-beats; forever infectious grooves, breakdowns (Thrashdowns?) and ceaseless experimentation that end in intricate catchy Metal mantras" to describe Byzantine's style. Their next album ...And They Shall Take Up Serpents featured a much more mature sound for the band, due to their constant touring (also including an appearence on the main stage of The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in 2004) to promote their first album. This album featured even more complex songs and much stronger vocals, as opposed to the constant "screaming" vocals seen on The Fundamental Component. After a few line up changes involving a new man on bass, being Michael "Skip" Cromer, the band began another trek of constant touring until they released their 3rd album, Oblivion Beckons. This was truly Byzantine's magnum opus, picking up where "Serpents" left off. Sadly the bad split up four days after the release. However, they reunited in 2009 and 2010 for reunion shows and eventually it was decided by Ojeda that the band would continue on, however without the 2nd guitarist and founding member, Tony Rohrbough. He was replaced by Brian Henderson on guitar. Where Byzantine goes from here is not known. They are currently without a record label. A self produced album is expected from them at some point, unless another metal label decides to sign them. However, I think Byzantine is one of the most creative metal bands to come out of the States in quite some time. They managed to create amazingly complex songs while staying true to their heavy metal roots. Hopefully more and more metal fans will recognize and learn to appreciate their ingenuity.
Songs to check out: Hatfield, Justicia, Jeremiad, Stick Figure, Kill Chain, Stoning Judas and their entire Oblivion Beckons album.
Also if you have the cash, check out their DVD, Salvation.
www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=18824
http://www.myspace.com/byzantine
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