NataliezWorld

Alternative post grunge rockers ECHOSEVEN have several single's out, with an EP out this fall. A tour is to follow with more in-store! Find out what else the band had to say about their work's and plans.

1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.

After a tentative start in 2016 as a music project of drummer Allon McCall and guitarist Justin Larracey, the guys got serious about their music in 2019 and began recruiting more members to form a legitimate band. By early this year, _ECHOSEVENs lineup was, in addition to McCall and Larracey, Stefanie Roy (Lead Vocals/Guitar), Darrell Vautour (Rap Vocals), Andre Leblanc (Guitar) and Jamie Warren (Bass).

In true 2020 fashion things for the band went into a tailspin with the loss of members over the next few months. Andre, Darrell and Jamie all left the band for various reasons.  The remaining members pressed on and were able to recruit 2 new members- Dylan Osmond (Guitar) and Mike Brooks (Bass.). In 2021 Mike and Dylan both left the band. That was almost the end. We auditioned a few bass players and guitarists but nothing was a good fit. Marcus, who Allon knew from the local scene over the years had reached out and expressed interest in joining the band. We found Bobby Hope who auditioned as a guitarist but offered to play bass due to the need for one on the band. 

So late 2021 and early 2022 we had a full band. Then Bobby left. Luke was found due to a flyer that I put up months before looking for musicians. He reached out but we didn’t get back to him until Bobby has left. Fortunately he was still available and interested.  

With all of that the current lineup is: 

Stefanie Roy- vocals: her background is more in the solo folk singer/ songwriter genre

Marcus LeBlanc- guitar: lots of experience. Has played in many local bands. Has metal/80’s Hard Rock influences

Justin Larracey- guitar: Self-taught guitar player. Metal/alt metal influences

Luke Smith- bass: classically trained. Has a side project- Skullkracken a death metal band. 

Allon McCall- drums: His third original project.  Grunge. 90’s, Alt metal influences. Producer, Engineer, Songwriter, for _ECHOSEVEN

2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?

Our Drummer Allon McCall came up with the name. He always like the name ECHO for a band and SEVEN came along as it just sounded good lol. The underscore in front of the name is a reference to the old DOS prompts used by computers. Our fans have also made us aware that _ECHOSEVEN is the call sign of an x-wing fighter in Star Wars which is a cool coincidence. 

3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?

We are based out of Moncton New Brunswick Canada. The music scene is interesting. Lots of support for country and cover bands. However there is a strong Rock movement that’s happening. Metal. Punk, Alt Metal, Death Metal, Emo- all are making a come back. Its nice to see. Some local bands we have done shows with and would recommend would be- Shades of Sorrow, Skullkracken, Slush, Sprawl, Within Harms Reach, Sonic Detour, The Daily Grind

4. How would you describe your style?

The official terms are Alt Metal/ Active Rock/ Post Grunge and we agree with those terms. We are a mix of many different influences- Stefanie is folk and K-pop, Justin is more thrashy and metal- Killswitch / Lamb of God, Marcus is 80s /90s metal, Luke is very technical- death metal, and Allon is grunge, emo, alt metal- all of this makes up our sound. 

5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?

We have released 4 singles since being signed to Curtain Call Records. You can expect to hear growth in our sound- it becoming more refined. At the core are meaningful lyrics, melodic verses, catchy hooks, crunchy riffs and strong drums. That’s _ECHOSEVEN. 

6. Do you have any new music in the works?

We are releasing an EP “X-Ray In Use”  Sept 30th.  It’s a 7 track EP

7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?

We are currently planning and are about to embark on a local tour- 5 dates so far. 

8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?

The future is all about playing shows and writing new music- keep the momentum going. 

9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?

You can find _ECHOSEVEN on all digital platforms. You can buy our music on Bandcamp. For those wanting a physical CD just shoot us an email or message through our website and we can arrange getting you a copy- 

10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?

Id like people to remember the honesty of the music-the originality . Remember how the lyrics resonated with you. And just all around have enjoyed the finish product- the song.

Staying to their roots with the more stoner, grunge, alternative metal vibes is CHARTREUSE ADDICTION has been active for a while now, having a single just released over the summer with an expected EP in the plans currently. Touring and shows are also in the works with plans at hand with much else as well. Find out what more was said from the chat below.

1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.

So we formed in 2019 as a three-piece, myself (Andrew Greig) on rhythm guitar & lead vocals, Kurtis Spiers on lead guitar & backing vocals and Adrian McVail on drums. We’d part ways with Adrian the following year and in his place would be Liam Swan on drums but also Blair Harrison on guitar & backing vocals and Callum Fraser on bass & backing vocals with myself as an occasional third guitarist. This lineup would remain the same until July of this year when Liam & Blair left due to other commitments (other bands/uni etc.) As of now, we’ll be announcing our new drummer Gemma Costello very soon! 

We’ve played several gigs around the Glasgow area at venues such as Ivory Blacks, 13th Note, Audio as well as The Bungalow in Paisley and Harley’s in Ayr. We’ve played alongside bands such as Royal Bloom, Guns for Hire, West Order, Klaise and Murdoch as well as acts like Dissenter and Fading Lights. 

2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?

With our band, many times were tried out, originally we were gonna be called Hell Subway as you can find a link to our soundcloud demos which has that name in the link, but Chartreuse Addiction is a name all three of us at the time agreed upon. I was obsessed with the colour chartreuse given it’s a colour I associate a lot with stoner rock/metal and “addiction” was added in because 1, I was obsessed with the colour and 2, for copyright reasons.

3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?

So our band’s influenced by a lot of stuff. In the early days we were really into emulating the grunge and alternative metal scene in the 90s; music like Nirvana, Kyuss, Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Sleep etc. Some stuff as well was inspired by myself & Kurtis’ old band Vague Reality and the local Glasgow music scene we belonged to which had a more punk vibe to it but mixing that in with the heavier, grungy, stoner stuff. There’s a few grungy bands in the south of Scotland at the minute, you have Royal Bloom from Ayr, you have Klaise from Paisley and while I wouldn’t call these next few artists grunge, you have bands like Junk Pups, Scunnurt, Murdoch, even Dead Pony who’ve got a lot of more mainstream attention have an influence on Chartreuse Addiction. 

4. How would you describe your style?

In the early days our style was very stoner rock/alternative metal orientated. However when we brought Liam and Blair onboard, we started to go on a more classic punk rock way however the stoner stuff was still there, however now that they’ve both left, we’re definitely thinking on going back to our roots, more stoner/grunge/alt metal. Dark alley rock I like to call it if that’s a good analogy! 

5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?

We’ve released one single so far, titled “Superman” which was released on the 4th July 2022. What one can expect from our works is more of the same of that vibe, heavy classic metal-like riffs, almost disco like drums, aggressive vocals, guitar solos, etc. 

6. Do you have any new music in the works?

Yes indeed we do, we have an EP planned as well as a full length debut album in the near future. 

7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?

We have one gig at The Old Hairdressers planned for November but also potential gigs at Broadcast, Sleazy’s, Venue 38 (Ayr). Definitely gonna be on the look out for more supporting slots as well. 

8. What plans do you have for the future as a band? 

Pretty much what we answered in Q6 & 7, we have plans for tours after the EP or album is released, really just to keep getting us gigs, get our name out there, grow a bigger fanbase around Scotland and the UK (worldwide eventually) and just play music that we love and that other people love too!

9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?

Our single “Superman” is up on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube Music, Deezer and on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7n4FvjNcRIitByreijBgEg. You’ll find some demos of other Chartreuse songs there too! 

10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?

Just that they enjoy it really and for them to think we’re good musicians. That’s the main thing and that they’d want to keep coming back for more that’s all I can say. 

Being a band for a mere 6 years and counting is quite good for up and comer's WE'RE WOLVES. Whose time together has had them release an album, perhaps some all new music, with the exception of a cover track of Linkin Park's "One Step Closer". The band's vocalist AJ Diaferio plays 13 questions with us!

1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members. 

We originally formed in 2016 in a guest room at my old townhouse. I was renting a room at the time from a friend, and my roommate was starting a project with (our guitarist) Jeremy. At the time they didn’t want me in the project, but I weaseled my way in. Over the years we have had a few lineup changes, but sometimes it takes time to find the right crew. 

This lineup is our favorite to date. We’re more than just a bunch of dudes playing metal, we’re a family of misfits. We’ve got Andrew Salazar on bass, Jeremy Matthew on rhythm guitar, Tony Cardillo on lead guitar, Jesse Secatello on drums, and myself AJ Diaferio on lead vocals. 

We’ve all played in various other bands and played shows together. Everyone just kinda found their way into this project at the right times. 

2. Where did the band come to get the name We’re Wolves? 

The name was inspired by an Every Time I Die song and my love of the film An American Werewolf in London. I wanted something that was kind of a play on words and didn’t take itself soo seriously. I also wanted a name that had almost a comic book feel to it as well, like we were the X-men or Avengers. You don’t see a lot of bands with “We’re” in it haha.

3. How would you describe your style?

I’m sure most bands have a hard time with this question. I like to think of us as a fine line between early 2000s post-hardcore, modern metal, hard rock, and a dash of Nu-metal. The music we create is the music we love, we always try and blend our individual influences to create something uniquely ours. 

4. Which bands have influenced your music?

I’d say papa roach, slipknot, Falling in Reverse, Metallica, Rob Zombie, Linkin Park, bullet for my valentine, avenged sevenfold, (old) Atreyu, every time I die, Ice Nine Kills, motionless in white, the Used, My Chemical Romance, Story of the year, Beartooth, Motley Crue, Skid Row, DED, Alkaline Trio, Finch, Asking Alexandria, and A Day To Remember.

5. You released a music video for the track titled "Life of a Parasite", discuss the song and the music video itself for us.

The song itself is about keeping a watchful eye on the company you surround yourself with. Your closest friends can have hidden agendas or sneaky selfish intentions.  The video was our way of thanking our amazing fanbase for supporting us. We were blessed to get the opportunity to open for two of our biggest inspirations (the used and story of the year) at an amphitheater during Kraken Music Fest. We saw this as a chance to take our most popular song off the album and say thank you to those who helped it grow to such heights.

6. This track comes off your concept album "Evil Things", what is the concept behind this album and how did the idea come about?

The album is based on Donte’s inferno, it’s a journey through Hell both sonically and lyrically. Each song is based around a different layer of Hell. We wanted to take the listener on a journey while challenging ourselves as writers. We saw the Divine comedy as an opportunity to tell a bigger story. We found a way to compare the journey through the book to life growing up in our local music scene. Florida is a lot like Hell tho it comes off like paradise, except you cannot see the monsters until it’s too late. 

7. What is your favorite track on the album and why?

I’d say in all honesty, Life Of A Parasite. It was a last-minute addition to the album, we finished it a month before the album had to be submitted to our distribution company. It had to replace a song that was taken back (legally) by an ex-member of the project, who quit during the recording process. It was the first full song written with our current lineup, and it’s our highest-streamed song on the album. That song to me personally showed that I found the right group of people to grow with musically. Not to mention the song just simply kicks ass haha.

8. What can the listener's expect from this album?

To have a good time, it’s just a fun and very diverse record. I’m sure you’ll find a song or songs that connect with you. You can simply sit with it and enjoy it, or dive deeper into it to unveil the story. It’s truly an album about hell, created during a very dark time full of positive hopeful energy.

9. Can you disclose the writing and recording process for this album? 

It was a painstaking process over the course of 3 years. We had several setbacks, lineup changes, and complications. We began work on the album in March of 2019, with Bryan Kuznitz as our producer. We have worked with Bryan on all of our music up to this point, so it was an obvious choice for the album. Bryan’s like family to us and has helped us stay focused on our sound. I can’t really get into too much detail, all I can really say is that there was a lot of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t change a thing. 

10. Does the band have any newer music in the works, in term's of a follow-up release? 

I can’t really get into the specifics of it yet cause we’re still in development, but we were almost completed with a new record worth of material. We’re also working on some (non album) singles to come out in between these two albums. So there’s a lot of new stuff in the works including new covers, some you’ll see coming and some you’ll never see coming. That’s all we can really say at this present moment in time.

11. How would you say you differ from other bands and artists on the scene?

We don’t take ourselves too seriously, we really enjoy making music we’re fans of. We always try to find balance in everything we’re doing. For example we’re a band with a horror vibe, but we’re not “Spirit Halloween horror” like some bands, we just appreciate dark shit and try to work it in when it calls for it. We’re a “heavy band” but we don’t try to be the heaviest, there are better bands for that. We’re just fans of rock and metal, we’re making music that we love, and we hope you’ll love too. I just see us as this in-between band, that’s well versed, and wants to show that off. We’re not afraid to take risks but know when something is out of our realm of possibilities. I’d like to think that comes across in the music we put out. It’s got a lot of character and personality, which is what I believe makes us different and unique. 

12. What do you want to achieve as band?

Aside from total world domination, we would just love to turn this into a full-time career and be able to support our families. Touring with bands like Metallica, slipknot, and all our larger-than-life heroes would be cool too. 

13. What does the next year have in-store for We're Wolves? 

Lots and lots of recording. Our last album took over 3 years with no releases, aside from covers. We don’t want to make that mistake again. So we’ll be recording a lot of new music this year, some for a full album, and some as solo singles. I’m sure we’ll play a lot of shows as well. 

Back in June thrash metal act Hirax returned to the stage the first time in a while somewhat. They did a minor show beforehand at the Rainbow out in Hollywood. But they would returned to the stage yet again this past summer performing at The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It would be a month later that they would announce the next showcase taking place in the fall, late summer time in September during Labor Day weekend on of all days MY BIRTHDAY!

Yes I Natalie of Natalie’s World would have her Birthday happening September 3rd since my birth back in 1987. This also being the same day that Hirax would play their next show BUT there was an add-on about this show, it would be a backyard show, one happening since the first and last one took place way back when in 1987! So this time this show would have a lot of meaning behind it really.

So come September 3rd Hirax would go on to perform said show taking place out in East Los Angeles, California, at someone’s house, where they welcomed the band with open arm’s and gratitude. The band being very grateful and thankful for this family allowing such an event to take place after all this time and boy was it an event to witness.

Opening the show sometime after 8PM would be Disciples Of Death or D.O.D, their styling be death metal combined with thrash metal! Their set list consisted of an array of work’s, getting the crowd of on-looker’s quite a sight and an experience of pure excitement. The mosh pit, caused an uproar of happiness really, everyone in it pushing one another, headbanging here and there to just enjoying the experience giving shouts and cheers from whichever way possible.

Disciples Of Death:

Next up would come Velosity a punk thrash metal band, whose act had some mishaps, but the band pulled through it. The crowd kept that same energy and momentum going. Having the band experience some technical difficulties at time’s, even performing their finale song not once but twice, made the crowd enjoy it better. It was a lot of same formula as far as the crowd’s reactions and energy was concerned but it was still all in good fun too.

Velosity:

Following these acts would be Witchaven, a blacken thrash metal band, wanted the crowd’s energy all the way up! Lot’s of howl’s, shouts, cheers, and tons of energy like never before, kept the excitement hyped. The performance was energetic, fun, and highly outgoing. The band kept the crowd highly pleased and everyone there headbanged, moshed, and so much more it was a howling experience to be had.

Witchaven:

Last up would be the headliner’s Hirax, with their thrash metal delightfulness. Thanking the opening band’s, then the crowd and family who put this altogether besides themselves, the band got right into the matter of it all. Performing for a good hour or so, tons of songs including an all new track with a ton of the old school working’s as well. The mosh pit was already opened up previously, but now the crowd from all angles kept it consistent. Even crowd surfer’s, kept up with little room available, and the stage provided, the fans around them held them high, letting some down gently, others falling flat. The band themselves thanked the fans again for so much energy and so much fun happening right then and there too. But one of the most memorable pieces during the band’s set would be the ending, as they would sing to me HAPPY BIRTHDAY yes indeed! It was overwhelming and so exciting, I jumped on stage and welcomed the song with such phrase and happiness, I was purely overjoyed!

HIRAX:

A lot of the song’s that the band had played would be such as “Baptized By Fire”, “Black Smoke”, “Lightning Thunder”, “Hostile Territory”, and “Hellion Rising” to name off a few, ending the night with “El Diablo Negro” and “Bombs of Death”. Great tune’s with tons of performance energy, which has been said a lot I know, but it is so very true!

So much happened, with lot’s to be had, I had one of the best birthday experience’s and day’s to date in my life, aside from my 21st birthday. This 35th birthday would be one me and everyone else present would likely never ever to be forgotten. 

SETLIST:

1. Battle of the North

2. Baptized by Fire

3. Warlords Command

4. Faster Than Death

5. Black Smoke

6. The Plague

7. Lightning Thunder

8. Solo

9. Hate Fear and Power

10. Hostile Territory

11. Broken Neck

12. Hellion Rising

13. Mouth Sewn Shut

14. Diablo Negro

15. Bombs of Death