Whether you’re a fan of heavy riffs and brutal breakdowns, technical guitar work and melodic vocals, here’s SCAD Radio’s guide to the bands slated to play on February 18, 2017 at the Garden of Ships Of The Sea Maritime Museum.

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Unearth

From Boston, Massachusetts, Unearth is one of the most prolific metalcore bands to ever hit the scene. Their imprint on the genre is unmistakable from August Burns Red to Killswitch Engage to Lamb of God. In fact, the band’s name was coined by their very desire to change the genre and its sound. With a mix of unclean vocals, catchy choruses, and melodic and technical guitarwork, Unearth will be sure to capture listeners of metalcore, hardcore, and everything in between, especially during a live performance.

For Fans Of: August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada

For a taste: My Will Be Done from 2008’s The March

Zao

This legendary band is credited with being one of the pioneers in the metalcore genre which bridged metal music with hardcore punk. After bursting on the scene in 1995, they released some of the most influential metalcore albums, like 1999’s Liberate te ex Inferis and 2004’s The Funeral of God. Now the band is back with brand new The Well Intentioned Virus after a 5 year hiatus. Be sure to catch Zao if you’re looking for a mix of new music and metalcore classics.

For Fans Of: The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Norma Jean

For a taste: Savannah from 1999’s Liberate te ex Inferis

Oh, Sleeper

Comprised of ex-members of Between the Buried and Me, As I Lay Dying, As Cities Burn, and Terminal, Oh, Sleeper is a metalcore act from Ft. Worth, Texas. After releasing 4 full length albums and 2 EPs, Oh, Sleeper is ready to release an independent album after a 4 year break from the studio. Armed with punchy bass, heavy hitting guitar work, intense double bass drumming, and a mix of clean and unclean vocals, Oh, Sleeper is not a band to miss when they are on stage.

For Fans Of: blessthefall, Miss May I, For Today

For a taste: Vices Like Vipers from 2007’s When I Am God

He Is Legend

Starting out in 2003, He is Legend is a band that mixes many different genres to ultimately create their own music style. Although they take influences for Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins and give it an aggressive and faster twist, the band is impossible to nail down to one genre. Right before an American tour with Norma Jean and Capsize, He is Legend brings their music to Savannah at A.U.R.A. Fest.

For Fans Of: A Day to Remember, Dance Gavin Dance, Every Time I Die

For a taste: Eating a Book from 2004’s I Am Hollywood

I Set My Friends On Fire

I Set My Friends On Fire are a fun loving band that employs the use of catchy synth lines and mixes it with the instrumentals and vocal delivery of metalcore to create a genre that is now known as electronicore. The band originally claimed a massive fanbase through the internet, originally through a cover of Crank That by Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em. The band later shone through comedy through several collaborations with Youtube comedy sensation Smosh. The band keep showcasing their fun and experimental music and will bring back old school electronicore to Savannah before the release of their new album, Caterpillar Sex.

For Fans Of: Enter Shikari, Attack Attack!, A Skylit Drive

For a taste: Things That Rhyme With Orange from 2008’s You Can’t Spell Slaughter Without Laughter

Microwave

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Microwave is set to be the next big thing in the emo revival. They have 2 full length albums and 4 EPs full of deeply personal, but never corny, music which falls somewhere between pop punk and post hardcore. After releasing Much Love in 2016 and touring with bands like The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, Man Overboard, and most recently Tiny Moving Parts, Microwave is set to take the stage at Savannah’s A.U.R.A. Fest.

For Fans Of: Senses Fail, Modern Baseball, Sorority Noise

For a taste: Lighterless from 2016’s Much Love

Tides of Man

Tides of Man is the perfect band for someone craving instrumental and progressive in the vein of post hardcore. While the band originally started out with music akin to Circa Survive, Tides of Man moved to a more instrumental direction following the departure of Tillian Pearson (currently a member of Dance Gavin Dance). The band plays music that sets a heavy mood, but also likes to play with unusual time signatures and sometimes plays some flamboyant riffs that would not seem out of place on a Tiny Moving Parts record. The music fan who appreciates musical prowess would be amiss to skip this performance.

For Fans Of: Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, Strawberry Girls

For a taste: Hold Still from 2014’s Young and Courageous

The Bunny The Bear

The Bunny The Bear are one of the largest, and still rising, current electronicore bands. The Bunny The Bear have earned their name and are easily recognizable from their rabbit and bear masks. The band uses programmed electronic elements to back their music and add metalcore elements on top, with the Bunny providing unclean vocals while the Bear provides clean vocals. Be sure to catch The Bunny The Bear if you like to see a high energy performance with experimental music.

For Fans Of: I See Stars, Eskimo Callboy, The Browning

For a taste: Aisle from 2011’s If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…

SycAmour

SycAmour is a band best described as mixing the theatrics of Panic! At the Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out and the aggressive nature of post hardcore. Currently in the studio recording new material, SycAmour is a band that will be sure to capture the listener with their bright and extensive vocal range, infectious guitar work, and hardcore music accents.

For Fans Of: Circa Survive, Emery, Too Close to Touch

For a taste: Calm Down Juliet (What a Drama Queen) from 2014’s Indulgence: A Saga of Lights

The Funeral Portrait

Atlanta’s The Funeral Portrait is no stranger to Savannah, having performed most recently at the Black Box Theatre. But it’s always a treat to see the band perform as they put on a stunning live performance. The band has been described as theatricore, a mix between something very theatrical and the post hardcore music genre. Be sure to catch The Funeral Portrait to see one of post hardcore’s quickest rising bands.

For Fans Of: Crown the Empire, Escape the Fate, Alesana

For a taste: Casanova (C’est La Vie) from 2014’s For the Dearly Departed

Attalus

Attalus is a post hardcore band reminiscent of those from the mid 2000s, but also seems to use a sound that reminds one of Brand New as well as emo bands like Sunny Day Real Estate. With catchy melodies, bright showy guitar work, interesting drum work and unclean vocal accents; Attalus is a band that takes what made music of the mid 2000s so great and puts a fresh spin on it.

For Fans Of: Brand New, Thrice, The Receiving End of Sirens

For a taste: Sirens from 2015’s Into the Sea

Native Suns

Native Suns is a band that works to create a blend between interesting post hardcore instrumentals with vocals similar to Saosin’s Anthony Green or Hands Like Houses’ Trenton Woodley. The band keeps their music interesting by mixing melodic lead vocals, bright guitar playing, and punchy drums and bass. Post hardcore fans are sure to enjoy an atmospheric performance which captures the spirit of the recording when seeing Native Suns at A.U.R.A. Fest.

For Fans Of: Hands Like Houses, Chiodos, Scary Kids Scaring Kids

For a taste: Clockwork from 2015’s Relay.acquire

Me and the Trinity

Me and the Trinity is a straight edge band from Savannah and an old favorite in the local hardcore scene. Me and the Trinity looks to reunite at 2017’s  A.U.R.A. Fest after a breakup in 2015. The band will be bringing all the brutality and hardcore that made them a local back to the stage this February. Hardcore and metalcore fans shouldn’t want to miss the mayhem this band is sure to bring.

For Fans Of: Poison the Well, Silent Planet, I The Breather

For a taste: Gown from 2014’s Crux

Vatican

Vatican is another local act playing this fest. The band has been hugely active, touring all over the southeast region of the United States. Vatican’s music features a more groove metal oriented sound, but with heavy influence from 90s hardcore, 00s metalcore, and more recent death metal. Be sure to catch Vatican ahead of their tour with Heavens Die.

For Fans Of: Zao, Cattle Decapitation, I Declare War

For a taste: Barely Breathing from 2015’s Drowning the Apathy Inside

Be sure to visit A.U.R.A. Fest on February 18, 2017 for food trucks, cold craft brews, and, of course, some of rock and metal’s finest.

The post AURA Fest 2017 Pre-Show Preview appeared first on SCAD Radio.

Vatican is a crushing straight-edge act that combine the visceral emotional content, vocal delivery and brutal intensity of metal and hardcore music.

Vatican shares the stage with bands Unearth, Zao, He is Legend and more at this February’s 2017 A.U.R.A. Fest right here in Savannah, GA at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum.

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Kush at SCAD Radio: How would you describe Vatican’s music to someone who has never listened to your music before?

Nolan Mobley of Vatican: We were actually a band before this. We were playing some softer hardcore music. And then we had a lot of member changes. And I think that the members that were left all wanted to make a metal band in the style of the early 2000s music. The first EP didn’t even come out sounding like that, it sounds more metal. Which I’m totally fine with. Now we’ve got almost an entirely new lineup from when Vatican started, except for me and the singer. So at this point, it’s more just metal.  We’ve been sitting on a ton of new songs that we’ll be playing at A.U.R.A. Fest. And we just released like two newer songs on a split EP. And we’ve just been trying to do the same style but try out new things. Softer parts. Singing parts. Stuff that we usually wouldn’t incorporate. But, yeah, now I would say just straightforward metal/hardcore type band.

Kush: Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been listening to your music quite a bit over the past couple days and I’m noticing a nice mix between hardcore and metalcore elements, but I’m also noticing some black metal and death metal as well.

Nolan: Our drummer Josian (Josian Benkert-Solo) is actually obsessed with death metal. He’s actually doing a death metal side project with our bassist. And I think all of us have pretty different tastes in music. So, when that all comes together, it makes what we have, which is cool.

K: And would you say that there is a particular best song to serve as an entry point into your music?

N: I think our most popular one is Paingod, which among friends that we met across the country has taken on a life of its own. The beginning melody is almost funny for me to hear anymore. A lot of people say it’s a great song, so I would say it’s a good starting point.

K: I know you guys take a lot of influence from Zao, so what’s it like to be performing on the same bill as a band that has had an impact on your music?

N: Actually, I think we wanted to rip off that style of music without ripping it off too hard when we first started. I think some of that shows regardless. When our singer found out — he actually works at the place where the event will be. He works security there and his boss is like “Oh yeah we’re going to have an event here in February with your kind of music,” and he starts listing off bands. So then we heard Zao and Unearth, and that was just weird in and of itself, that it would even be happening at his job. And then we played a show that Tim Walls had booked, and he asked us a couple months later, if we wanted to play. So just playing in Savannah at our singer’s job with Zao is probably the weirdest, coolest thing that could happen.

K: I know your new single, Paingod, is about a struggle with depression. Is this song based off your own experiences with depression?

N: It’s actually our singer’s. I don’t want to misinterpret his lyrics or anything. He lost his father when he was young. So, I think it’s battling with depression. He tried to overcome that and find a positive at the end of it somehow.

K: Are there plans to release an EP or full length in the near future?

N: Yeah. We just streamed a few new songs that are going to be coming out on a 4-way split EP through Bitter Melody Records. That’ll be on a 12-inch vinyl, which is our first big physical release which is really cool. We’ve been sitting on an entire full length for a couple months now. We’re going to tour at the end of this month, right after A.U.R.A. Fest, actually, through the beginning of March up and down the east coast. And then the plan is, maybe a month later, go record the full length and hopefully somebody will have interest in putting that out. And if not, we’ll just self-fund it and put it out ourselves. We’ve had songs done. Some of the songs have been done for over a year now. Like a quarter of the songs have been done for that long. So, we’ve just been sitting on them for a super long time. And now I think we finally have everything together, the way we want it. We’re ready to just record it and put it out as soon as possible.

K: You guys are an incredibly hardworking band. You guys have constantly been touring and playing shows. So, what would you say are the biggest misconceptions about hardcore bands that are on the road today?

N: We’ve had good luck, as far as touring goes. I don’t think we’ve ever come back with a negative, which is weird. We’ve always been able to come back with at least a little bit of money, which keeps things going. Especially this tour we did last spring, we went to California for the first time ever. I’ve never even been to that side of the country so it’s kind of wild. We didn’t spend anything on merch until we got back. I was worried that we would buy too much and not sell enough or just not make enough money. Coming back, we just all had to take 3 and a half weeks off of our jobs. Coming back, we had to start to pay bills and rent and so I was super worried about that. The band came back with a positive, but I think we all struggled to get back on our feet for about a month after that. It’s definitely not easy to tour at all. It’s still a cool vacation in itself, but you’re still working a job basically. You just have to hope that you do well and get enough money to keep doing it after the fact.

K: Are there any major differences between playing a festival and playing something similar to a smaller show, like you did this past January at James Island, SC?

N: I think festivals are a good opportunity to expose yourself to a different audience, especially this one (A.U.R.A. Fest). A lot of the bands are — I hate to use this word — a lot more mainstream. I guess they’re just a little bit more known. So, I don’t expect the same reaction that I would get at playing James Island where people were paying money just to see us and our friend bands. They know what they’re getting into. At a fest, there’s maybe a couple people paying to see us, if any, and the rest are for the rest of the bands. We’re just there to be seen by a different audience that we wouldn’t be seen by otherwise. I am very excited for the sound quality because it’s not very often that any sort of sound engineer does anything for our set. It’s usually just us playing directly out of our amps. So basically it’s new audience. Better sound. Getting to play with cool bands that we all really like. And, hopefully, free food maybe. But it’s going to be a huge, different experience than we are used to.

K: What can we expect from Vatican’s set at 2017 A.U.R.A Fest in Savannah?

N: Our drummer’s actually been out of town for like a month now. So, as soon as he gets back, we’ll be practicing hard. Hopefully, people will see the tightest set that we can play. Lots of new music that will be coming out hopefully this year. Definitely just an entertaining performance, at the very least.

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Be sure to catch Vatican at 2017 A.U.R.A. Fest on February 18, 2017.

The post Interviewing Vatican (the band, not the city) appeared first on SCAD Radio.