About a year ago after the original vocalist of weepcar, Matt Williams, moved out of state to pursue other ventures, the Tulsa Oklahoma five-piece band was left with two choices: call it quits, or keep on truckin’ and find a new singer.

This all came shortly after their EP release, So You Keep Your Eyes Closed At The End, put out by the Tulsa record label One Aux on August 1, 2025.

At a live performance on August 4th, 2025 at the Whittier Bar in Tulsa OK, which was dubbed “weepcar karaoke,” they featured several guest singers who lent their interpretation of the album. After considering all their options, on August 28th, Valerie Marie Thorne made her debut at Mass Movement Community Arts as the newest addition to the well-established “bizzaro hardcore” band.

While the music-obsessed Thorne is already successful as the vocalist for the Tulsa death metal band, Ectospire, she has taken on this new venture with an optimistic and adventurous outlook.

When I asked about her thoughts on joining the band, Thorne said, “I liked what they were doing. They needed a new vocalist and I thought there was something there. I didn’t want to change their direction, and I didn’t feel like they needed me, but I think I added a new layer, plus a different energy. I don’t think they realized they wanted chaos brought into their world, but here I am. They seem on board so far and I’m having fun. It’s going to get weirder.”

If you’ve been living under a rock, and haven’t heard the five-song EP from weepcar, you can check it out on Bandcamp and Spotify, but we are all here today to discuss this new offering from the wielders of chaos: Hopeless Romantic // Nihilism

Last time I wrote about the band I was inspired poetically to write more of a long sonnet, rather than a cut and dry review, and it sparked a mantra in me that has stuck around and keeps things simple, and straight to the point. People love weepcar. Feel free to use it.

With that being said, I want everyone to drop what they are doing right now, including reading this article, and listen to the new record from the Tulsa Knife Rock band. You will not be disappointed, and you can thank me later…

weepcar is:
Valerie Marie Thorne - Vox
Adrianna Faulkenberry - Bass
Evan Inman-Butts - guitar
Matthew Torbett - guitar
Jonathan Ainley - drums

The new EP Hopeless Romantic // Nihilism is three songs of pure grit, and total destruction, but still has that warm comforting feel of a vintage quilt on a cold winter night.

The first track titled “Smoking Cigarettes in Church Parking Lots” is an explosive culmination of grime and anger, that transforms into beauty with the ending guitar line lending itself to the graces of Thorne’s vocals and giving her the chance to show off her melodic capabilities.

The next song “Messiah” wastes no time pulling you back into the chaos that Thorne brings. As the tune builds, you’re met with the eerie feeling of eavesdropping on a conversation between lovers and enemies that has been culminating and festering for years. It’s punchy, heavy, and seems to never let up. Lyrically this song touches on subjects of suicide, love, grief, hope, and despair in a way that pulls you in and spits you out.

Last, but definitely not least, comes the song “Hark! Angels Sing” and it’s pure weepcar gold laid right out in front of you. Long time fans of the band will love the way this song swings back and forth, blending hints of punk, hardcore, math rock, and metal all in their own special way. Like in every song on this record, each member shines through the bizarro hardcore antics that this band has come to be known for, and as I have already stated, you will not be disappointed with the masterpiece that has been created. Kudos to Valerie, Adrianna, Evan, Matthew, and Jonathan for their brilliance, and I would personally like to thank them for making some of the most captivating music I have always wanted to hear. People love weepcar.

Now, if you have already stopped and listened to this new record then you are free to proceed to the interview below, but if you haven’t, please take this brief intermission to head to your favorite streaming network and do so. Then, and only then, are you free to continue.

First off let me say thank you for always being a supporter of Keep Oklahoma Heavy and thank you all for doing this interview. It’s been a little over a year since the last time we did this type of thing, so let me begin by asking how life has been in the weepcar camp?

Evan: Things have been going very well! Since we last did an interview, we did go through some lineup changes with our original singer moving to Chicago, but Valerie stepped in and she has done a great job! Really happy with where we’re at, and where it’s heading.

That’s great to hear! You all have been very busy lately between the studio and traveling, playing several shows from Tulsa, to Norman, to Oklahoma City. I would like to personally thank you all again for playing the July 2nd Keep Oklahoma Heavy show at the Opolis with MyWitchMyBlood and Deity. How has the response been to the live set, and are there any plans to venture outside the Oklahoma borders soon?

Evan: We enjoyed playing the show! It was a fun crowd and the bands were all great. Responses have been overall positive, and it’s all been a fun experience. I would certainly like to do some more regional shows outside of Oklahoma. We played Fayetteville, Arkansas a few years ago and had a great time. I would certainly like to play there again.

Matthew: I’m always surprised at the feedback after shows, it’s been so positive. I kinda still can’t get it into my head that people are into what we’re doing, but I’m so glad they are. I really hope to do more out of town shows soon. We need to be more active about pursuing them probably, but it’s something I’d really like to do if we can make it work.

Well, it’s true… People love weepcar. As you have made your way around the state playing with various bands and playing new venues, have there been any noteworthy takeaways, or critiques you would like to share?

Evan: I always enjoy playing in front of new people. Meeting new folks is one of the fun things about out of town shows.

Jonathan: Parking sucks everywhere.

Parking does suck everywhere! Valerie, as the vocalist of both bands, in the last year you’ve been splitting your time between weepcar and Ectospire. Other than the obvious musical differences, can you give us all a little insight into the different dynamics you’ve experienced from band to band?

In Ectospire, I find myself trying to balance songwriting between personal things that I want to express, and writing lyrics that sound cool because we are a death metal band. The results are short little stories that are usually nods to horror movies.

With weepcar, I have an outlet that is drastically different from Ectospire. They have put their trust in me to write and perform in my own way, and what I wrote for these newest three songs is something deeply personal: heartache, loss, and a touch of religious trauma. weepcar has so graciously allowed me to use them to express myself, and I do hope they continue to let me! With both bands, I give 100% of my energy when we play live, but you’re going to have a wildly different experience at each show. As far as working together, weepcar are just as easy to get along with and make music together as my band mates over in the Ecto camp. The way we write music together is very similar in both bands.

I am fortunate enough to work with two groups of musicians who are just doing it for the music we love. I don’t think I could ever be in a band whose direction is led by ego, rather than passion for the art we make together.

Great answer. Overall the new EP is incredible, and the production is off the charts. How long was the process, where was it recorded, and who all did you work with for mixing and mastering?

Jonathan: Oh, it was so fast. We went to Patrick Caldwell’s garage studio and recorded basically everything over a few hours on a Saturday morning, and then some additional bits and vocals on Sunday. I think Patrick got us a mix a few days later. We sent him some notes, and maybe had two or three rounds of back and forth, but it was very minor stuff.

Who handled the album art and design for this record?

Jonathan: After we had the final mix in hand, we commissioned Vincent Ciarlo to do some cover art. Since he had some current commissions in front of us, he quoted us like three weeks to get something back, but he ended up sending us something, like a week later, which we loved.

Vincent is always a great person to work with. Shout out to Webhed! Leading in and out of the EP there are some quaint little samples that somehow fit perfectly, and in excellent contrast, seem to lighten the overall mood. Whose idea was this, and where did these samples come from? I will also say that they put a smile on my face every single time I hear them and it’s a nice addition to the record.

Evan: I knew early on I wanted to have something light as bookends to the EP. The three songs all back to back felt pretty intense on their own. I thought it would be an interesting contrast to have something easy to lead you in and out. Originally, I thought adding our own original synth work would be a good idea, but it didn’t quite have the effect I was looking for. Then I remembered years ago Matthew had ripped audio from a VHS tape called “Fascination With Flight.” So, I went digging for that from old files I had on my computer. The samples pulled were from the intro music and the ending credits music. So the utilization of the samples on the EP pretty much mirrors that.

Samples always add a nice break in the music. Nice work. Aside from weepcar, Adrianna was recently a part of the final Plastic Psalms show, alongside several other bassists and musicians, at the Whittier Bar in Tulsa as a tribute to their late bass player, Joel Hoyt. For you Adrianna, how was it working with so many talented folks from the Tulsa scene, and being a part of such a monumental show?

Needless to say, I felt beyond honored to be a part of helping David and Derik from Plastic Psalms fulfill their intended album release show, which also sadly turned into a memorial show for Joel. There was such a huge feeling of camaraderie among all the amazing bassists that helped fill in their set. We all were a bit emotional, but the consensus overall was “honored” to be able to help make it a success. Aside from just bassists, Elijah Petty stepped in for Joel’s vocals. I cannot describe how much work, and how many endless hours went into it to get with the seven of us, one on one, to prepare for the epic night —especially during an extremely emotional time in their lives. This kind of camaraderie is why I love being a part of the Tulsa music scene so much! On a fun note, the 10 of us did an encore covering “Big Bottom” by Spinal Tap with a “wall of sound” a.k.a. all the bass cabs. It was truly a night to remember.

That does sound like an amazing evening, and I truly wish David and Derik all the best in all of their future ventures. You all play very specific instruments that you don’t see every day, and I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but could you give us a quick rundown of the rigs and gear you use on stage?

Jonathan: Uh, I assume this is more for Adrianna, Matthew, and Evan, but I play a pearl white Ludwig Club Date Special three-piece kit I got like 10 years ago. It was a low-cost, throwback reissue. People have told me it’s funny watching me hit these pretty little drums as hard as I can. My cymbals are non-series Zildjians that I bought second-hand from my friend who is a band teacher.

Arianna: I play through an 8x10 Ampeg cab at home with an old school Behringer Ultrabass head. At shows I haul around a lighter Hartke Transporter 4x10 cab. My bass is an Airline Map bass, short scale. As far as pedals go, I run distortion through an MXR M80 Bass D.I. alongside a Boss ODB-3 overdrive. Sometimes I throw in a little Danelectro Slap echo.

Matthew: Weirdly enough I think weepcar is the band that I’ve had the simplest setup for gear-wise, but the one I’ve put the most thought into. When we started a few years ago I had a bunch of effects and stuff. I figured I’d do a lot more weird stuff, but the only “effect pedal” I still have in my rig is like a preamp boost/overdrive thing for a little extra dirt. I just kept whittling it down, shedding stuff I never used. I have a tuner and a homemade channel switcher (for changing between clean/distortion on the amp) with a weeping devil emoji (long story lol) printed on it and hell, I may get rid of that too. When do I ever use the clean channel?? The amp is an Orange Super Crush 100, on a 2x12 cab I built myself. The cab has two Celestion Midnight 60 speakers in it, one open-back, and one closed-back. My guitar is a Sterling Mariposa. I wanted something very simple, no wacky pickup selection combos or anything. I pretty much just use the bridge humbucker with the volume all the way up. Really recently I mounted the three pedals to the lid of a plastic bin/tote thing. All the cables go in the bin then the lid with the pedals goes on it so it’s all self-contained for travel and storage, I love it so much!

Evan: Live, I play through 2 BOSS Katana-100 combo amps. I wanted my setup to be more minimal, mostly playing either clean or distorted. I think the Katana amps have a great sound, and I find the built-in effects sound really good. I mostly just use a pedal to switch channels. I also like that I can grab one amp for at home practice, and then hook up both amps for a fuller, thicker sound live.

Well, I want to thank you all again for taking the time for this interview. It’s always a pleasure for me to get to talk to my favorite bands and pick their brains. As we wrap this up, is there anything we may not have covered that you would want people to know about weepcar?

Adrianne: I’m just so stoked for this ep, as short as it may be, we pack a lot of punch and creativity into it. I absolutely love what Val has brought to these mixes as well.

Matthew: I want to say that I’m so genuinely grateful for all the love and support we’ve had. Everyone who has come to a show or listened to one of our tracks or EPs, or asked us to play a show, or told a friend about us or anything, truly, thank you so much. It means so much to us.

To listen to weepcar and their entire discography you can visit Bandcamp or Spotify. For more info about shows and merch, give them a follow on Instagram. For physical media and merch, you can visit One Aux, or the band on their Bandcamp.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

Guthrie, Oklahoma is a small town North of Oklahoma City that sometimes goes unnoticed. It still has that true small-town feel, and at one point in time, the town itself was the state capitol of Oklahoma. In contrast to where they are from, the band being discussed here today is anything but small-time, and should definitely not be overlooked.

Introducing Bog. While no one was paying attention, the four-piece band has been tucked away in a remote location dubbed the “Doom Shed,” quietly plotting their ascent. Having just released their debut record titled American Singles, it’s time for folks to perk up and lend an ear —These are six songs you’ll want to add to your rotation.

Each track boasts massive walls of guitar, low-end fuzzy bass, finely crafted melodies, and an ominous synthesizer to round out the sound for the four-piece newcomers. Bog is for fans of doom metal, goth metal, riff rock, and all that comes in between.

Having recently shared the bill with local veterans such as Bugnog, and Visions of Afterlife, where they were all support for the Denver, CO heavyweights, In The Company Of Serpents, plus being on the roster for The Battle for Kattfest, where several bands from across the state duke it out for an opening spot on the main stage at the annual Kattfest, I reached out to the band Bog to get a little insight into how things are going, where they are headed, and what we can expect from this new Oklahoma band.

Please take a few minutes to read the latest interview with Bog and go show them some warm welcoming Oklahoma love by listening to the new album, but don’t look for it to be playing on Spotify. This band is keeping their music for the people, by the people, and skipping the corporate ladder.

Bog is:
Max Young - Vox/Guitar
Cade Johnson - Guitar
Jake Peacock - Bass
Jake Triplett - Drums

Thanks for taking the time for this. To start, let me ask how things have been going. I heard there was a recent lineup change soon after you all finished recording? If at all, how has that affected your sound, and did it conflict with any of the recording process?

Things have been going well, my friend. Thanks for asking. We have just been trying to find our feet as a band since we fired up in January, so when our drummer at the time moved in May it kind of happened at the best of a bad time because we didn’t have any shows booked and were working on the EP with most of the drums written already. It was definitely a big stress because we were just finding our groove a bit, and wanted to stay active, but there were no hard feelings whatsoever and we were able to find a dude that fits our vibe.

Well, it sounds like it all worked out, and I’m glad to hear there’s no bad blood. I know you all are very big on doing it yourselves. Where was the album recorded and mixed?

At our guitarists house and shed. In the modern times, the ability to do great recordings has become much more accessible to the common mouth breather. One of our guitarists started up a little recording gig called G String Music on Facebook, so that’s where you can get in touch with the production side of the EP.

I’ll have to check that out! The album art and design for American Singles is very cool and abstract, and I really like all the detail that went into it. Who did you all work with for that?

That was hand drawn by a gentleman by the name of Thompson Roberts out of Washington State. Absolutely killed it.

Now if I’m not mistaken, there is a synth track that rings through the entire album, but you don’t have a keyboard player in the band. I assume you all use a backing track for that live?

Yes, and yur. We’d love to have live keys, specifically a keytar player if the opportunity ever presents itself, but we also enjoy having more room on stage, and we can slam just as well without our little beep boops going off if need be. We just love the sound of 80s sci-fi.

In my opinion, you can’t ever go wrong with 80s sci-fi. Speaking of playing live, you all recently played a handful of big shows, most notably with In The Company Of Serpents, Bugnog, and Visions Of Afterlife at 89th Street. How was it sharing a stage with some local heavyweights and a solid touring band?

Man, that was a straight banger. Everyone on that bill was top shelf. Thank you for throwing our name out for that. We’ve gotten to play a few at some cool places, and that’s been the first one where we felt like we really belonged. Definitely our crowd, and the tunes all vibed well that night.

Grant from ITCOS is a great person to work with, and It’s always my pleasure to help where I can. What was it like playing Battle for Kattfest? That must have been another great opportunity to get in front of a solid crowd.

That was a fun show as well. We were one of the only bands that weren’t a regular on that circuit, and we were kinda lost in the sauce till we got on stage. Eye witness reports said we did well, and we felt like we did, so bang, pow, onto the next one.

For physical media, I know you have t-shirts, patches, and stickers already. Will there be a physical release of the album anytime soon? Maybe some cassettes?

You pretty much nailed it. We just had a new run of stickers done, and not to ruin the surprise, but we will for damn sure have a cassette run at some point. Probably sooner than later. Also working on getting an online/shipping option available for those wanting merch, but unable to make it to a show when it’s available.

Cassettes are exciting, I’m a huge tape collector. As far as streaming your music goes, you are taking a stand against Spotify and keeping it exclusive to Bandcamp. I would like to say bravo for sticking to your guns on that, and maybe if more artists and bands in the world followed suit and went back to making physical media the corporate world of music would take note. Can you give us a little insight into your decision-making process for that?

So, we aren’t so much taking a stand against Spotify, we just don’t want to be involved in platforms that appreciate the taste of boot polish and support A.I. music. There are just a lot of other streaming platforms available, and considering bands don’t make beans off streams anyway, we’d honestly rather see people download our music for free rather than have to pay for a subscription. Which is why it’s available on Bandcamp as such.

I can 100% appreciate that standpoint, and I feel like a lot of other folks will too. Well, thank you all again for your time with this interview.

Absolutely, we super appreciate the opportunity. Thanks for you and everyone’s time, and go find us on the internets if you haven’t already.

The new EP American Singles is streaming on Bandcamp. To stay up to date with news, or to contact Bog for booking, check them out on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

Would it be fair to say that Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and surrounding towns are saturated with heavy bands these days? Yes. Would it also be fair to say that thrash/death metal seems to be the road less traveled? Probably so. We have a few major names that stand out in the crowd, such as Ectospire, Caustic, Blind Oath, and a bunch of other bands that I’m sure will come to me after this is published, but in my book, there’s always room for more.

The Oklahoma City band Deity isn’t new to the scene, but after a lineup change, a recent single, and a small circle through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas under their belts, they’ve quickly made a name for themselves as the newest band to crack skulls.

The new track “Vilify,” which was released in February of this year, is a tidal wave of destruction that, when played at the right volume, can make even the speakers themselves bleed. While I believe that’s a good thing, may you proceed with caution, it might just be too much for some of you to handle.

After their run of shows out of state came to a close, the band was one of the openers at the Opolis in Norman, Oklahoma alongside the Tulsa band Asyncritus, for the New Orleans three-piece thrash/death metal band Heraklion. They also made an appearance at the July 2nd Keep Oklahoma Heavy Monthly Metal show sharing the bill with MyWitchMyBlood, and the Knife Rock band, weepcar. To say this band is making the rounds would be an understatement.

Shortly after their busy schedule slowed down, I was able to catch up with Deity and ask them a few questions about touring, songwriting, and when we can expect more brain-rattling music.

Deity is:
Matthew Balzer - Guitar/Vox
Darian Thompson - Guitar/Vox
David Webb - Bass
Joey Mandigo - Drums

I want to thank you all for this interview. I appreciate your time as I’m sure you’re trying to rest up after your last stretch. How was the tour and did you happen to see anything extra-terrestrial during your visit to Roswell, New Mexico?

The tour was fantastic! We had a lot of fun and definitely got some solid bonding time spending 5 days together inside a loaded-up van, though it almost didn’t happen. Huge thanks to the amazing dudes in Dischordia who made it possible by lending us their van for the tour.

Roswell had aliens everywhere! We even got a photo with one at Walmart. In all honesty though, it was incredible. Major shout-out to the whole Garcia family for their amazing hospitality. Mary, Pete, and Ray are incredible. All the folks out there are a different breed and have it down bad for their heavy music. Can’t wait to revisit. If you ever get the chance, check out Black Cock Brewery. It’s a killer place with an amazing staff. Roswell really knows how to treat bands.

Touring as a band can create bonds you never knew could exist, and it brings a level of synergy to the music. How long has Deity been a band, and how have things changed for you all with the new lineup?

So, Deity used to be a metalcore-esque band back in 2019 when it originally formed, but after a two year hiatus, Darian and Joey decided to bring it back to the roots where we all started years ago, thrash and death metal. We consider the band’s reformation in 2022 with Matt as the true start of the band, though we didn’t find our footing until Dave came into the picture in 2024, and honestly, the change has been great. Everyone comes from different musical backgrounds and influences so I think that really helps us sound the way we do, especially as we evolve into our next phase. Matt is new blood to us, hailing from Kansas, and Dave is no stranger since we originally played with his old band back in the day. This lineup feels like we’re firing on all cylinders though, and we’re excited to see where we go next with this new material.

“Vilify,” The single you put out in February is a total and complete rager of a tune. Where was it recorded and how long until we get more songs?

We record our music with Zain Smith at his home studio out in Chickasha. He really helped with his studio knowledge and the plethora of amps he has at his disposal. We’re also about to release our next single “Oppressor” very soon and we’ll be heading back next month to finish up 5 more songs. We have quite a few new tracks we’re currently building, and we’re hoping for a full album release sometime in October or November.

New music is always exciting. Aside from your recent tour, at the end of June, you opened for the New Orleans band Heraklion in Norman, Oklahoma at the Opolis. What was that like, and were there any major takeaways from playing with such heavy hitters?

Oh man, Heraklion ripped us to pieces and we are eternally grateful for it. It makes sense that they supported the Exhorder tour a couple of years ago. We couldn’t stop listening to their EP out of sheer excitement leading up to the show. Opening for them really motivated us to be more focused and intentional with not only our live shows, but our writing as well.

I want to personally thank you all for playing the July 2nd Keep Oklahoma Heavy Monthly Metal show with weepcar and MyWitchMyBlood. It was a pleasure to put together such a high-octane show with some seasoned locals from all over the state. As far as local bands go, are there any you haven’t had the chance to play with yet that you would like to?

Thank you for having us on, we had a blast with the bands, the Opolis, and everyone who came out and thrashed with us! It truly was a pleasure for us and we hope to do more with you in the future! There are so many great bands in Oklahoma that it feels like we’ve hardly scratched the surface in terms of sharing the stage. Dischordia would be on the list if they didn’t already grace us by headlining our tour kickoff show. We’ve watched them since we were in our early teens and they’ve been a staple in the scene for as long as we can remember. We’d love to play with The Tooth, Caustic, Mushroom Goblin, She Hates Me Not, Pariah System, Brimborn and so many more. We love playing with bands of all genres and it really helps you see how far the music you create can go.

Speaking of local bands, I recently did an interview with Corban Vincent and the band Bison. If I’m not mistaken, one of you has a connection between him and that band from playing together in another? Can you explain that relationship and how it impacts Deity?

Deity actually played with Bison during Norman Music Fest back in 2023 in our friend Jakob’s basement. That’s where we first met Corban and Quinn, and the relationship only strengthened the more we played with those guys. Matt and Darian had actually helped out in a different band for a few months. They left to focus more on Deity and Darian had the pleasure of working with Corban to take over his place in that band. He’s such a talented player and leagues ahead for how long he’s been playing, he’s also an incredible dude that we love hanging out with. That relationship definitely impacts how much we push ourselves to be better guitarists. We love to watch and observe other musicians and take inspiration from those that we admire, Corban is definitely one of those musicians.

Thrash and death metal are foundational genres, and I hope that what you’re doing musically will inspire more likeminded bands to sprout up. Thank you again for taking the time for this. Overall, what can we expect from Deity for the future, and is there anything else you would like to add as we wrap this up?

We really appreciate the love and praise, it means the world to us. We would love to inspire others to get out there and tear it up. Sometimes it’s a hard dream to keep afloat, but we hope to stand as a testament to that determination and hard work. We just get out there and do our thing making music we want to hear, and hope that people latch onto it. We think that with this new music we’re writing you can expect an evolution of our current sound. We’re hard at work trying to infuse all of our influences into a cohesive sound that is unique to us, something that people can hear and instantly say, “that’s Deity.”

To wrap this up we would just love to thank you for seeing us and reaching out, getting us on some kick ass shows, and allowing us to work with you. We also want to thank all of our friends, fans, and family for supporting us in this dream and truly making all of this as exciting and fun as it’s been, and for making this crazy dream not only possible but a reality. We can’t express our gratitude enough for everything each of you has done for us.

All photos by D.j. Evans

To listen to the single “Vilify” and to keep up with new music you can stream Deity on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and anywhere else you listen to music. For updates or to contact the band give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

Well, it’s happening. Artificial Intelligence is taking over. Robots are being deployed, books are being destroyed, and many of the magazines that were pillars in the music industry are being gutted and shifted into an even more corporate ideology. The written word and the humans who kept time are being stamped out and driven into oblivion.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit dramatic at this point, but is it? It’s not hard to see the writing on the wall.

Lately, I’ve felt this weird shift happening with the music industry and the people within it locally and nationally, hell, even globally. Bands are on hiatus, members of bands have passed on, and some are dropping out left and right. I guess it’s only natural for there to be some “house cleaning” from time to time to usher in some fresh faces and new perspectives, but there have always been writers, and journalists with a solid outlet to document these changes. Without that how will these bands get a fair shake, and where will the fans turn for their music info?

If you're unaware, there were massive layoffs at several major magazines this week that have been pillars of this industry since the 1970s. Goldmine, Revolver, Metal Edge, BrooklynVegan, and Alternative Press all lost the bulk of their editing teams, writers, and journalists in one swift swoop of the corporate pen. The parent company Veeps, which is ironically owned and run by the “punk rockers” Joel, and Benji Madden of the Hot Topic-mall punk band, Good Charlotte, decided it was time to make some changes. They allowed these publications to be acquired in some bullshit portfolio transition in 2021 by Live Nation —another swine-filled corporate giant who alongside Veeps unexpectedly, and unapologetically fired almost all of the long-standing independent writers who covered the culture and various subcultures.

If you want to read more about it, New Noise Magazine also put out an article you can check out by clicking here.

While I see this change in music journalism as a detriment to some, selfishly, I also see it as a path forward for the small and independent voices who may never have had a chance against the dinosaurs and gatekeepers who have dominated this industry for far too long.

I’m also reminded of the dystopian movie, The Book of Eli.

Spoiler alert: Yes, I know the book they are all fighting over is the bible, but that entire movie revolves around the idea that whoever holds the power of the written word also holds power over the people. Now, in some expeditious corporate swing of the pendulum, it seems like the power is in the hands of yet another faceless giant who will probably hand over the reins to some A.I. bot who will scour decades of articles, interviews, and op-eds just to pump out regurgitated crap and call it art.

Fuck that. We as a people need to stand against this corporate way of thinking, and together, take the power back. We need to stay invested in our local scenes, or if you’re not already, get invested. We need to make our voices so loud that the ones high up in their towers have no choice but to hear us.

We need thoughtful and heartfelt journalists who aren’t afraid to think outside of the box, and who don’t adhere to the standards of days gone by. We need more Hunter S. Thompson characters in journalism who aren’t afraid to push the envelope and blur the lines. We need to start that local DIY zine, or indulge in your desire to be a concert photographer. Get crazy, and get wild. Start a Substack. Get journals and notebooks and put down your thoughts about life, and music. Write about bands, write album reviews, reach out to bands for interviews, write opinion pieces about things you feel passionate about. I have always seen writers and journalists as the ones who tell the stories of our past, present, and future. So document everything including the mundane details, and do all that you can to keep the written word alive.

If you’re serious about it, there are several independent magazines and outlets to publish your writing right here in your own backyard. Email me stuff, or reach out to a few others in the state. They are always down for conversation.

Here's a list of some: Toyotuh Knights, Black Feather Magazine, 8 Ball Magazine, Oklahoma Underground Music Archive.

While the corporate slugs make changes behind the scenes and bring unsolicited facelifts to all the things we love, let’s start a revolution and pull the rug out from underneath them while we have the chance. Thank you for reading. Now get pissed off.

If you enjoyed this article please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

When I first listened to the band Hypnosis back in 2024, they had just released their impressive first two-song EP, Twin Soul Theory. It’s different from what you normally hear from a band of this era. Shortly after, in August of 2025, came the live single “Kudzu Alchemist,” and it immediately carved another notch in their belt of credibility. Well, the same can be said about their newest single released in June of this year titled “Seasons of Silicon.” It’s heavy, it’s progressive, and it offers a little bit of everything you want from a band on the rise.

This is what Tyler Spotts (guitar/vox) of the three-piece Tulsa band had to say about their past and present music.

“The first two EPs, Twin Soul and Kudzu, were recorded at Noise Town right here in Tulsa. It was wonderful to work with Mike and start our first recordings. We learned a lot about the whole process. Those recordings helped us understand all that goes into it. Our latest song, “Seasons of Silicon,” was made at Oakwood Recording in Jenks, OK. So far this is the song I’m the proudest of. Adam did an amazing job and it was great to record with him.”

Fans of Agriculture, Mastodon, and Neurosis will surely identify the nuanced influence, but will appreciate the fresh take on familiar tricks. Prog metal fans will love the way the band navigates each section with style and grace, but overall, metal heads and music fans of all shapes and sizes will surely find something they like about this band and all of their music.

For being a group that’s only been active for two years, the long-time friends and classmates’ synchronicity is on full display in their sound. Drummer Julien Salehy had this to say about the band getting started.

“The three of us started playing together through our high school band class. Tyler and I met in 2022 and we started playing music together not long after. Daniel, with whom I have been friends since middle school, joined us around early 2023. Hypnosis didn’t fully come about until the summer of 2024, when we started writing more songs and getting into the music scene in Tulsa. So I guess we’ve been playing music together for four years, but officially been playing as Hypnosis for two.”

The artwork for Twin Soul Theory, and “Seasons of Silicon” is all hand-drawn for the band by Tyler Spotts, but bassist Daniel Ekhoff stepped in to handle the photography for the cover art of “Kudzu Alchemist.” Tyler had this to say.

“All the album artwork is actually made by me. As long as we keep making music, I plan to keep drawing for the band. However, Daniel always does good camera work, and I enjoy the photos he takes.”

While everyone in the band teeters on the edge of legal drinking age, they remain active in the DIY Tulsa music scene both as players, and faces in the crowd.

“One of our favorite parts of the scene has been getting to know different musicians and bands that play here in Tulsa, and in surrounding cities. We also enjoy seeing how bands evolve their sound, whether that’s live, or in the studio. Since 2024, we’ve definitely gotten tighter as a band, our sound is more defined, and we have improved as individual musicians.”

I honestly can’t say enough good things about this band. I encourage everyone to give all of their tunes a listen, and jump heavy onto this bandwagon… pun intended. While there is no definite time frame for a full-length album just yet from Hypnosis, they say that it will happen eventually, and they’ve even started compiling a solid track list for when that day comes.

Hypnosis is:
Tyler Spotts - guitar/vox
Daniel Ekhoff - bass
Julien Salehy - drums

Photos by @Augusts.sun

You can stream the new single from Hypnosis, and all of their music on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. They have live videos you can check out on YouTube, and to keep up with shows and other news give them a follow on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this article please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

We also have plenty of bands these days that dive deep into the doom-laden heavy riffage of Toni Iommi and the early Sabbath days, but rarely do I come across a local band that leans heavily into the melodic lead-guitar aspect of later heavy metal, and these guys are doing it right.

Hailing from Norman, Oklahoma, and founded in the year 2022 by guitarist and vocalist Corban Vincent, with Evan Bronson on bass, and Quinn Caldwell behind the kit, this three-piece band of nostalgic riff rockers, bell-bottoms and all, is well on its way to great things.

After releasing four singles in a short two-year period, they finally unleashed their debut full-length record titled Speak No Evil in late March of this year. It’s a 10-song excursion of heaviness from a period of metal that sometimes gets overshadowed, and I plan to let the music speak for itself.

If you managed to catch the band live at Norman Music Festival this year on the Monster Alley Stage, then you’re already aware that these lads are the real deal. It also goes without saying that front man Corban Vincent is quite the phenom when it comes to the six-string, but if you’re just now hearing about this band, well, break out your lighters, take off the T-Tops, crack a cold one, and get ready for a new wave of when heavy metal had style. You will not be disappointed.

Doing the thing that I do, I reached out and had a chat with the three guys from Norman, Oklahoma about the band, where they are trying to go, and what brought them to this specific era of heavy metal.

Bison is:
Corban Vincent - Guitar/Vox
Quinn Caldwell - Drums
Evan Bronson - Bass

Thank you all for doing this interview. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a young band tackle the complexities that your music brings to the forefront. What brought you all together, and how long have you all been playing music?

Corban: I have been playing guitar for a little more than 6 years. I met Quinn back in 2022 and we clicked instantly with a similar love for rock and metal. Quinn is like a cool big brother to me in the sense of him always putting me on to new music. I was pretty ignorant when I first started listening, only picking out the hits, but he has shown me everyone’s best deep cuts. When we met Evan, we honestly just thought he was super cool, and genuinely just loved hanging out with him. He can play very well, he’s easy to be around, and he fills in the smallest of cracks in the music.

Quinn: I’ve been playing for a little over 6 years now, but I’d only been playing for two or three years, when I met Corban. I actually got introduced to him through a mutual friend, and we hit it off pretty immediately. It’s been a lot of fun getting to put Corban on to the bands I love, especially because he’s got a way of taking the music and making something new and original with it. It’s one thing to hear a great new riff, it’s another when that great new riff belongs to your band. Evan joining the band was like finding the final piece we needed, he just fit in perfectly

Evan: I started playing guitar and bass a little over 5 years ago, but I really started taking bass more seriously when I started playing with the band in October of 2025. I am so grateful I connected with Corban and Quinn. I could feel a strong chemistry with them the first time I played with them. Being able to be a part of Bison’s debut album was a very cool experience, and I’m excited to create more with them.

Clearly, there are Randy Rhodes and early Zakk Wylde influences all through your tunes, and in my book, you can never go wrong taking that avenue. Outside of the obvious, from where do you all draw musical and creative inspiration?

Corban: This record had so many inspirations. We were pulling from early Pantera, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Lady Gaga, Rainbow (specifically the rising record) and Van Halen!

Quinn: I’ve based the majority of my style on the style of those jazz fusion drummers from the late 60s and 70s. John Bonham is my biggest influence by far, but I take a lot from the likes of Neil Peart, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon, Bill Ward, and Nicko McBrain.

Evan: I’ve always been a huge Sabbath and Zeppelin fan, so a lot of my playing does derive from Geezer Butler and John Paul Jones. I’ve always casually listened to Pantera, Metallica ect., but as soon as I started getting to know the guys more, I’ve really delved into it a lot more.

The production on your debut record is high quality and maintains a very live feel. Where was it recorded and how happy are you with the final product?

Bison: We recorded it at the Electric Company Recording Studio, which is Nevada Romo of Texas Hippie Coalition, and Anti Mortem’s studio. We were extremely happy with the way our record came out. Nevada had a good idea of what he thought we sounded like and conveyed it perfectly.

Who handled the album artwork?

Bison: Amelia Worbis, an artist from the UK. We found her through social media from doing work with bands like Interceptor and Wanted. We were interested in her Renaissance esc style and thought she could execute just that for us!

A lot of my readers are interested in the details of equipment bands use. I noticed Corban plays a heavily customized Dean guitar, and as a drummer myself, it’s hard to not notice the 70s Ludwig Vistalites. Can you all tell me a little about the gear you all use?

Corban: I was using a quad cortex for a lot of the recording but live I use a Randall XP series head with a Randall 2x12 RD212, with Celestion Speakers. I also use a Marshall slanted JCM900 cabinet as well. I use primarily my black Dean (Mark 1) for the recordings, which has the Seymour Duncan Dimebuckers.

Quinn: Yup, it’s a 1978 Ludwig Vistalite kit with a tequila sunrise finish that my dad got from a pawn shop back in the 90s, which he then gave to me once I got serious about drumming. It’s a 5 piece kit with 12” and 13” rack toms, a 16” floor tom, and a 22” kick. I use 17” and 18” AAX Sabian crash cymbals, 14” Paiste sound edge hi-hats, and the ride cymbal (the only one to survive my abuse) actually came with the kit.

Evan: I’ve been using a Fender Rumble 800 Watt head with a Behringer 4x10 super bass cabinet and a Fender extension cab. I typically use my Blue Fender jazz bass, and occasionally my Epiphone EB-3 for a darker tone. The main pedals I use are the Hologram Electronics Chromoconsole, and a Cliff Burton signature bass Fuzz Wah.

As I mentioned earlier, you all just played on the Monster Alley stage at Norman Music Festival. How was the crowd for that, and how has the response been to your live shows overall?

Bison: The crowd was fantastic, it was great getting to look out onto such a good crowd of people and watch them get into the music. We really love the music we make, and we work hard to make it the best we can, so to see other people getting into it and enjoying it as much as we do is what it’s all about. The response to our live shows are overwhelmingly positive. We may not be the biggest band, but we’ve definitely got a good following of people that regularly come to our shows, and we have gotten to know some of them personally. We’ve even had, on a few occasions, people come up to us at the end of our sets and tell us that our kind of music isn’t what they normally listen to but they loved our set and want to see us again.

What are some future plans for the band? Do you all have any local shows coming up, and is there a tour in your future?

Bison: Right now we’re working on songs for our second album. It’s still a ways off, but we’ve got around a dozen songs we’re working on in hopes of getting into the studio and recording sometime this summer. We have a show July 23rd at the Shrine in Tulsa, OK, but no tours yet.

Well, I know you’re very busy so I won’t keep you but I want to thank you all again for taking the time for this interview. Is there anything we didn’t cover that you would like people to know?

Only that we put out our first album in March, and it’s something we’re all super proud of. It’s been years in the making. What’s really full circle is we played our first gig the same weekend as Norman Music Fest in 2023 in a basement about a block from the festival. We played the first version of Taking Control (one of the songs on the album) at that show, and 3 years later, we’re playing the album at the actual festival.

Photos by Nathan Tucker
Album artwork by Amelia Warbis

You can stream the debut record Speak No Evil from Bison on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. For merch, physical media, and other inquiries you can visit their website here, or give them a follow on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The death of a beloved is an amputation.” It was also said by Helen Keller that “What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”

There are lots of quotes out there about grief and loss. Some ring true, and others sometimes just seem like words on a page to the one grieving. Unfortunately, none of them provide much comfort in hard times, at least they didn’t for me.

I can tell you in my own words that the loss of a band member can be hard, but the loss of a friend can be downright devastating. It’s very rare that I speak or write directly about this subject, for numerous reasons. Mainly because it’s too personal, and most times I don’t feel I have the right words, but when I heard the news about the Tulsa band Plastic Psalms losing their bassist and friend Joel Hoyt V, it hit close to home. I decided that maybe sharing this personal story would be a way to assure the remaining members, David Akins (guitar/vox) and Derik Hefner (drums/vox), plus everyone else, that even through hard times, we’re all in this together. So bear with me, and I’ll try to keep it productive.

Years ago, I was the drummer in a band. This was the final culmination of several bands that my friends and I had formed and played in together throughout our lives. It really began when we were all young and full of energy, having met and started playing music together around the age of 13 or 14. This particular band was active from maybe 2007 to 2009, but honestly, all the dates and years kind of blend together at this point.

Sadly, our time together was cut short when our bass player and my friend died due to an overdose. It happened while we were on the way home from a small weekend tour that took us from Oklahoma City to Austin and back. Our final show was in Dallas, but the venue’s name now eludes me.

He was trying to stop drinking. You see, even though he was an outgoing friendly guy, he was riddled with anxiety, and oddly enough, social anxiety more than anything else, hence the heavy drinking.

Sometimes it was so bad that he couldn’t even call and order a pizza over the phone. None of us really took our mental health very seriously, and honestly, had you brought up something like that, you probably would’ve been laughed at and/or ridiculed without hesitation. We all loved each other very much, and we all had our ailments, but could be pretty mean and harsh towards one another from time to time, like brothers do. It was just the way we were. I’m sure some of you can relate, and there will be some of you who think we were probably monsters, but that’s just the way it was, for better or worse.

We used to practice under the influence of alcohol, so when we played shows, we could outdrink the other bands and still try to annihilate. It was a point of pride for us, and we reveled in it. I personally relied on loads of pain pills, which gave me energy and made me feel invincible and numb all at once—I tell you all of this not as a braggart, but more for transparency, and for honesty—I also drank Red Bulls, Jägermeister, and straight bottom-shelf rot-gut whiskey so potent that it would eventually make the inside of my stomach feel like I had swallowed a blend of gasoline, nails, and battery acid. Yet somehow, from time to time, even this was considered mild compared to my counterparts.

Are you still with me? I promise I’m not trying to get too far away from the main focus of this article, which is meant to spotlight the music of the three guys in Plastic Psalms. David, Derik, and Joel. If you’ve been a fan of the band at all over the last decade, then you’ve probably been anticipating this new record, and you may be wondering where the hell I’m going with all of this. Well, trust me that I’m almost finished, but I felt it was important to connect my story. Hopefully, by the end of this you may have a better appreciation of the effort it took to release the music that they did today.

Moving forward… My friend had visited a doctor and been prescribed some anti-anxiety medication to help ease the transition of kickin’ the booze. Klonopin was the drug. I was somewhat of an “expert” in pharmaceuticals and immediately expressed my disgust with this choice of “therapy.” I tried warning him about the mind erasers that he was toying with, and reminded him of a time when I had been strung out on that exact pill, and lost a few days of my life to a major blackout. He was stubborn though, and like all of us, felt invincible.

As the saying goes, “old habits die hard,” and drinking was second nature to him at this point. He made it a few days while we were at home and there was some structure to his life, but once the band got out on the road, the alcohol flowed freely like the raging river it had become.

If you have ever mixed alcohol and pills, then you know it can be a very dangerous ride, especially with the right combination. We all had our time experimenting with drugs and whatnot, but for him, for the most part, he was a drinker and fairly new to the caliber of this particular combo.

Without going into grave detail about the whole ordeal that unfolded, and for the sake of continuity, I’ll just say he grossly overdid it. We all took our fair share of pills, and we all drank WAY too much that night, but at the risk of sounding cold, statistics seem to have taken over, and Murphy’s Law was truly enforced.

After his passing, everyone drifted apart as people often do after a death in the family. The band stopped in its tracks, and we all now live in different cities and hardly ever speak outside of the occasional text, for one reason or another. No bad blood, no beef, just memories from another life that ended without warning.

We were undoubtedly pure, wild, and crazy in those days, and some of us have the merits to prove it. Albeit in the form of scars, old records, headstones, and neurosis.

As I said up top, when I heard about the passing of Joel, the bassist for the band Plastic Psalms, I could really only think of one thing… David and Derik losing their friend. A few months prior to the news, through a mutual contact, I was told they had a new record coming out, and a review and interview was a request from more than a couple of people. That was the original plan for this article —A standard review and interview that was straight to the point, but things change, and we all have to change with them.

I reached out to the band and offered some words of condolences and let them know that if they needed anything from me, I was all ears. They eventually replied to my message and decided to send me an early copy of the record to listen to before writing all of this, and together we decided to release this article and interview on the same day as the record’s release.

One thing I’ve come to learn after losing a friend and someone I considered a brother, adopted or not, is that his presence touched more people in this life than he or I probably ever considered, and while I never had the privilege of knowing him, I imagine the passing of Joel is no different for a lot of you. I have also come to be a huge believer in telling the people you care about, while they’re here, just how much they mean to you in real time. However cliché that sounds these days.

So please don’t be afraid to reach out to someone and tell them how much they impact your life in the moment, and don’t let my personal story of loss, or the heaviness of your own take away from the real reason we are all here… to celebrate the amazing music created by these three talented musicians in a time when they were at their best.

Plastic Psalms is one of those bands that sticks with you. Their approach to songwriting is anything but ordinary, and the specialized touch they blend with a gritty (post)hardcore punk influence seems effortless. If you haven’t heard it yet, going back to their 2018 record titled dutch amonia plant is a must. It really sets the stage for the record we’re discussing today: Hostile Architecture

In my opinion, these three guys will go down in Tulsa history as one of the hardest working bands around, and there has been no slacking on their end. From the start, they have continuously delivered some of the most contagiously energetic albums I’ve heard from the Oklahoma underground.

Hostile Architecture is 12 songs of growth, and it’s 12 songs from a band that refuses to conform to the standard verse-chorus structure, while blasting their way down any avenue they choose.

Song after song, David, Derik, and Joel take you through a tumbling, beautifully chaotic, noise excursion that hits like a whirlwind, yet still manages to leave you with time and space to process the destruction your ears are undertaking. Up and down, over and under, through and through, this record pushes, pulls, and pulses like it has a mind of its own.

I’m reminded of noise bands like Drive Like Jehu, At The Drive In, or early Fugazi, but with a more punk and math rock approach. I wouldn’t specifically call Plastic Psalms punk, or math rock, in the traditional sense, but like all of their records, Hostile Architecture is highly technical and never leaves you wondering about the skill or craftsmanship of these three Tulsa titans.

With the record being released today and the guys having an album release show tonight, I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to talk with David and Derik about life these days, recording, and what the future brings for them both personally and musically.

Please enjoy the interview below, and if you can make it out, tonight’s show at the Whittier Bar in Tulsa, OK will be something special for friends and fans of Plastic Psalms. The band will be playing their new record Hostile Architecture in its entirety, in memory of their friend.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about your new record and the chance to have a conversation with you both. I would like to start by saying how sorry I am for the loss of Joel. Unfortunately, I’ve been right where you all are sitting and I know that heartache all too well. How have you been holding up the last few months, and if there is anything you would like to say about Joel’s passing, you have the floor.

David: I made a post online that outlined my general feelings, but right now, it’s one day at a time. Losing Joel is definitely a “there was a before, and now I’m living in the after” type of moment of my life. I’m still grasping with the reality of the situation, and unfortunately, it’s hindered my grieving process for my sister, who passed two weeks after Joel. I’ve got a lot of personal processing that’s still down the road, but I’m cognizant of that, so I suppose that’s better than willowing into a pit of despair.

Derik: Losing Joel is one of the most devastating losses I’ve ever experienced, far beyond our band affiliation. He was one of my favorite people in this world, and my life wouldn’t be the same without him. Moving forward with our plans for this album has been a strange thing, but ultimately, they were Joel’s plans too, so we have to complete the mission. This record is, in my view, the best work we’ve done together and we really put a lot of ourselves into it. Now it’s become a tribute to Joel, and doing his legacy justice and not letting his and our hard work be in vain has become the driving force behind getting it out there.

I’m very sorry to hear about the loss of your sister as well. This new record Hostile Architecture shows a lot of maturity with your songwriting. In your own words, is there anything that sets this record apart from your past releases?

David: The first chunk of lyrics I wrote were definitely more internal, and a self reflection, however I can be a bad procrastinator (which can be inspirational in its own right sometimes) and as we got closer to recording, Trump was becoming president. The last last chunk of words were written over a few late nights, and are more of a critique of the speed run to post late-stage capitalism. It’s angry and defeatist in many aspects. However since Joel passed, a lot of my lyrics now have taken multiple meanings. So I’ll just leave it at that.

I can’t speak on Joel’s lyrics, but objectively from being his friend and bandmate, they definitely seem personal, and it hurts more to read especially after losing him.

Derik: It feels like a culmination of everything we’ve done in the past. I think we landed on something a bit more accessible, yet bigger and more complex at the same time. We’ve always been more on the cerebral side, but there’s also more of an emotional flow to this one. It also captures the energy of our live shows better than our past releases. I’m proud of those too, but this one just feels special.

The new record, like most others in the past, will be released in cassette tape form via Cult Love Sound Tapes, limited to 50 copies only. What has it been like working with the Tulsa tape label almost exclusively over the years?

David: I met Natty in Lawrence in 2016 when I was playing in Senior Fellows and we became quick friends. But the following year I met up with him when he was living in Tokyo. He invited me to a 5 band bill at the Pitt Bar, a basement venue in Suginami City. I noticed his handheld cassette recorder while he was taping that show, and that’s when I realized how deep into cassette culture he really was. We’ve just been in each other’s orbits, and after the first album was released through Cult Love, he seemed receptive to put out anything else we had. Our friends at Tape Dad co-released both EPs, but Natty has always been supportive of us since day one when it comes to full length projects. With the new record, the cassette labels form full images, so you’ll need 12 copies to make the full art if you are lucky to find the right 12.

Derik: Natty and the Cult Love crew have been staples of the Tulsa scene for years, with the Cult Love aspect being just one facet of that. It’s always great to work with them. They’ve been monumental supporters of us over the years, and vice versa. The cassette version of the album is a beautiful artifact in itself!

Wow, it really is a small world. If I’m correct, the new album will also be released on vinyl put out by Horton Records, limited to only 100 copies. Is this your first venture into a vinyl release, and how has that process been different than others in the past?

David: I used to run a vinyl label and put out local music, so I have some experience with the logistics of getting vinyl pressed. We would’ve loved to put everything we made out on vinyl, but as you may know, it can be costly, very quickly. Vibrations From Tulsa featured a song from one of our EPs for their New Tulsa Sound compilation, so that was the only foray into vinyl until now for this band. Brian has been super supportive of us and we are really happy and fortunate to collaborate with him on an official release finally. This album probably would’ve been out last December/January, but we couldn’t pass on the opportunity for a vinyl release, so we sat on it and it gave us time to get art/photography done by Rachel Rector.

Derik: Huge thanks to Horton for the vinyl! Yet another Tulsa powerhouse that we love working with. They have a massive catalog of releases spanning the gamut of genres, documenting Tulsa’s rich music history as it happens. Working with them has been great. And speaking of photography, working with Rachel Rector was also a joy. She uses analog filters and effects and develops everything in a darkroom, and the results are staggering. Definitely an artist worth checking out if you’re not already familiar.

Every one of your records has been a great mixture of punk and noise rock, with a little splash of math rock thrown in, and honestly, I hear a wide variety of influences outside of those in each of these records and songs. If you had to nail some down, where would you say you all have drawn from musically for this album?

David: The riffs are trappings of a lot of stuff I was listening to in high school/college in the mid/late 2000s. The old record store, Under the Mooch, turned me on to Zappa, Husker Du, the Minutemen, plus …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Other bands that inspired my approach were definitely At the Drive-In, Boris, The Melvins, My Bloody Valentine, early era The Mars Volta (first EP, and first album), Fantomas, Fugazi, and Robert Fripp/Brian Eno collaborations. Three other important influences were Capsule from Miami (the album Blue), the upstate New York band Zona Mexicana, and the Tulsa band from 2009/2010 Concussion Waltz.

Derik: I’ve never consciously tried to conjure another drummer’s style, but I can certainly identify some who have informed my approach. Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) is a big one, especially in how, at times, he’s the one thing maintaining structure in an otherwise amorphous, chaotic field of sound and pulling music out of the other instruments that you wouldn’t hear without him. Kashikura Takashi (Toe) is another. He has a sense of melody in his playing that I feel like I channel a bit in the quieter parts. Grant Hart (Hüsker Dü) has crept into my playing ever since we covered Zen Arcade. Brendan Canty, and Fugazi in general is a lynchpin, and John Stanier (Battles) has been a formative influence going all the way back to the early Helmet days. My general method is to take complicated, mathy parts, and refine them into the most elegant equation possible. You know, put a little Grohl on it.

As a band, you all have favored some interesting and unique sounds blended into your recordings, including the occasional ambient, or backwards track. Where was this album recorded, and what kind of gear are you all working with these days? Please feel free to be as detailed as possible, we’re all gear nerds here, aren’t we?

David: In terms of loops/ambient stuff, I like when albums have connectivity between songs. I’m a massive fan of the transition sequences on Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile (examples like between the songs “The Way Out is Through/Into the Void,” Where is Everybody/The Mark Has Been Made”) as well as the Live in Paris Fripp/Eno collab. (I have a soft spot for the bootleg vinyl version of this album before its official release). Madonna from …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead is another great album with that flow from one song to the next.

Drums and Bass were recorded in an abandoned church off of Denver in Tulsa that Pete Hess hooked us up with. If we had one more day, we would’ve tracked a long drone track in the main big room with everything cranked. Guitars and vocals were done at his house. For myself, the left guitars are my 78 Gibson Les Paul Custom that’s been my main guitar for the last 23 years, right guitars are my 78 Gibson SG Standard with the bigsby. Multiple delays, fuzzes/gains/boost, a couple modulation (pitch benders/arpeggiators/flanger) from both commercially available and boutique companies, a Whammy for harmony, all going through an Orange TH200 (set at 100watts) and an Orange 4x12 cabinet that’s been my main amp/sound for the last 12 years. If I recall correctly, Joel was using his Warwick going into an Orange AD200 MK3 using the classic Ampeg 8x10 cab. His rig drastically changed after recording to be considerably light weight, but equally as powerful.

Derik: I used my old kit, a Mapex Mars Pro. Ludwig snare, Zildjian hats and crash, and a marching field crash for a ride. I’ve always been a Mapex fan. I’ve had that kit since I was 18, and now I’ve got a mid-aughts Pro M Series that takes it up another notch. As for cymbals, I go through so many that it’s hard to be a brand loyalist. I am not kind to cymbals. I think I’ve had to replace my crash twice in the last year alone. Recording in the church was pretty wild. It’s a registered landmark building that had been vacated by its congregation the year before we got in there, and the place was just massive. I believe we recorded on the third or fourth floor, and we spent a little time exploring the place and finding all kinds of things that had been left behind. There was a post-apocalyptic feel to it all.

Speaking of gear, you all have a show tonite at The Whittier Bar, billed as an album release. I’ve heard that you have a few special things planned to honor Joel for this occasion. Would you care to elaborate a little on what those may be?

David: We still wanted to have a release after losing Joel that would be respectful to him and his output, and were kinda lost at how to do that. I can’t remember whose idea it was, or if it was an organic thing that emerged from talking about the weepcar/weepchoir EP release show, but however Derik and I arrived to that, we wrote a shortlist of bassists that Joel loved, and people we thought might be receptive to playing his bass lines, and to our surprise, lots of people stepped up to fill his massive shoes. Adriana Faulkenberry (weepcar), Dylan Lawbaugh (Zapruder Film School/Strothers), Veronika Payton (Pluto Rouge) Pete Hess (our engineer/Alligator Exhibit), Jess DiPesa (Quilts), Kiefer Bassett (Time Theft), and Justin Hedges (Ivory Tusk) are playing through the last amp and pedal rig Joel had. When they came in, they came in prepared and absolutely crushed it. They were also kind of floored by his sound, as many people are, so watching them navigate his pedalboard has been fun. We also have our good friend Elijah Petty coming in to handle Joel’s vocals, as well as one of my songs (we never played it live and the guitar rhythm and vocals are hard. I call it the D-beat/“All my Life” intro rhythm.)

Derik: It’s an absolute all-star roster of bassists and it’s an honor playing with each one. These are all musicians with definitive styles and approaches that can only come out of years of experience and experimentation. It’s been fascinating getting to know them better and getting insight into how they approach music and life in general.

We are beyond grateful to everyone who is showing up. It’s a dark time, and having a chance for a community-building experience like this has provided a little ray of light.

Those are some big names in the Tulsa scene who are participating. I’m certain it will be one for the record books. Honoring a lost friend through live music can be a very cathartic experience, but moving forward can sometimes be tough. Will there be any new musical projects in the future from either of you, or do you plan to take some time off for a while?

David: When Derik and I went back in to jam, as nerve wracking as it was, it was a relief when we realized we can still be creative. We have 5 songs that are done/sketched out, including the last Psalms song we worked on, but had to set aside to work with the bassists and Elijah. I’m sure my downtime will last only a week or two, because playing live has been free therapy regardless of crowd, and to be without therapy is not good for me. Plus, I don’t have money for actual therapy. We will eventually bring in another person or two for something new once we have a handful more songs stabilized. Derik has some plans for going forward with a new project, but I’ll let him announce those.

I’m part of a project that has been in talks for almost a year that’s kind of a “supergroup” of sorts involving really rad people in the local scene. When I was beginning to write music for that, Joel passed, so that’s been on the back burner. They’ve been extremely understanding, so I need to start that. It’ll be a nice opportunity to not be the guy on the mic and conducting the ship, but I’m keeping my mouth shut on all of that for now.

Derik: Plastic Psalms was the nexus point of our three minds coming together, so as we move forward it will be with a new name. There will obviously still be Psalms-y elements, but we’re not going the route of simply trying to replace Joel. That just doesn’t sit right. A couple weeks off sounds about right, but I do plan on getting into the rehearsal space on my own to work on some new ideas. With each album, I like to bring a new set of tools and retire some old ones that have served their purpose. My musical partnership with David is my home base, but I am exploring options for projects with other musicians. There are so many I’d like to play with, I mean we have an embarrassment of riches in this city when it comes to brilliant musicians with unique visions and voices. I would love to do something with a rotating roster. I’ll wait on any kind of official announcement, but I will say the next thing I want to dip into is more on the doom/sludge end of the spectrum. That’s pretty much the opposite of what I do in Psalms, which is why it piques my interest. What kind of things can I bring from Psalms into that? And what can I discover there that can be applied to other forms? I won’t name names just yet, but I am in talks with a couple of people about digging into this later in the summer. And what David and I are cooking up is continuing to evolve. Another corner is being turned musically, and new collaborators are coming into view. But that too is an announcement for another day.

Those are fair answers, and exciting ones all at once. We will all be on the lookout.

Plastic Psalms is a band that will live on in infamy no matter what direction you both choose to go, and the music you all have created with your drive to stay authentic is something you can always be proud of. Thank you both again for this interview. Is there anything else you would like to say to your friends, family, or fans out there who may be reading this?

David: I’m used to giving condolences when others die, so the support from the local scene, friends in Japan, and friends in Austria has been overwhelming for Derik and I. We feel the love, and it has been tremendously helpful for our mental health. Thank you to everyone who gave us their ears in 30 minute increments. If you played with us, you’re thanked in the liner notes.

Derik: I want to extend a huge thanks to our community for all the love and support. It’s good to know that when dark times come, there are sincere people ready to navigate it together through real, practical action. The Tulsa punk scene is a true gift, and I’m thankful for what music has helped create here. But it’s so much more than just the music. The music is the mortar that holds the bricks together. The people are what it’s really all about. The way everyone has come together for the album release show is an amazing testament to the strength of the community, a fitting tribute to Joel and what he means to us all, and it’s been a healing thing for everyone involved. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is an integrity and a strong, beating heart in this scene that is rare to find in any gathering of people. So thank you, Tulsa friends and those scattered afar, for making the Plastic Psalms era something truly special. We look forward to sharing the next chapter with you.

Photos by Rachel Rector and Maddie Walters

To listen to the new record from Plastic Psalms and to revisit their past releases you can visit Bandcamp, and Spotify. To purchase physical media you can visit their Bandcamp, Cult Love Sound Tapes, Tape Dad, or Horton Records.

To find more info on the band Plastic Psalms, give them a follow on Instagram, and Facebook.

If you enjoyed this article please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

In the early days of live music in Oklahoma through the mid-to-late 1990s, if you wanted to go to a concert, you went to the Myriad. It was the typical arena-style place that simultaneously housed ice hockey, OKC Cavalry basketball, graduation ceremonies, the professional rodeo, the annual monster truck show, plus various other things I’m sure I didn’t know about, when it wasn’t filled with music lovers and concert-goers from all around the state.

If you’re interested you can read a pretty cool article here put out by the Oklahoman covering the Myriad throughout the years.

Though, if you were a punk kid with no money, and you were looking for an alternative to the mainstream you were almost shit-outa-luck. VFW shows, house shows, and backyard parties that would get broken up by the cops ten minutes after amplification, were your only real options. Music Dimensions was a small indie record store that had punk and metal shows, but it was deep in the city and if you were a suburban kid, which most of us were, you found yourself again, shit-outa-luck. Not because the shows cost a lot of money, or that they weren’t welcoming to all that showed up at the door, it was just an unreachable location for some of us who were too young to drive. That place ruled. They had all the best underground music that you could get at the time, and they carried zines, VHS tapes and movies, DIY clothing and local artwork, etc, etc, etc… long live Music Dimensions.

You can read an older article here that probably paints a better picture than I can, plus you can explore some of the other various long-gone record stores from around Oklahoma City.

Like all good things, it eventually came to an end.

Shortly after that there wasn’t much of a space to speak of for local bands, or underground touring acts. The occasional spot would pop up here and there, but nothing ever felt like it would last. Not until the early 2000s when The Green Door popped up. It was located at NW 89th Street and Western, and at the time was not a great part of town. This was long before the gentrification of the various districts around OKC had begun.

By this time, most of those young punk kids who frequented the VFW shows and house shows had grown up a bit and now had jobs and cars, so if you lived in a suburb it wasn’t totally impossible to make the trek to the North side of the city to catch a band you were into. The cost was simple, and next door was the new local underground record store, Size Records. It was even better once you stepped in and realized it was the same owner from Music Dimensions, just in a new building with a bigger space. I may be wrong, but I believe Size Records was there before the Green Door opened its doors in 2001 and began solving our local show problems. It was a perfect fit - a badass record store that carried all the underground stuff, and a venue to see those bands play right next door.

The Oklahoma Dispatch wrote a great article on Size Records back in 2010 that you can read here.

While Size Records stayed afloat, the owner of The Green Door decided it was time to move on and sell the place only two years later. They reopened in Bricktown under the same name, while the new owners of that little building on 89th Street quickly made a name for themselves. The inside of the place stayed fairly unchanged, but it was rebranded, and where the pool table used to sit was now opened up for bands to sell merch. Every night a new band could be found sitting behind their tables, slingin’ their t-shirts, CDs, stickers, and other things. Welcome to The Conservatory. This venue booked all the local bands they could to support touring acts, and the owners truly had an eye for upcoming talent. On any given night you could see many big names in metal and beyond playing on that small venue stage, long before they were “famous” or very well known. Mastodon, High On Fire, Weedeater, Rwake, Wesley Willis, Kimya Dawson, Torche, Hail! Hornet, Intronaut, Pelican, Six Feet Under, and so many more.

If you would like to explore a list of all the shows you may have seen there, or cry over the ones you missed, click here to check out The Conservatory Concert History.

The Conservatory held its own from 2003 to 2015 when the owners decided to call it quits and pass the venue along to a new owner, Nick Hampson.

While Hampson was a fan of the venue, and a frequent patron, he really began his tenure at the venue working there running sound, and occasionally booking shows. Nearly four years after that he would become the proud owner of the place that had shaped the way many young music lovers in Oklahoma City enjoyed live shows. In continuing the legacy of the little venue that could, he chose to keep the same all-ages vibe, while remodeling the inside again, and giving it a brand new name. Welcome to the age of the 89th Street Collective.

For nearly a decade Hampson remodeled, booked shows, and stayed true to the original vision of the DIY underground ethos that makes places like this thrive, but lately, things seem to be taking a turn, and according to several in the community, it's not a turn in a good direction.

Fast forward to the present day and there seems to be less history being made in this spot. The bigger touring bands of the day seem to be having trouble getting through to anyone for booking, and most local bands are flat-out ignored. Allegedly, ticket prices linger on the higher side, AI flyers are being promoted, and there are claims that the venue has become focused more on running ads on social media, and enforcing no re-entry rather than catering to its patrons. It goes without saying that Hampson is not as hands-on with the venue these days, leasing the building to DCF Concerts, and while 89th Street remains a monumental pillar in the underground community, if you listen closely to the chatter and whispers buzzing within the scene, it’s possible that it’s on its very last leg.

Today there are several new venues that host this particular crowd and are fluent in DIY methods, and they all have earned their rightful place in the Oklahoma City underground scene: The Sanctuary, Barkingham Palace, The Whittier Bar, Mass Movement Community Arts, Resonant Head, Resonator, The Pet Shop, The Opolis, just to name a few, but it needs to be said that the building at 8911 N. Western laid the foundation for what could be, and what was to come for local DIY venues sprinkled throughout the state of Oklahoma. Although according to some, lately it may serve as a blueprint of what not to do.

It’s important for me to say that I never intended for this article to highlight any negativities of the 89th Street venue. In fact, it was quite the opposite, but in the long process of writing this article, I have talked to numerous folks throughout the scene and have unfortunately heard a laundry list of complaints, in addition to some I have already mentioned: Parking has become a real issue for most people, the parking lot is a mess to drive through, and apparently has potholes the size of Texas. I personally know a guy who had his wheels stolen while leaving his car there overnight, only to come back the next morning to find said vehicle on literal blocks, right in front of the venue in one of their spaces. According to him, when he reached out to the venue for help they just shrugged and said “shit happens.”

There is also a very concerning thing that has come up a few times when chatting with some of the women in the scene about the venue. As it seems, there is a particular issue with people being disrespectful towards women in predatory ways while attending shows at 89th Street. As a Husband, and the Dad of a teenage daughter, I would like to say that being negligent towards the safety of women, or anyone for that matter is an inexcusable offense. Everyone should be able to attend a show anywhere they please without feeling harassed. If anyone from the venue or booking agencies that deal directly with the venue happens to be reading this, please, correct this part first. That type of behavior is straight-up bullshit and is 100 percent unacceptable. Full stop.

Through email, I was able to talk to Andrew Ivy with 89th Street, and the new leasing company, DCF Concerts, about what is to come from the venue, and if anything will change. “Nothing is really changing at 89th Street. Our goal was basically to keep the same setup and vibe that Nick built up when he first renovated and changed the name. We’ve done some minor upgrades to the bar, sound, and lights, etc. As far as brand, set up, and location, those will stay the same.” Ivy also informed me they are currently in the process of updating the website with the addition of a new portal, which hopefully will make things a lot easier for bands and musicians looking to book shows. As far as ownership goes, Nick Hampson occupies that spot for the foreseeable future, but honestly, don't expect too much input from him. After several attempts to speak with Hampson through multiple outlets, he is almost impossible to get in touch with, and seems to have shifted his focus to other business ventures, traveling, and collecting a paycheck, rather than sticking close to home and caring for his roots.

So, after 30-plus years, the place that carved so many memories into the young minds of the Oklahoma City underground scene lives on, for now. I wish nothing but the best for the folks running the shows there today, and I hope that through possible guidance from Hampson, and the community of bands, and patrons, DCF Concerts can continue to carry the torch for an Oklahoma City cultural legacy far into the future.

***All pictures stolen from the internet

If you are interested in more details pertaining to the 89th Street Collective or upcoming shows, you can visit their website at 89thstreetokc.com or give them a follow on social media at their Instagram, or Facebook.

If you enjoyed this article follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram and don’t forget to join the mailing list.

Well, so tomorrow, June 13th will mark one full year for Keep Oklahoma Heavy. One full year of writing reviews and interviews, publishing op-eds, and personal essays like this one. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be as successful as it has become, and I sincerely have all of you to thank for it.

Keep Oklahoma Heavy was originally created as a way to spread awareness about the local bands I heard and listened to that I felt were being ignored by other local media. I felt they deserved more room to expand on their music, and what drives them to create it. It comes from a musician and a person who has spent countless hours reading magazine reviews and interviews and noticing that bands probably had more to say than the small box that is allowed in conventional journalism.

I’m certain I’ve said this before to some extent, so if you’ve read about this already, please bear with me —I swear, this is leading somewhere.

Growing up I was infatuated with music magazines. I collected as many as I could, and I loved everything about them. Anytime I went grocery shopping with my family, I would ask to break away and find the large, overflowing magazine rack at whatever store I was in. I would stand there glazed over, just staring at the images on the covers until I decided which one was first. Sometimes it was an obvious choice and one of my favorite bands would be on the cover, but more often, I would just start picking them up one by one and flipping to the contents page to get a small glimpse of what lay ahead.

I could spend an entire day at places like Barnes & Noble, or music stores reading fascinating stories, and oddly enough, one of the best places I found for a massive magazine stash was the Hallmark store in the mall. A few of the jobs I had as a teenager was working graveyard shifts at various convenience stores, and I would often be scolded for getting lost in thought while thumbing through a glossy-paged article when I was supposed to be sweeping, mopping, or getting coffee ready for the morning rush.

My love extended beyond just standing in an aisle or rebelliously reading on company time though. Not all at once, but at any given time I had numerous subscriptions to Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, Kerrang, Revolver, Ray Gun, Metal Hammer, Alternative Press, and so on. Whenever I would receive a new issue in the mailbox, a new world would open up and allow me to peek behind the curtain. I could get lost for hours in my bedroom poring over each word, and I have spent days dreaming about the images they included. Most of the posters on my youthful bedroom walls were either fold-out pictures from the mags, or were cut-out pages directly from the middle of an interview, sometimes with bits of the article still on the backside. I was totally consumed by the details of every page. I also had skateboard magazines, plus the occasional hot rod, or motorcycle magazine, but overall music was my life, and magazines were my window into the unknown.

A lot has happened in this first year for Keep Oklahoma Heavy as a magazine/publication, and what started as a half-baked idea has turned into something I never expected. There have been numerous interviews, tons of reviews, essays written by quite a few of you, collabs with some big names, a small writing contest was won, shows were booked, a new writer was officially added (shoutout to Dylan Nagode), and then came the monthly residency at the Opolis. Man, what a year.

Let me take this moment to also shout out the Opolis for welcoming us with open arms and allowing us all to have the space to play. The venue has been a staple of the Norman music scene for as long as I can remember, and while it has gone through various changes over the years, it has always stood its ground as an independent spot for musicians to express their craft, one way or another. Hopefully, the monthly KOH shows will continue to have a good turnout, and together we can show them how incredible this collective of bands really is.

I also want to show my appreciation and acknowledgement for a few of the other independent music magazines that have sprouted since Keep Oklahoma Heavy’s inception, or have been around before. 8 Ball Magazine, Black Feather Magazine, Toyotuh Knights Zine, Make Oklahoma Weirder, The OKC Free Press, and the Oklahoma Underground Music Archive, a.k.a. UMAmi. While there may be a few I’m forgetting, and while some of these publications don’t specifically feature metal bands, these magazines have inspired me in ways to keep pushing forward, and they have helped solidify and validate my belief in the written word as a medium.

I’m not big on celebrations, and I don’t really like being in the spotlight, so this is not that type of recognition spiel. If anything, this should be an acknowledgement of all of you who support this small, and very independent, local Oklahoma music magazine. I see it as an accomplishment of the readers, the bands, the musicians, the photographers, the artists, and all the talented folks that make up our local Oklahoma scene. You are the reason for the success of Keep Oklahoma Heavy, and you are the reason I keep doing it.

So as Keep Oklahoma Heavy hits this milestone, it’s important for me to say to you all, thank you. Thank you for your support, and thank you for spending your time reading the ramblings of a once little kid who dreamed of being in the magazines I held in such high regard, to now being the one bringing this to all of you. Thank you to all the subscribers, and thank you to all of the fans.

Hopefully, at some point in the future, I can bring you the magazine in full-fledged print form, just like the magazines that inspired me in the beginning.

Furthermore, I will say as I have said before, and will continue to say until the end… truly, all the thanks go out to you. Without all of the bands and wonderful musicians creating the amazing music for us all, our job would be null and void. If you drink, have an extra one. If you smoke, take an extra toke for yourself. If you’re one of the readers or supporters who doesn’t partake in any of these things, then just give yourself an extra high-five or big pat on the back.

As Keep Oklahoma Heavy moves forward into its second year, Dylan and I have lots more in the works, and we hope that the support will only continue to grow.

Oh, one last thing. While I’m not one to push for financial gain, and I strongly believe that not everything is about making money, I do see the importance of it, and every little bit counts. So, until we stumble onto some rich financial backer who is willing to dump a ton of money into my ideas, be on the lookout for Keep Oklahoma Heavy T-Shirts and stickers for sale at these upcoming shows. Also know that all the profits made from any merch sales, or upgrades for a paid subscription to the Substack will go directly into funding for a print version of the mag, not into our pockets for candy or beer. If you chip in, you will see results.

I’m forever grateful for everyone allowing me the space to create something out of nothing, for all of us. With no formal training, and no real guidance for any of this, I took a chance on an idea, and it has truly paid off in more ways than I ever imagined.

Thank you again to each and every one of you. Keep on keepin’ on. In closing, I will leave you with a quote…

“Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.” - Hunter S. Thompson

If you enjoyed this article please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

So many times I get excited when I see a band that I like announcing a tour, only to check all the dates and find out they are making the usual big giant circle around Oklahoma. It happens with bands both big and small, and is one of the many drawbacks of living here, making me miss many cool acts. Texas is obviously the big draw state with others like Kansas, New Mexico, and Arkansas pulling in respectable names and numbers. Oklahoma is usually left out for one reason or another.

We have been blessed before though with awesome shows like Poland’s Belzebong, Japan’s Boris and seminal stoners Sleep to name a few, but many acts forego a jaunt through the Sooner State. So when smaller, and equally good groups come through our part of the prairie, you know I’ve got to tout and admire the bands that make the extra effort.

Case in point, Red Beard Wall. This doomy duo from Texas has been appearing more frequently, and with an upcoming show at the best spot in Norman for metal on Friday, June 5th, (Shoutout to the Opolis!) We decided it was high time to start showcasing some touring bands who help Keep Oklahoma Heavy! I caught up with the bearded bombers and tried to get an out-of-state perspective on what makes Oklahoma worthy of touring.

Red Beard Wall is:
Aaron Wall - Guitar/Vox
Brent Standifer - Drums

Thank you for giving me some of your time to answer these questions! How did you guys meet, decide on a name, and did you always envision it to be a two-piece band?

It’s an honor. Appreciate the opportunity. I’ll start with the name… The band started as a solo project. I didn’t really have anyone to jam with, because I live over in far west Texas. I wrote a record, and obviously needed a name. It’s simple… I have a red beard and my last name is Wall. Red Beard Wall. As far as how we met… Red Beard Wall had a previous drummer early on and we were asked to play with Brent’s band at the time of Burn Ritual’s record release show. That’s how we became friends. He quit that band, and not too awful long after, the previous drummer and I split after a 2019 tour. Brent heard I was drummerless and hit me up asking if I needed a drummer. In fact, I did… and we’ve been together ever since. We played our first show together right as everything opened back up after COVID. The two-piece thing has just always worked for us. It’s simple… Communication-wise, finance-wise, coordination-wise, travel-wise. We’d rather add gear to fill the sound than more people/personalities to have to try to balance.

What difficulties as a band have you experienced living in different parts of the huge ass state of Texas, and how is the doom scene in Texas different from the rest of the country?

It’s honestly not been difficult. We’re from Texas so driving is something we’re well accustomed to. I also like my solitude, so driving down to his area by myself where we’re hella active is never not welcome. As far as rehearsing… He does his work, I do mine, then we come together to sharpen the details. All the recording and mixing is done from my house. We’re just rocking a comfortable system we’ve curated for ourselves. The Texas doom scene is vast and diverse, yet it’s all connected. In our experience touring the country, there are all these little doom pockets everywhere and we’re all connected. We’ve always been treated like family wherever we go. That’s the scene to me.

It’s a nice thought that wherever you travel there are welcoming people and places for doom. What made you want to come and play in Oklahoma, and why would you recommend other bands to come here?

We’re actually closer to Norman, OKC, and Tulsa than we are to a lot of Texas spots. We have homies there and have had amazing shows in all those spots over the years. We’re big Oklahoma dudes for sure. We 100% recommend bands to travel there. Especially to the Opolis in Norman, that place RULES! Sick sound, rad people. Definitely a special spot.

I hope more bands listen to your advice! Your love of Orange is well documented, what is it about these British-made amps that keeps them on your stage?

MASSIVE VOLUME!!!! Beautiful roundness, fullness of tone, and the Dual Dark 100 has the sickest crunch, without the brittle piercing… but again… mainly VOLUME.

Your newest single features two new songs, “W.A.N.T.S.” and “F.T.W.” which feature a nice blend of screaming and singing alongside thunderous double bass, and walls of sound. The lyrics are pretty up front with their message of hatred for billionaires and AI. Were there any recent events outside the normal bullshit that inspired you to write these songs?

I think these songs are a continuation of what I’ve always written about, to a certain extent. These two are much more direct and a lot less friendly, and yes… just ALL “recent” events I’d say. Genocide, pedos roaming free, ICE murdering citizens, etc… but “recent” seems to have been going on a long time.

No fucking joke, I wish it would end soon. You have a show coming up on June 5th at the Opolis in Norman with Sons of Gulliver, and Bugnog, who are both duo bands. Do you see more bands trying to keep members minimal, and what challenges does it bring to your live performance?

I don’t feel like it’s brought challenges live, other than it really forces you to be sharp because there’s no one to hide behind. I think the two-piece thing comes down more to the personality of the people. More solitary peeps like me prefer it because there’s less clutter and less this, and that. Others dig the social part much more than some of us and prefer more peeps around.

That makes sense. Speaking of that show; it contains three out of the seven bands playing at Heavy Mash Fest in Texas, which is a great way to give people unable to travel a chance to see a part of it. What have been some of your favorite festivals to play, and are there any memorable moments?

Hell yes! Three, two-pieces… I mean come on. We’ve been fortunate as far as festivals go. We’ve played three out of four Gravitoyd Doom Fests, Ripple Fest, Born to Burn 420 Fest with ASG, Stoner Jam, Lonestar Unleashed, and this will be our second Heavy Mash! Festivals are always such a rad time. Most feel like family reunions, and Heavy Mash is definitely one of those. Stoked!

You’re a part of the Midwest Doom Coalition, which is a DIY effort by multiple people to help connect bands and book shows in their respective regions. How has this partnership helped you, and what are your justifications for taking Texas away from the South?

It’s us taking the South to them. Texas is too vast to leave out! The Coalition has been hella helpful in connecting with other bands to help with shows. We had the opportunity to play July 4th, and New Year’s Eve in Kansas City, solely because of Shane and the MWDC. It’s a rad thing, especially for newer bands trying to connect in different cities.

Shane is an awesome dude for organizing parts of this community, and assisting those in need. If you could describe your sound in a word or phrase, what would it be?

Unfuckwithable.

Agreed! Thank you so much for letting me pick your brain and doing your part to Keep Oklahoma Heavy! Is there anything new coming up for you two that you would like to share with us?

We have a brand new mini-ep, and accompanying video out worldwide now. A new merch line in the next few weeks, as well as the 7 inch vinyl for the EP. Many, many shows, and a new album in early November… details to come. Keep your eyes and ears on us… We will be around. Mad love and respect!! ALL HAIL!!!

Photos by David Diaz and Aleksandra Anderberg

For more on Red Beard Wall or to listen to their music, give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook. You can stream music at Bandcamp or Spotify, and check out their newest music video on YouTube. To snag physical media or merch visit their Bandcamp.

For more info on the Midwest Doom Coalition you can follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

“Essentially, these songs are somewhat misfits from larger projects we have been compiling tracks for.”

The local Oklahoma City-based band Channel Changer has been at it for a while now, and with their new release titled Sport 5.0, it’s time everyone hears what they have to offer. Put simply, their newest EP has power. The latest release is bursting at the seams. It’s a solid display of three songs with an idiosyncratic arrangement mixed with non-repeating patterns of highly technical riffs, wrapped in a package of aggressive mini-explosions. It’s reminiscent of the old days when zoning out and flipping channels on your television until your mind goes blank was a pastime.

Despite these new songs being described by Sam Stormer as “outside the scope,” the guitarist dazzles listeners with a specialized and proficient exhibition as things are held together with dexterity from drum wizard Michael Birney. Sprinkle in bass player and saxophonist, Jacob Lee, and things are surely taking off for Channel Changer.

The new EP is the first in a long series of releases that the band has been working towards for years.

“It was recorded from October, 2024 to February, 2026 by friend and local band member, Carter “Bluto Pepper” Loudermilk, of the band Easier. Sport 5.0 was also mixed and mastered at Loudermilk’s home studio.”

The band also stated that the track “Shuttleslide” is probably the one and only Channel Changer song to contain vocals.

This new record may only boast three songs, but it’s definitely something to write home about. My favorite track from this release has to be “Fumblestilskin”. I’m a huge sucker for John Coltrane and other jazz greats, and the saxophone playing on this tune is downright phenomenal.

In between recording, live shows, and curating records, the folks in Channel Changer were kind enough to answer a few questions I had. Please enjoy the latest interview with the band below.

Channel Changer is:
Sam Stormer - Guitar
Michael Birney - Drums
Jacob Lee - Bass/Saxophone

It’s really great to finally get you guys for an interview. Thank you for doing this. Let’s start with me asking about the name Channel Changer. I’ve always thought it was a great fit for your sound, but where does it come from, and what does it mean to you all?

Sam: We enjoy alliteration and we liked the way it sounded compared to our other ideas. We had a myriad of other questionable band names. Ultimately we felt Channel Changer most accurately captured our music. It might also be a Polvo reference.

Jacob: I feel like the name Channel Changer came up before it was even apt. My favorite is the abbreviation. CC sticks like peanut butter, or laffy taffy, you know? In a parallel universe, we’re probably called Shlitterbahn Snob, or maybe Gallivantasia.

Speaking of your sound, this new EP is great, and I especially enjoy hearing when bands record with friends in DIY spaces. How has recording been for you, and is this DIY method one you plan to continue for the other records?

Jacob: I love recording, I’d say it’s my favorite part of the creative process. We’ll definitely continue collaborating with friends in the future for recording and mixing. There’s something so awesome about tracking and then getting to sit with good company to tweak the sounds to your heart’s content. DIY all the way, baby.

Sam: Recording has been a slow but fruitful process. We are lucky enough to know a lot of talented people who are great at all things music production and will definitely continue to work with our friends. Carter is a day one homie, and they do great work in his studio.

Can you tell us all a little about the upcoming series of releases you have planned? When can we expect those and how many will there be in total?

Sam: We are just across the finish line on about 20 songs. We intend to finish them up this summer and hopefully get at least one full-length album out this year. We’ve also been dabbling in heavier music and have a 10-minute EP of new material we want to try to record asap. We are ambitious with our recording and it always takes longer than we think it will. We’ve been at it for a while and have quite a backlog!

New heavier stuff sounds great! The artwork for each of your records is always unique and adds to the overall vibe. Who handled this particular album art, and can you elaborate on where the picture came from?

Jacob: Every poster or edit I make is a combination of interesting scraps I take and store in an album for future use. For the Sport 5.0 album art, all elements were images I’d taken or saved from the few months prior. The initial photo was taken at the West Houston Airport on a trip to MD Anderson for my mother’s treatment. The text on the cover was taken from an ironically glitched error message I received from the OKC Utilities mobile app, and the colors in the distance are an extremely distorted Google Street View photo of an address sent anonymously to my family’s email.

It would seem Jacob is a well-rounded individual who lends his talents in multiple ways, including the phenomenal saxophone playing on the track “Fumblestilskin.” I’m a huge jazz fan, so it’s really cool to hear it infused into your sound. Is this ever going to happen live?

Jacob: That really means a lot, thanks for the kind words, Jason. I see us playing fumble live with saxophone in the future. Every saxophone part I do for recordings is usually improvised, so playing tracks live becomes a fun exercise in reverse engineering. However, there is a chance that day comes and I just say whatever and improvise live as well.

In my opinion, every one of you approaches your instruments as a skilled specialist. How long have you all been playing music, and what brought you together to form Channel Changer?

Sam: I started playing guitar in roughly 2018, and really we just formed after jamming a little bit and having a lot of common interests at the time. We started intent on being a slowcore band and then ventured into an entirely (mostly?) new direction. We were all really into Duster and Horse Jumper of Love.

Mike: I started playing Viola in 5th grade, then percussion in 6th. I got my first drum kit in 9th grade and have pretty much been playing the same one since.

Jacob: I played sax in band from seventh grade till I graduated from college but I didn’t pick up a guitar until about sophomore year of high school. I remember bonding with Sam and Mike over 2010’s indie back in Norman and realizing we had a lot in common. The early days were a lot of slowcore jamming with sax included. In hindsight, I’m glad that we didn’t stick to just one idea and ended up with an amalgamation of our influences.

You all have been hitting it pretty hard lately with the live shows, including a solid set at the Opolis for Norman Music Festival this year. How was the festival, and are there any plans for out-of-state shows, or a tour in the future?

Sam: The festival was fantastic. We had a great time at Opolis and I think we played a good set. We definitely want to get out of town and a small tour is definitely in the cards. We’d love to make a small one happen sooner rather than later.

Jacob: NMF was killer, and will always be something I look forward to. We had a really great turnout and it’s so cool to know we got some new eyes and ears at the show.

Will there be any physical copies for this EP or any other future releases? Any plans for physical merch?

Sam: We don’t have any plans for the EP, but we would love to make some physical copies of the next release. We do have some new stickers and once I can sell these last few t-shirts I reckon it’ll be time for more.

Thank you all again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this. Is there anything else you would like to say to fans of Channel Changer out there? Is there anything you would like to add that we may have forgotten to cover?

Sam: Thanks for coming to shows, Live From A Shark Cage - Papa M, Abolish Ice!

Jacob: Thank you for the interview, and thank you to everyone reading.

Photos by @augusts.sun & @photo.jacob

Channel Changer and the new EP Sport 5.0 are streaming on Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and YouTube. Make sure to give them a follow on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

When I first listened to Mary Mortem, I was immediately a fan and highly intrigued. Although, in my musician brain, I always imagined the songs with a full-fledged band. I longed for that full-flavored sound and was completely blown away start to finish with her 2025 album, Phantoms of the Fall. I was quickly drawn into that familiar esoteric, faraway sound that always seemed reminiscent of the softer side of the Deftones spectrum. Still, this record really comes at you with a hard edge and driving underbelly that I daydreamed about too many times to count. Not to underscore any older tunes, but this new approach really makes these songs stay with you.

While this record maintains, at its core, a loose, free, and melodic feel, Mary Mortem and her band of thaumaturgists seamlessly blend that comfort with feelings of strife and dejection that simultaneously tug at your heartstrings. Overall, there’s a little something for everyone here.

A splash of black metal, a pinch of shoegaze, a dash of gothcore, all supremely cook up a batch of well-written catchy tunes that call you back to them over, and over again, and in her cauldron of doom, Mary Mortem has crafted a timeless album full of songs that will live on in infamy.

By the end of the first track, “Dead in Oologah”, I was hooked, and this record has been on repeat ever since. It’s become my go-to record when it’s time to wind down—or paired like a fine wine—sounds great at full volume, driving down the highway at 90 miles per hour. Dare I say, Phantoms of the Fall is one of the most understated albums to blossom from our scene in recent times?

It’s a nine-song record that only lasts a whopping 38 minutes, but in that time it will take you to places you’ve only visited in dreams. With a new record on the horizon, I look forward with open arms to the alchemy that is sure to come from the Tulsa, OK local we’ve all come to love.

Through several weeks of correspondence, I’ve been chatting with Mary Mortem about her origins, performing live, her recording process, and her upcoming record. I’m very happy to bring you the first-ever official interview with Mary Mortem.

“I just want to encourage people to keep pushing. It’s a dark world and things can be consuming, but I’d love for every individual to leave a positive mark here, and on each other. We owe that to ourselves.”

I really want to thank you for taking the time to do this. You’ve been a special request from more than a few of my readers, and I’ve been a longtime fan, so it’s an honor to finally make it happen. To start, can you tell me a little about your upbringing, and how you got started making music?

Thank you for having me. My upbringing was inconvenient if I’m honest with myself, and very traumatic. It was typical middle America Bible Belt white trash. Just generational trauma paving its way, as it does. My mom was a teen mom with my brother and me. I could go into it all, but I’ll save you the trauma dump and make it brief. My mother is a strong woman and was always extremely supportive of me in every way. She was always sure to let me express myself and she assured me I was safe to be who I am. She’d never let anyone have a say about how I was. She was a very tender-hearted woman, even when she struggled to be present due to her drug addiction, which was overwhelmingly present in my life. Funny, because I remember moving to Oologah as a very young kid to be raised safely away from the city and its bad influence that impacted her, but it surely found us there as well. Lots of meth, pills, alcohol, anything available really, and with the ever presence of drugs surrounding me, it wasn’t something I could avoid. I watched it swallow my family whole. Violence, with heavy come-downs, and distress with the come-ups, plus a disorienting cycle that kept my mind focused only on survival and escapism. Unlike the others though, for me, escapism was isolating and dissociating, and it fueled my music and my desire to make it. I was a very reclusive kid, I didn’t really like people and I felt very alone because I couldn’t relate to anyone around me. I was very mentally troubled by identity issues, intense mood swings, long depressive episodes, and crippling anxiety. As an adult, I still am very much reclusive and afflicted, but I’m working really hard on that.

My mother’s music taste definitely shaped me as a young kid with stuff like Three Six Mafia, Slipknot, Deftones, and anything from the 90s / early 2000s. Quickly, I started finding myself into skate culture which led me to lots of other bands from post hardcore, early mall emo, and MySpace deathcore. Stuff like From Autumn to Ashes, From First to Last, Saosin. Then through that, I saw those band members wearing goth and black metal band shirts, which led me down many rabbit holes online. The internet makes it so easy to get lost in consuming art quickly with places like Tumblr showing me Chelsea Wolfe, Crystal Castles, Salem, Nicole Dollanganger, Spooky Black, etc. I was addicted to atmospheric music with strange, raw, heavy-hearted lyrics with relation to trauma. It definitely helped me feel less alone. The combination of all that, plus my obsession with music helped me so much to escape from reality. I had to make it. I wanted to know what it felt like to create something. To get lost in the process of being vulnerable and create a separate world in which I could exist.

Those all seem like great components to fuel impactfulness for any musician, especially at a young age. Your recorded music dates back as far as 2018, and each release carries a little different vibe than the next. How do you feel your writing has evolved through the years?

I think a lot of people close to me, and some listeners of the older stuff will hate me for this, but the early stuff to me now is nonsense and I’m not proud of it. I definitely don’t like talking about it. I’m sure I was proud then just to have made anything, and I think something about that does make it sort of special. It was ignorance —just aimlessly throwing myself into musical palettes and making a mess of myself. Some of that is very present still, just now it’s more focused and I’m doing what I actually want to do. It just took time for me to figure things out, like playing guitar, and I had to stop limiting myself because I just wanted to sing. I didn’t have a band before so I had to learn how to do it all myself. When I wrote Phantoms, it was just me at the start.

I think a lot of us can relate to all of that. If I’m not mistaken, your 2025 release of Phantoms of the Fall is your first venture with a full band? Do you follow this same approach with the upcoming release, and how will this new record differ from the last?

Yes, and it’ll be like this for everything else to come. This next record, I think, is the perfect evolution. Lots of the sound-defining moments of the last record are being pushed further. It’s heavier in every way. Lyrics are more vulnerable, more exposed, just less hidden and less vague. The riffs are grave, intense, and hold more weight. It’s still hypnotic, but when it breaks apart it’s far more cathartic.

That sounds very exciting. Can you tell me a little about the recording process of the last record, and what you did differently with the one to come?

Well, it has been kind of the same process for both. I wrote a bunch of songs alone in a room, with the exception of a few on the upcoming one. Timmy was present, and we wrote together. But mostly I’m alone in whatever room I’m living in at the time, which changed several times during the process of writing the upcoming record. It’s just writing riffs, and so many lyrics, then assembling demos that get brought to Cassidy where we start breaking them down. Rewriting some parts, re-recording mostly everything, cutting songs, cutting sections of songs, and then adding new sections along the way. Cassidy plays a huge part in the production of everything. He helps me really achieve my ideas and push every idea across the finish line. On Phantoms though, I did get a lot of help with guitar work from my friend Ant of the band Inside You. I’m no guitar player and was even less of one at that time, so he took what I wrote, played, and tightened it up for me. On the song “Taxidermy Bride” he re-wrote that instrumental entirely around my isolated vocal tracks. That song almost didn’t make the record because it was just vocals for a while from an old demo. With this upcoming record, it’s a lot more in-house.

How many songs will be on this new release, when can we expect it to come out, and are there any favorite tracks you have so far?

I think 9-10 songs. It’s definitely longer than the last record, duration-wise. It’ll probably come late spring or the summer. Definitely this year. I don’t have any favorites to be honest, every song represents such intense feelings for me, so I feel the same about them all.

I really like the full sound that’s happening with the band. Has adding additional members to the lineup changed the writing process at all?

It has changed a lot. There’s only so much I can do by myself, and I’m beyond grateful to everyone who’s lent their time to this project. They have all made the songs, and the live experience fruit into what they deserve to be, especially recording-wise. Timmy has made my favorite moments of the new record stand out in ways I couldn’t with guitar, he brings a lot to the table. Kyler too, he’s such a talented drummer and even in rehearsal the parts he changes or approaches differently always give me goosebumps. I can’t wait to have him in the studio when we record drums. It’s such a fortunate thing to have people understand my ideas and my vision and want to be a part of it. Most importantly, if it wasn’t for Cassidy, this project could’ve been lifeless and dead. I sat on the Phantom demos for years because I knew they needed more attention. He really believed in me and my vision, and dedicated his time to fleshing out all I desired. He’s foundational. I really couldn’t do it without him, and wouldn’t want to at this point. To have someone understand me the way Cassidy does is a blessing.

Your influences seem to have a wide range, can you give us some insight into what music over the years has been impactful to you?

I’ll say the most impactful has been the Church of Ra, like all the people in Amenra, and their other bands. Especially Lennart Bossu, I think what he does never fails to impress me, and I’m fortunate to be friendly with them. I remember hearing Oathbreaker and Amenra when I was 16, and it completely changed how I perceived music. Aside from them; Chelsea Wolfe, Nicole Dollanganger, Marissa Nadler, and Emma Ruth. I wanted to be just like them when I was a teenager.

Your live performances are very compelling and seem to conjure a touch of black metal in their conduct. How have your live shows changed over time, and how has the live reception been to the latest record?

I won’t say black metal hasn’t influenced me musically, because it has, but I think I’m just a girl who enjoys being under candlelight and shrouded by fog. I don’t really think about black metal playing a part in how we present the live show. The only thing I care about is delivering a good live show, dressing for the job we want, and not the one we have. Just displaying the feelings in the songs, and to me, the setting has to be bleak and murky. I think if anything it’s more inspired by Rozz Williams, and David Lynch, and then black metal. The shows have been very good. I’d say I think people really understand the music more than I thought people would. I’ve never been a social person, so when we play I’m always shocked to see people present and wanting to see us. Especially in Oklahoma, everyone has been very welcoming and supportive.

Oklahomans have really shown up lately for local bands in general, and it’s been really great to witness. Towards the end of 2025, you took to the road outside of Oklahoma state lines. How was that, and will the release of this new record bring another tour into fruition?

Traveling with the band was lots of fun. We learned a lot and met some very great people and got to reconnect with friends. I’m kind of a high-maintenance girly and have a small social battery, so having the sweetest bandmates to be there for me and hold space for me made me feel very secure. We definitely have lots of goals and some loose plans at the moment of me answering this. We plan to be hitting things as hard as we can once recording is finished.

Once it’s completed, will there be a physical release of the new record, and are you working with anyone in particular for the album art and merch?

We plan to do physical stuff, but trying to stay away from labels. We do everything ourselves and that goes for artwork and merch too. We have a lot of talented artists close to us, and in the band. We try to keep things very connected to us and have complete control.

You worked with a lot of talented people on Phantoms of the Fall, and seem to have assembled a dream team in terms of production and sound. Is the same group of people involved in this new release?

Mostly yes. I mean, we have Timmy and Kyler now, but a lot of the same people will be involved. I can’t express enough how fortunate I am for the friends I have.

Overall, what can we as fans expect from the upcoming release from Mary Mortem, and is there anything else you would like to say to your people out there that we didn’t cover?

Expect an emotionally heavy record, everything you’d expect, turned up to 10. I hope this new record can channel a release of tension as it does for me, and though rooted in reflection and discomfort, it can be comforting with a sense of encouragement to move forward. As far as anything else, I just want to encourage people to keep pushing. It’s a dark world and things can be consuming, but I’d love for every individual to leave a positive mark here, and on each other. We owe that to ourselves. Do not forget, existence is resistance, and as humans, we can care, and carry many things at once, so do not let the evil of man drain you of the beauty inside. Spread kindness in a world that doesn’t often reward it.

All photos by: Lacey Mullenix

Mary Mortem and all of her albums are streaming on Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, and Apple Music. You can find updates and new music by following her on Instagram and all other social media platforms. You can also purchase physical music and merch on her Big Cartel website.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the mailing list!

Psychotic Reaction is:
Robert Layton III - Guitars/Bass/Vocals
Nolan Dacus - Guitars/Bass/Vocals
Kain Gault - Current Drummer
Ryan Yeager - Current Bassist

They have had a rotating support roster, comprised of local heroes that contributed in many ways. From one off live support, studio time troubadours, touring road dogs, and tambourine death squads, and the list is truly staggering.

Past Members:
Race Baker, Rory Baker, Chris “Turtle” Cain, Jared Heath Sitton, Kevin Lough, Beau Mansfield, Wally Talkington, Vanessa Scholle, Spencer Tracy, Josh Henning, John Brakefield, Kim Bastian, Clint Petty, Braden Tapley(RIP), Dallas Sears, Lance Ledesma, Whitt Condit, Justin “Stempy” Davis, Frankie Kump, Rodrigo Serrano, Hannah, Jacob Miller, Nick Martin, Kavan Barnett, Adam Azbell, Dr. Ben Lindesmith.

You two have been the driving force behind this band and a consistent presence in the local scene, how did you two meet and what made you want to start making music together?

Nolan: Bobby wrote a quote on the whiteboard, “I’m sick to my guts of the American ruse.” -Wayne Kramer, MC5. I asked him about it because I’d never heard of them. He gave me their first album and I remember laying in my bed in the dark listening to it and just being completely floored. I knew Bobby was a person that cared about music the same way I did.

RLIII: We met in school at graphic arts and printing class Vo-tech in Wayne, OK back in 2006. Nolan made fun of my Flaming Lips shirt, but I explained to him that they used to be a sick punk band. From that, we started to talk more about music, and within less than a years’ time, we started attempting to make music together. Hell, the only reason I wanted to get into that class was so I could learn how to make concert posters, print t-shirts and other merchandise. Mission accomplished! Thanks Mr. Velasco, and Mid-America Technology Center in Wayne, Oklahoma for all I know and more!

You guys have been active for nearly two decades, how has the music scene in Oklahoma changed since you started and what would you like to bring back or see snuffed out for good?

Nolan: The music scene in Oklahoma has gone through several waves of sort of popular underground music since we started. Sometimes there’s a shitload of bands, and sometimes it feels like there’s hardly any. To me, it’s just always fluctuating and changing and I can’t think of anything I’d do away with, or bring back.

RLIII: I would like to see elitism snuffed out. Bring out the guillotines for those folks because the new world that is being molded has no room for gatekeepers! Psychotic Reaction will still be here making noise whether it’s to one person, or 1000. I can say most venues in this state are more accepting of all genres of music, but when we started 20 years ago it was a lot harder for anyone that played any kind of original music. A lot of people and places back then wanted cover bands, but now I think there’s a demand for original live music that’s tangible and not something AI generated. These times are a call to arms for anyone who plays live music of any genre to work together, put on shows, and build a scene as one.

You’ve traveled the United States on self-booked tours, played major festivals like Muddy Roots and SXSW and shared the stage with national acts like The Sword and Pallbearer, what advice would you give other bands trying to do the same?

RLIII: Tour as much as possible. Try to help and meet as many bands as you can. Be humble and grateful for those that buy your merchandise, come see you play, let you stay with them, and cook food for you. Keep trying because you’re going to fail over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. To the bands that do make it to the top, you should repay the kindness that the smaller bands showed you when you were up and coming, and help them out when you can. Will 2026 be the year we kill all the gatekeepers? I think not, but we have to keep trying. Never give up brothers and sisters!

Nolan: Don’t wait around, do it now! Don’t let your dreams be dreams. It’s easier now than it’s ever been. If you don’t know how, contact either of us, and we’ll tell you.

With so much time spent on the road and on stage you must have some crazy stories, are there any that stand out and would like to share?

Nolan: In 2007 our van broke down and we had to change out the whole fuel tank in a motel parking lot and that really sucked. Really to me, it’s like being at a truck stop in a place you’ve never been before, and now you just have to get to the next show and do it all again. Or driving all night and seeing the sun come up as you’re coming into Denver.

RLIII: The time we played at the Occupy Wall Street students for the Democratic society convention/protest, or whatever the fuck it was in downtown Oklahoma City at some park surrounded by tall buildings. We managed to set everything up outside gorilla style and play for maybe 30 people. Some people had been camped out there for days at that point. We were finishing the end of our set when the cops showed up, and I just remember this fat cop, who is a lot fatter than myself I might add, chased Nolan around while he was playing the guitar. It was like a scene from Scooby Doo

Your sound has evolved over the years from Heavy Psyched out Punk to Doomed Proto-Metal, what has affected and influenced this change over the years?

Nolan: I feel like the emotions we want to convey through the music itself have gotten more intense and complicated. I know for me personally, I’m more influenced by extreme music than I used to be, and that drives me to want things to be even more extreme, but also still retain the things that make us, us. To have that balance of sounding like nothing we’ve done before, while still giving the music space to be ourselves is important.

RLIII: For me, it’s just been a natural progression of experimentation with different types of amplifiers, speakers, guitars, pedals, and so on. Nolan and I have always loved Black Sabbath, especially the Ozzy years. I love a lot of Proto metal like Leslie West of Mountain, and Blue Cheer, “The Nile Song” by Pink Floyd. I’ve always loved Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and Grand Funk Railroad, very heavy shit! That red album is a fucking ripper! I would say that in more recent bands we have found a lot of great influences from Dead Meadow, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Witch, and The Sword. Also, bands like The Melvins, Kyuss, Acid Bath, Sleep, and Electric Wizard for a more stoner/doom/sludge influence too. Nebula has been greatly influential to me especially the record Charged. Faster, intense, heavy stoner punk psychedelia is something I think that we channel from time to time as well, kind of in that vein of Fu Manchu, Queens of Stone Age, and Them crooked vultures. Josh Homme is awesome.

You’ve recorded in some of the best studios Oklahoma has to offer such as Bell Labs, and Breathing Rhythm Studio. How has each studio experience differed, and which was your favorite?

RLIII: Every experience has been completely different from one another. We’ve experimented with reel to reel, digital, and hybrids of both over the years, and working with Trent has been a blessing from the gods! He knows exactly how to make the ideas in our heads come to life. The albums we did with Steve Boaz (2nd & 4th albums) were raw, real, and for the most part live in the studio. I think he did an awesome job of capturing what we were doing at that time. Our third album Sound Out of Space was recorded with a good friend of ours, Chance Pickett. That record has a very special sound. The psychedelic graveyard is no longer there—Rest in peace—but its reverb-soaked memories will live forever through our record. Our first record was recorded with Dr. Ben Lindesmith in Norman at Zanzibar studios. It was a very fun experience, and as I recall, had lots of friends and cool multi instrument arrangements, including a sitar on the last track.

The fifth and sixth record that have not been released yet were both recorded at a Masonic Lodge in Dayton, Kentucky by a friend of ours name John Hoffman, and we completed 20 songs in eight days. It was probably the most insane experience of recording. I remember the last day working all through the night until like 11 in the morning when we had to be out of there. It was down to the wire.

Nolan: During the first record with Ben Lindesmith and Zanzibar records, I was so new to the whole thing and at the time that I hated it. Not the album or the experience of recording, but having to record and try to be good at it. I had no idea what I was doing and was still such an angry kid. The second one with Steve at Breathing Rhythm was live in the studio with an audience, and it was fun. We just invited a bunch of our friends and I think Steve bought a bunch of beer for everyone, and it was much easier. The third one with Chance Pickett at Electric Graveyard was also great. I was starting to get better at recording and it was more of a low-key party while we recorded. The fourth one was live at Breathing Rhythm, but no audience this time and it was really easy and fun. The fifth and sixth records in Cincinnati were the ones where I started to know what I actually wanted in the studio. Doing 20 songs in eight days meant we had to really constantly be busting ass. It was stressful, but in a fun way. Once we got in with Trent, I felt like we’d really landed in our spot.

You recorded a super fun music video for your song “Witch Collector”, how was that experience and what did you learn from it?

Nolan: We recorded that whole thing in a day at my house, and that’s also my wife Hans Maddly in the cow skull mask. It was really fun, and honestly, I just did what Kody suggested. I’m the worst actor in the world. We did throw out some ideas, like throwing and smashing the guitar, and painting a pentagram with fake blood. It was really fun and I’m grateful so many people have watched it.

RLIII: It was an awesome experience. Our fans are super. Real freaks and genuine music nerds. I love and cherish every person that was involved. None of it would’ve been possible if it wasn’t for them and our hard-working friend Kody who directed, produced, filmed, and edited the whole thing. He also did our music video for “Black Magick Sorceress”. He has worked with Limp Wizards. We hope to work with him again someday in the near future as we are closing in on finishing our eighth album with Trent. So, we will definitely be doing some more music videos somewhere down the line, and plan to include our super fans in them as well.

If you could describe the similarities between your music and an actual psychotic reaction, or sum up your sound with a sentence, word, or feeling, what would that be?

RLIII: Dissonant waves of unhinged raw powered high energy rock n roll. Zero fucking around. The shits good, or your money back. We’re too weird and metal for the punks, too metal and punk for the weirdos, and too punk and weird for the metal heads.

Nolan: We try to make music that is really good to listen to while you’re on acid, as long as you don’t mind having a really bad awful trip with no euphoria.

Thanks for letting me pick your brain, are there any new shows, tours or music you want the people to know about?

RLIII: I’m excited to officially announce our June tour dates to promote the vinyl releases of our fifth, sixth, and seventh albums. They will all be available in person at our shows, at guestroom records, and through our record labels, Wet Records, and Savage Magic Records. We’d love to work with some local labels and want to shout out Horton Records for being a big supporter of Oklahoma music, hit us up! Big shout out to one of our favorite local bands Bugnog. We hope to be doing some shows with you guys again soon.

To conclude, I just wanna say thank you to everyone that’s ever came to a show, anyone that considers themselves a fan of our music, every one that’s ever supported us in any way financially, and especially anyone that’s ever let us stay at their house, sleep on their floor, or has cooked us eggs and toast. We miss you and think about you all the time. The only reason I continue to breathe every day is to make music for you. Nothing but love for all of you all and our motherland, Oklahoma. We’ll see you all very soon.

NOW BOOKING - EMAIL PSYCHOTIC REACTION AT OLDTEMPLEBOOKING@GMAIL.COM

Stream Psychotic Reaction on Spotify and Bandcamp, and give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook. For live performances and music videos you can check out their YouTube channel. You can also purchase merch and physical music from the bands Bandcamp or by visiting Savage Magic Records.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

I will start this by saying Keep Oklahoma Heavy was never intended to be a way to book shows, but through the network of bands I have contact with, an opportunity fell into my lap, so I happily stepped up and took on the challenge. I would also like to add that every single one of the folks I messaged, reached out to for insight, griped about things with, and so on, are the best kind of people, and without naming any names, I can assure you, these are the people you want in your scene. They are truly the salt of the earth.

You all know who you are, and I can’t say enough good words about you —mainly because I have an article to write here— but to each and every one of you, I extend the largest amount of gratitude possible. Now let’s get started…

It all began when a national touring band reached out and asked for help booking a show in Oklahoma. It made sense that they would ask me, since I work with a lot of bands from here, and we have mutual connections outside the state. As I already said, I happily took on the job and figured this would be a pretty simple task. I also looked at it through a journalistic lens, and I felt it would be a good experiment to take on as a deep dive into the inner workings of what bands today go through. I was pretty confident I could deliver. “How hard could it be?” I thought. Man oh man, how naive I was.

I started messaging and emailing a few venues in OKC, and then waited patiently to hear back. Day after day passed without a single reply, so I started to make excuses for them. “They’re probably busy, just give them a few more days,” I said to myself. As time moved on and the calendar crept closer to the target date, I began to worry a little. “Did I take the correct approach?” “Did they get my message?” That’s when I started digging a little deeper. I found some folks to consult with, updated the touring band, emailed a few more venues in OKC and Tulsa, and felt a little relief as I weeded my way through the various spots we all know. Still, nothing. After a few weeks, I hadn’t received a single reply to any of the emails or messages I had sent out.

I started to really wonder what was going on behind the scenes, and again I had some thoughts. “Are the venues that backed up?” “Are they so busy that they can’t respond within a decent amount of time?” “Am I doing this the correct way?” I worried that I wasn’t hip to the etiquette these days and was being a bit presumptuous by blanketing my request out to so many places at once.

After several more attempts, and a few more personal messages, plus some hopeful favors called in to people I know, I finally got a reply from an OKC venue. “I’m sorry, that date is already booked.” Go figure. It had now been close to a month since I sent out my first inquiry, so this wasn’t too much of a shock to me. While I did feel a bit of disappointment, the venue offered some kind words of encouragement, so I took the loss, so to speak, and continued my pursuit.

At this point, it had been well over a month with only one real response, so I reached out again to a few other band members from across the state that I chit-chat with on occasion, asked for more help and direction, apologized for being a bother, and expressed my frustration. What they said back really hit home, and the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.

As it would seem, I had stepped into a world that a lot of you already struggle with on a regular basis. I eventually heard back from a few other places, all saying “no” for various reasons —I probably should have said earlier that the day I was trying to confirm was a Monday, and that has its own challenges already stacked against it, but I truly felt like this would be an easy mission to accomplish, regardless of the day.

So time ticked on, and after several more defeated attempts to get this show nailed down, it did finally happen, after a full month and a half. When it did, I felt like I had won something, and wanted to run around telling everyone. I didn’t do that though because by now, the frustration had gotten my wheels turning, and I saw a major flaw with this whole system of booking shows in our cities.

To put it bluntly, it fucking sucks to try and book a show on your own, and I can’t imagine the level of frustration that all of you deal with on a regular basis. Hell, I was only trying to book one date and almost pulled my hair out. Need I remind you that we have people and bands in our scene that do this constantly, for free, in between day jobs, family time, band practice, and then they actually get on the stage to play said shows. Not only around their city and state, but some of them book all of their own DIY style tours across the country, and have been doing it for years. We should all stop and just take a moment to applaud these folks… without their hard work and dedication to the grind we wouldn’t even have a local scene to cheer on.

Moving on. At the end of my pursuit I was left with a bad taste in my mouth and wondered how in this day and age, this could be such a big issue. I thought social media and all of the various ways we “communicate,” the many forms of “accessibility,” plus the large cache of venues we have spread out across the state would’ve put this problem to bed. Again, I was so wrong.

As it would seem, this whole side-show of booking dates and trying to play gigs is more of a popularity contest than it is about simply supporting the scene of hard-working bands who deserve a shot. Furthermore, it’s a “Who you know, not what you do” type of setup, and it’s kind of bullshit.

I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers here, or looking to point fingers at any one place, or any genre of music, I’m just genuinely asking the question, why? Why are things set up this way, and what needs to change? I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t expect this article to make big waves amongst the venue owners, or the people employed to book shows for them, but if it does reach one of them, maybe they will take a step back and reassess their methods.

Comedy clubs have amateur open-mic nights where hopefuls are allowed to get up and take a shot. There is an open-mic spot for musicians and bands to sign up once a month in OKC, but it isn’t the crowd for the louder, more aggressive types and while I only assume it wouldn’t go over too well, it might be worth a try. We also have a thing that showcases the strange, weird, and avant-garde side of the scene on a monthly basis in Norman, which rightly has its place too.

I’m still left asking the original question that sparked this entire publication… What about the metal heads, the stoner bands, the sludge dealers, the doom bringers, the misfits, and the heavy hitters of the scene? Where do they all land? These types of bands make up a large portion of the Oklahoma music scene, and they almost have to beg to play a show on a consistent basis.

While I did succeed in booking the show I was hoping for, it was not a simple task, and it always had the looming feeling of failure dangling close overhead. I was successful this time, and was lucky enough to hook up with a venue and a person who was willing to take a shot, but so many bands and musicians out there aren’t, and they need —no, they deserve a direct line of contact for getting themselves out there to play the music they work so hard to create.

That being said, please know that Keep Oklahoma Heavy is on the task.

I have worked out a plan to create a monthly spot here in Norman, OK for bands and musicians of the heavier spectrum to have a direct line of contact, and provide a consistent place to book and play shows. While it won’t completely solve all of the issues, hopefully it can be a start and it may help inspire others out there to follow suit. I plan to have it be a revolving door for all the heavy bands that are looking for a chance, and hopefully, I can include a few out-of-state bands as well.

So without further ado, I’m happy to announce that Keep Oklahoma Heavy now has an official residency at the Opolis in Norman, Oklahoma. I will be hosting shows, and booking bands on the first Thursday of every month, starting Thursday, May 7th.

Keep Oklahoma Heavy presents Monthly Metal at the Opolis.

The door cost will be cheaper than any other show out there at just $6, and I will do my best to have three bands on a bill, every show. I’m flippin’ the script, and bands will be booked based on what you do, rather than who you know. I will not play favorites. If you’re interested in getting your band booked then feel free to reach out to Keep Oklahoma Heavy, and I will be contacting a lot of you as well as I navigate through the roster of bands and musicians within our scene. But please, be patient.

Try to see this as an opportunity to get your name on a flyer, and a chance to get some good band photos, live or otherwise. It will be a way to get some solid stage time, plus, a way to maybe capture some live video of your band.

So, hopefully you enjoyed my story of the hell of booking a show, and can understand why I felt like it needed a change.

Now to bring all of this to a close, I will say that I have big plans with this new venture, and while I’m attempting to expand Keep Oklahoma Heavy into a broader field, I hope to bring all of you with me.

Be on the lookout for new Keep Oklahoma Heavy merch, upcoming show announcements and flyers over on Instagram.

As always, thank you to everyone who reads and supports Keep Oklahoma Heavy. This entire publication relies on all of you to keep it going, and it takes a community to make it thrive. Till next time…

If you enjoyed this article please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

Ah, video games. Growing up, video games were a massive part of my existence. I remember that magical feeling waking up one Christmas morning and seeing a brand-spankin’ new NES. Mario. The original. Like so many other people my age, that started it all for me, and I was lucky enough to be a kid during a new wave of technology. I spent countless hours playing every game I could. Zelda, Ninja Turtles, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Kirby, Mega Man, Excitebike, and so on.

It was a time when the magazine Nintendo Power was in full swing, and you would swap secrets and tips with just about any person you could find who played. It was like a secret underground cult that only us kids understood. While there were a few parents who did play from time to time, mine included, it was mainly a kids’ world and we liked it that way.

I had a similar feeling when I discovered my own taste in music. Speed Metal, Power Metal, Heavy Metal, or just plain Rock n’ Roll. It felt personal, and it made me feel like I had found some secret level of life, and I wanted to share it with anyone who would lend an ear.

My enthusiasm for video games persisted well into my late teens to early 20s, until I accidentally erased all of my progress on the infamous Grand Theft Auto Vice City. I was moving too fast, as I tend to do from time to time, and hit the wrong damn button. Poof. It was gone. I’m not even sure how long I had been playing the game, but it had to have been months. I was devastated and vowed right then and there to never get invested in a long-winded video game again.

Sure, I still enjoy playing every once in a while, and I can’t say that I upheld my vow one hundred percent, but that was pretty much it for me. I have however passed my obsession on to my kids, and to my son especially. He is wholeheartedly a Zelda overachiever, a Mario specialist, and a worthy opponent in all aspects of the trade.

He’s expressed more than once his desire to create video game music, and I believe one day he just might. He’s also become a little infatuated with Metallica and other bands who scratch that itch that I fell in love with at his age. Now, have I influenced him? Of course, a little. But his newfound love of metal, and the old burning flame of the video game has truly blossomed on its own, and has been the inspiration for this whole thing.

Having said all of this, how could I pass up an opportunity to chat with the Oklahoma City local band Balefire? They blend epic classic riffage with the video game soundtrack of my youth, and they have quickly become my son’s new favorite band —next to Metallica of course.

With Keep Oklahoma Heavy, I always welcome bands and artists to submit music to be reviewed. Most of the time though it’s just me hunting for fresh new bands and releases from all around the state. However, I do get the occasional email from a group that propels my mind into overdrive, and the email submission from Balefire is one for the record books. Because it made me smile, and brought an element of originality to their brand of tunes I thought some may appreciate, I decided to share that email with all of you. Hopefully they won’t mind…

Knowing all that you know now about my early fanaticism for video games, tell me, how I could turn that down? I quickly responded in similar fashion and I had to find out more.

Please enjoy the interview below with the Chiptune/Metal band Balefire.

Balefire is:
Michael Blanton (The Wizard) - Bass/Gameboy
John Needham (The Barbarian) - Guitars
Julien Boussontie (The Rogue) - Drums

How did Balefire come to exist, and what sparked you to blend metallic riffs with video game music?

The Wizard: Before the embers of Balefire were ever fanned into flame, I walked a solitary path beneath the banner of Metroyd Myk (The Wizard) —conjurer of chiptune chronicles, weaver of pixelated sagas. I would pen original short stories and bind them to music, telling them live as both bard and battlemage when I completed my first tale, Heart of the Juggernaut, a new vision stirred in my spell book, a fantasy comedy forged with fellowship rather than solitude. I began composing the music alone in my tower, layering runes of melody and rhythm. But such power was never meant to remain contained. So I summoned my trusted ally, John (The Barbarian) with whom I had waged sonic war in many campaigns before. I asked if he would lend his axe, six-stringed and thunderous, to the cause. He agreed without hesitation. As is our way, what began as a humble EP soon grew beyond its circle, swelling into the vision of a full-length album. Our ambitions tend to expand like enchanted steel in dragonfire yet every great guild requires a master of rhythm, a keeper of tempo and time. So we called upon the finest drummer in our realm, Julien (The Rogue), precise, elusive, and deadly behind the kit. Bound by our shared love of video game soundtracks and crushing heavy music, we set forth to craft the album we ourselves longed to hear. A record forged from pixels and power chords, from laughter and lore. And thus, the quest began.

The Barbarian: He’s being too nice. Vocalists are notorious for their egos (I blame American Idol and the Metropolitan Opera Competition), which Gameboys don’t have. Despite being inanimate objects, all Gameboys I’ve known have had a better track record of actually showing up to practice than the vocalists I’ve worked with. It was also the best and worst of times for us —the best of times because we could find electric guitars everywhere, (fun fact, barbarians are the reason they are called axes in the first place. It stems from that incident in Slane) and the worst of times because the only places that I can seem to find a sword are the weird apothecaries that sell Gah-sol-ine. The time was right.

The Rogue: Yeah Yeah! Wizard! You utter such flattering’s. Forgetting that your summonings yielded such a result, which led to this union of like-minded beings. I roamed this realm with the sole purpose of destroying all those who used only a pittance of creativity. Lest you forget, ma mission était de détruire tous ces mécréants. Forgive my French, sometimes my linguistics leaks out in revolt. I was on a mission to destroy this land with grooves and rhythms. Until that time, when I gazed upon a magnificent beast: a unicorn. That beast was etched with majesty on the flank of one of your primitive means of transportation. What do you call it? A van, yeah, one of such things! It altered the path, the course of my existence, because, in that sliver of time, I betrayed my mission and instead turned rogue, decided to show them mercy and grace. They exuded confidence and utter hope in their mission. I joined the lads and this treacherous quest to melt faces and drop them with the might of BALEFIRE!

How long have you all been playing music together, and what inspired the name Balefire?

The Wizard: For many seasons The Barbarian and I have crossed realms together, drifting between projects like wandering sellswords, always finding our way back to the same battlefield of sound. Our chemistry was forged long ago in the fires of shared stages and sleepless rehearsals. This, however, marked my first campaign alongside The Rogue. Let it be recorded in the grand archives: he is among the finest drummers I have ever summoned to my side, perhaps the finest. His precision strikes like twin daggers in the dark, swift and unerring. The name of our fellowship was not chosen lightly. It was drawn from the ancient tomes of The Wheel of Time, a saga of prophecy and power. Within those pages lies one of the most fearsome spells ever conceived… Balefire. When we sought a name, we wandered through countless incantations and titles, none holding the proper weight. Then The Barbarian spoke it aloud, and the air itself seemed to still. It felt destined. For Balefire is no ordinary flame. It does not merely destroy the flesh, it burns one from the pattern itself, unraveling their thread from the very fabric of reality. There is no resurrection, no return, for your story has been erased, as though it never was. And so we claimed the name, not for destruction… but for the power of unforgettable impact.

The Barbarian: The Wizard and I met when we were working for Lady Gaga on the Monster Ball tour. Part of me is saddened that our name comes from The Wheel of Time, part of me is proud. I’m in an abusive relationship with that series. All the good Lord of the Rings names are taken, and if we had named ourselves Dagorlad people would think we were little boys with knives, which now that I say it out loud is kind of rad. Ironic because now we are big boys with bigger knives… and it was picked for destruction. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

The Rogue: For many moons, we rocked and blew stages in different provinces of the realm. The Barbarian and I had crossed paths, and he only lived because I found in him competence and skills worth elevating. A few side quests later, we became brethren (and I do not take that lightly). He had uttered words of a wizard I ought to meet. We had another side quest that ended for the typical reasons, naaayyyy always the same… THAT VOCALIST EGO… that (ggrrrrrr) blessed ego. I am thankful for that as it freed me from my oath. I finally answered The Wizard’s summons. My fealty is to the guild, and into death I will follow my guild. To melt faces, I will beat the drums of battle with fierce precision and relentless passion. We have forged our sound and blended our crafts into a seamless weapon of sonic destruction. Although, The Wizard would like to prevent that destruction.

Is there one person in the band who brings in song ideas, or is it a collaborative effort amongst you all to write each track?

The Wizard: In our forge of creation, it is often The Barbarian or myself who first carries a spark into the chamber. A riff, a melody, a fragment of rhythm scratched into parchment. We summon one another, and together we labor over it, hammering and shaping until an outline of the spell reveals itself. Once the bones of the piece stand upright, we call upon The Rogue to enter the circle. With the structure laid before him, he studies its architecture and begins weaving his own percussive incantations through its corridors. We strive always for true fellowship in our songwriting. No idea is too small to be spoken aloud. We offer suggestions to one another like enchanted tools, testing whether they strengthen the weave, or cause it to fray. Yet in the end, each warrior claims dominion over his chosen weapon. The Barbarian commands his axe, The Rogue his relentless rhythm, and I my arcane frequencies. Thus the spell is forged together in vision, yet individually mastered.

In February you released your debut four-song EP called Retro Nomicon. How long was that process and where was it recorded?

The Wizard: This endeavor has been many moons in the making. The great tome — our full-length album — stands nearly complete, its chapters bound and brimming with power. Yet as the horizon revealed the coming of Boston Bitdown, we knew we could not arrive empty-handed. We desired an offering of something forged and ready to unleash upon that gathering of pixel-prophets and distortion disciples. All of our works are summoned within the stronghold of The Barbarian, who has, with his own hands, constructed a studio within his dwelling. It is there amidst cables like coiled serpents, and amps humming with restrained fury, that we capture our thunder. Within those walls, spells are tracked, riffs are tempered, and drums are etched into permanence. From that sanctum, our sound marches forth toward Boston, ready to be heard.

The Barbarian: My neighbors have been listening to the album for years.

The songs are very well put together and have a high-quality sound. What instruments are played live, and how much of the music is programmed? What type of programming do you use, if any?

The Wizard: My instruments are not merely tools, they are relics of a bygone age, bent to my will through study and stubborn devotion. I channel my arcane frequencies through an ancient DMG Gameboy, its green and weathered shell worn like the armor of a veteran knight. Within it runs LSDJ, a tracker program of intricate grids and numbers, where melodies are not strummed but inscribed, step by step, rune by rune. Through this device, I summon the sharp, crystalline pulse of chiptune, raw, deliberate, and unyielding. Yet I do not rely on pixel magic alone. To ensure my low-end thunder bears a signature no other bard may replicate, I forged my own weapon: a custom explorer bass, crafted for this fellowship alone. Its tone is shaped to stand apart neither swallowed by the guitars, nor overshadowed by the drums, but blazing with its own distinct presence in the mix. Thus I stand armed with both ancient circuitry and handcrafted steel. One hand in the digital ether, the other in resonant wood and wire binding them together into a singular spell of sound.

The Barbarian: The Gameboy is recorded directly in, so what you’re hearing is straight from ol’ Slimey (the green Gameboy we use). All the instruments are live, and nothing is recorded to a click because the Gameboy keeps worse time than a tambourine-ist. The guitar and bass sounds are a mix of live cabs and processing units, no plug-ins.

You mentioned playing at this year’s 4-day festival called Boston Bitdown in Boston, Massachusetts. How did you swing that show, and do you plan to play live anywhere in the OKC area, or anywhere in Oklahoma soon?

The Barbarian: We were going on a tour of the Arby’s locations between Oklahoma and the eastern seaboard, and our manager told us it doesn’t count as a tour unless we “play a show.” We thought we’d play a show in Salem since the situation has cooled off a bit since we were there last.

The Wizard: As our quest pressed onward, I sought counsel from our trusted visual chronicler, Neil BrickBrker, the artisan who forges the sigils and scenes that adorn our covers. He is both chiptune conjurer and graphic alchemist, dwelling in the realm of Tennessee, where pixels and palettes bend to his command. In conversation, he spoke of Boston Bitdown, now entering only its second great gathering. With knowing tone, he suggested that Balefire should be submitted and that our spellcraft of chip and steel would find worthy ears in that hall. His words struck like prophecies, and so the idea took root: we would carry our flame to Boston and let it burn bright before a new assembly of kindred spirits.

Are there any specific local Oklahoma bands you have in mind that you would like to share a bill with, and how will your sound be translated into a live setting?

The Wizard: Should fate allow it, I would gladly share a stage with Vangough or The Big News. There is something thrilling about standing beside bands whose energies differ from our own. Progressive rock architects, or Ska groove-driven riffsmiths, while we arrive armed with pixelated incantations and thunderous steel. I delight in placing Balefire upon bills where we do not neatly “match.” It is in contrast that fire burns brightest. When audiences expect one flavor and instead encounter chiptune sorcery woven through heavy metal, the air shifts, and curiosity awakens. The unexpected becomes memorable. I have always believed that a lineup should feel like an adventure, not a repetition. Let the styles clash. Let the sounds collide. From that friction, something unforgettable is born.

The Barbarian: What The Wizard is trying to say is, playing shows where we’re unexpected is a lot like biting into a raisin cookie and finding out it’s actually chocolate chip. I’d love to play with my brothers in Fathomless, as well as with Jade Cicada. The Agony Scene would be awesome, as “Barnburner” is one of my favorite songs about one of my favorite topics, balefires.

The Rogue: Let them all come, I shall harm not one of them on the groovy battlefield, the more the groovier.

Well, I have to say… this has by far been one of the most fun interviews I have done so far. I absolutely love your commitment to your craft, and cant wait to see you play live. To end this thing, is there anything you would like people to know about Balefire that I may have missed?

The Barbarian: We want people to know that no matter what is said, it’s ok to ponder your orb, play video games, and rock out. Metal is about the good times as much as the bad and the brutal, so let it rip and enjoy yourselves. Our mission is to bring the enchantment back to metal.

The Wizard: And that Aerosmith sucks

The Barbarian: NO

The Wizard: YES

The Barbarian: I LOVE AEROSMITH YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

The Wizard: IF I GOTTA HEAR LOVE IN AN ELEVATOR FROM THAT MUMMIFIED AUNT ONE MORE TIME, I’M GOING TO HAVE THE ROGUE BEAT YOU UP!

The Barbarian: GO AHEAD AND TRY, I AM PREPARED TO LIVE ON THE EDGE AND DIE ON THIS HILL!

Well there you have it folks. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did. Make sure to give this band a follow and a listen. Look out for upcoming shows around Oklahoma, you will not want to miss Balefire!

All live photos taken by Ami Moregore

Balefire is streaming on Bandcamp, and Spotify, and is active on Instagram. You can also visit their big cartel website for merch and other news.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Sifr is a carbon copy of anyone here, far from it. They seem to draw inspiration from all sides, and round things out with a sound that’s one of a kind, and leaves the door wide open for future ventures that could lead pretty much anywhere they’re willing to take it.

While the entire EP clocks in at six minutes long, and is only two songs deep, overall it brings a vibe of rebellion, and has an eerie strangeness to it that keeps bringing me back time and time again.

The first track titled “Clipped Your Wings” has a great intro of feedback that rivals any sludge band out there, and the vocal performance on this song really puts the band in a category of their own.

As the record chugs along to the second tune titled “Blind, Paralyzed and Complacent” you are met again with that grit of individuality, and the genre-bending technique that I love about this band. If you’re a fan of loud fuzzy guitars, vigorous drumming, and all the griminess you can handle, then your ears will be pleased with this band that’s climbing and clawing their way up the food chain in the OKC local scene.

As I tend to do, I reached out to the band to find out a little more about them and their wild brand of noisy rock n’ roll, so please take some time for the latest interview with the OKC band, Sifr.

Sifr is:
Guitar/Vox: Baphsalts
Guitar: VÆN COIN
Bass: Kaneshi Valentine
Drums: Malicious Autonomous Vacuum Cleaner MAVC (MAV-SEE)

Hey, thank you for taking the time for this interview. I really love the style of music you’re putting out. Where do you all draw influence from and how did the band name Sifr come about?

We all have a wide range of influences with some overlap. Anything from John Zorn to Steely Dan, though the bulk of our current sound comes from bands like Swans, Slint, Nirvana, Fugazi, and Melvins. We like weird rhythms and heavy raw tones. The name comes from Arabic. It means Void. We picked it because we want to piss off racist people.

The record has a very gritty sound that sucked me in right away. Where was the EP recorded and how happy are you all with the finished product?

Everything was recorded at MAVC’s house.

It was all recorded and mixed in a bit of a rush because we were just trying to get something out. I had a broken rib, and we were still figuring out how we wanted to come across on a record. We needed something to help us get some shows. We also have a different bass player now, Kaneshi Valentine. Overall we don’t hate the record, but we don’t feel it gives you the best impression of who we are as a band. We see it more or less as a demo tape. We’re working on an EP right now that’s also being recorded at MAVC’s house. It’s a big step up.

That’s exciting to hear about new songs coming. Your musical style is very unique and really stands out as far as local bands go. What is the writing process like for you, and are there any new songs in the works?

How it’s gone so far is, I’ll bring in the rough outline of the song and we’ll jam on it until we’re satisfied with the result. We have really good chemistry and things flow very naturally. Right now we have about two EPs’ worth of material, so we’re waiting to catch up on recording before we start seriously writing more.

Again, I’m very excited about new music. As far as vocals go, the songs are very unusual in all the right ways, and are balanced well between singing and screaming. Are there any specific singers you draw inspiration from and what comes first, lyrics or music?

The biggest influences on my vocals are Kurt Cobain, and Michael Gira. I admire how raw and genuine their voices are. It’s always the music first. Lyrics are subject to change until the last minute.

I saw that you recently had some really cool DIY merch for sale at your live shows. Do you have plans for any more physical music and merch down the road?

Absolutely. The DIY ethos is one of the core tenants of our band. We’re a part of the Weird Weird Media collective which was founded by VÆN COIN. Right now we’re promoting these Earache noise/rock/experimental showcases alongside Backyard Mixtape. We’re on show number two now, and we think it’s probably going to be a monthly thing at the Pet Shop. Weird Weird is going to do these compilation CD-R tie-ins for the shows with songs from each artist on the bill. We’re gonna give them away to the people that show up until they’re gone. I think we’re going to try to make 50 for our show on March 27th. We hang out and watch weird movies while forming this makeshift assembly line to make the packaging out of cardboard, old clothes, paint, and stamps and shit. Each comp is its own kinda unique piece of art. We probably put way more into it than we should. We’re also planning on pressing CDs and Hopefully Some Tapes for our Upcoming EP. The last thing is, we just bought a screen press so we don’t have to bleach shirts in VÆN COIN’s garage anymore. We have a couple cool ideas for t-shirts in the works.

Lots of cool stuff is coming.

I love that DIY spirit, and try to approach KOH with the same exact attitude. Kudos to you all for keeping it real. I really like your album cover, and specifically like art-based photography used in this way. Did you work with anyone specific for the layout, or was that more of a DIY approach as well?

DIY photography all the way. It’s just a random picture I took on a hike one day, and then I did some editing on my phone and called it good.

That’s the true DIY way. What are the future plans for the band, and how far do you all plan on taking things? Will there ever be a tour outside of Oklahoma?

We are currently in the process of recording what we’re considering to be our debut EP. It’s 5 songs. One of them is a redux of clipped your wings and the rest are new songs. It’s a big step up from the last one, and we’re pretty excited about it. We’re definitely planning on playing out of state. We’re trying to build out regionally right now while we find our footing.

I’m pretty sure you won’t have any trouble with that. I have readers from all walks of life, and a lot of them are bands and members of bands. Are there any local bands out there that you have wanted to share a bill with, but haven’t had the opportunity yet?

Too many to name here, we’d really like to do a lot of mixed bills with all kinds of different acts.

Just a few off the top of my head would be Bliss, Vantartax, Bird Drugs, China Blue, and Horse.

That sounds like a great show. Hopefully that idea can come to fruition in the future. Thank you all again for your time. As we wrap this up, I wanted to ask, if you could sum up Sifr in one sentence, what would that be?

Asymmetrical rock music for end time misanthropes.

Sifr will be playing next Friday, March 27th at The Pet Shop in OKC, so make sure to get out and show some love for live and local DIY music.

Sifr is streaming on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Soundcloud, and the band is active on Instagram for booking, or just to give them a follow. Catch them live for any physical merch, plus you should check out the Weird Weird Media Collective, and Backyard Mixtape which are both located in OKC.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

I am interested in the ways that music tells us what to listen to, and what to expect, and this project is very comfortable with contravening that. I was not trying to write “towards” any specific goal or genre.

Thanks for taking the time for this interview. Tell me how Fill In The Lake was born, and where this music comes from?

This project essentially comes from my attempt at forcing myself to sit down and explore and record stuff. I’ve been playing music for a very long time, but I don’t actually do a lot of writing and creating on my own. I prefer to collaborate with other artists usually, or perform other people’s works. When it’s just me, I think I tend to get bogged down in the planning, writing, conceptual stuff, and rarely get to the actual making and doing part. I’m in a place in my life right now where I’m quite stressed about a few things, and I started to realize that grabbing a few minutes here and there to explore sounds and motifs in Reaper (my DAW) really helped me get my mind to a better place. The more I explored, the more some things started to come together, and after a few months, these three songs came into being.

The name Fill In The Lake (I usually keep it all lowercase but I’ll write it with capital letters to make things more legible) was inspired by an interesting fact I learned about my neighborhood. I live in the Pennville area of OKC (at least that’s what Google Maps tells me) and I recently learned that the area that is now the west parking lot of the old Shepherd Mall used to be a little lake, and was a popular OKC swimming hole until they began filling it in in the 1950s to build what later became Shepherd Mall. Since I wrote and recorded the whole thing in this room in this house in this neighborhood, I thought it might be fun for the name to reference that.

I was unaware of the Shepherd Mall swimming hole. That’s a really cool piece of OKC history to learn. How long have you been playing music altogether?

I’ve been some sort of musician since I was a little kid and liked to sing, but started really focusing on music in junior high. I played trumpet in the school band, but started learning guitar and other instruments around the same time. I guess that makes the answer something like 30 years? I studied music in college and got my degree in music theory, but music has never been my full-time income.

Since you played all the instruments on this EP, it’s clear you’re a talented multi-instrumentalist. Can you explain a little about the recording process, and what were some highlights were for you?

As I hinted at above, the process of recording these songs was very much a process of doing, intentionally so. Rather than doing a lot of writing and thinking and planning, I usually would just open up the DAW and start experimenting. As I found something I liked, I’d dig into it and start manipulating it, which would usually result in some new idea. I tried to really focus on the “doing” part, so I was limited by a lot of things, such as the instruments I own, the software and recording equipment I own, and the amount of recording expertise I have (and often times also, the amount of RAM in my not-very-good computer). There is a lot of freedom in operating within “limitations” because it really forces me to dig in and get creative. I used a few different guitars, a few different basses, but I also used some funny little things like a Stylophone, a harp lyre, and a hurdy gurdy (well, technically a Symphonia made by the luthier Robert Mandel) because I have those lying around. I tried to move quickly and not do a million takes, or tweak a million guitar tone settings. Once I found something that was sufficient, I’d try to move on.

I think some highlights were discovering that in this process of doing, it really advanced my creativity and innovation. I was worried I’d run out of ideas, or hit writer’s block, but I found that the more I worked on stuff, the more ideas I had.

For anyone reading the lyrics, they seem very poetic and paint a cryptic type of image. Was this intentional, and when writing these songs, did lyrics, or music come first?

My approach to lyrics is one of minimalism and abstraction, so definitely poetic as you say. I think maybe I could write some good “regular” songs, but I think it would be a very different type of writing process that I didn’t think fit this project. I’ll leave that kind of thing to Evan Felker. I wanted lyrics that were evocative but also didn’t really direct the listener that much. This whole project was an exploration of how a song guides or ignores the listener, and the degree to which music commands us and guides our ear. With these songs, I wrote the music first and then crafted lyrics after.

The lyrics came from a few different sources of inspiration. “Bloom” was the first song I wrote and mostly finished, and the lyrics were inspired by seeing Agriculture play at 89th Street back in November. Their lyrics often reference ecology, spirituality, and their intersection. I will also add, MyWitchMyBlood and Discern were the local support on that show and they were both fantastic.

I recently planted a flowerbed with my wife, which involved killing the lawn grass and planting cactus and wildflowers before the winter set in. The grass will eventually grow back, but the hope is that over time they’ll be overtaken by the wildflowers. It all had me thinking about what must die for other things to flourish, but also hoping I don’t die before I see the things I care about flourish.

The next song I completed was “Madimi”. These lyrics are about the great English polymath John Dee, and his experiments with Edward Kelley. It’s a very long story, so I won’t get into the whole thing, but check out Dee’s Wikipedia, and if you’re interested in a long form exploration, the works of Aaron Leitch are fantastic.

The final song was “you are mud”. These lyrics were inspired by the current political environment. I like to read Osita Nwanevu and he noted in this article the following quote:

“Against the demands and best aspirations of civilization – western or any kind – they tell us the human being is a creature that yearns for nothing more than blood and soil, which is, of course, just mud. The lust for mud has taken up many guises in our history and has been many given names of late – neo-reaction, post-liberalism, fascism. But the name familiar to most is evil.”

This song contains some of my anger, and my opinions on the people animating our current moment.

What other music-related projects have you been active in, and are you involved in anything else at the moment, other than Fill In The Lake?

I’ve played in a lot of different settings. I’ve been in metal bands, punk bands, hardcore bands. I’ve backed up a lot of excellent singers and songwriters. I’ve played in commercial bands playing party and dance songs for weddings and events. I’ve also played in orchestras and chamber ensembles. Currently, I play bass for Shelly Phelps & the Storm, and I also have been assisting my friend James Doyle with getting some of his compositions recorded.

Wow. That sounds like a busy schedule! How did writing and recording these songs differ from other musical ventures you’ve been a part of?

The biggest difference is that it was just me from top to bottom, start to finish. This was both freeing and also difficult because while it allowed me total control and the ability to indulge in my particular preferences, I also couldn’t lean on anyone, or rely on their collaboration. This was very foreign to me.

This was also a different and fun project because I was able to really dig into the things I’m interested in. I’m hugely influenced by modern art music, especially minimalist composers like La Monte Young and Terry Riley. While this project was very dense at times, it is also very minimalist and meditative. I was very interested in stretching the limits of what could reasonably be considered the “movement” or “progression” of a song. I am interested in the ways that music tells us what to listen to, and what to expect, and this project is very comfortable with contravening that. I was not trying to write “towards” any specific goal or genre.

When I hear about a singular person performing everything on their own I’m often inspired and intrigued. To end this, is there anything you would say to other folks out there about writing and tracking your own solo album?

I think the best thing I can say to people is to just start making stuff. Make something. Record noise on your cell phone. Record yourself singing to YouTube karaoke tracks. You are sufficient, your equipment is sufficient, your mind is sufficient. Something that was really proven to me in the making of this ep is that the process IS the point. It’s not about the things you make, or the things you will have made; it’s about the time and effort you devote to making it and the magic that happens to us when we are in that space.

Fill In The Lake is streaming on all platforms, including Spotify and Bandcamp. To contact and follow Fill In The Lake you can visit Instagram, and make sure to check out all the links listed in this interview.

If you enjoyed this review and interview please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

I fucked up and wore a red stocking cap to a metal show. It didn’t feel like wintertime inside. Crammed into such a small buffet of body heat and beer breath, you immediately noticed the floor was sticky with spilled beverages and whatever else. It was hot. It was gross. High on Fire was playing in my hometown of Oklahoma City and It was the tour following the record release of “Death Is This Communion”. 2008 I think? Maybe 2009? That CD was on repeat in the van at all times in between band practices, shows, beer runs, and bailouts. Burn the Witness, a band I was in with some friends was just starting up, and this was a show we were looking forward to. From my time of being on stages, blinded by hot lights in your face, I can imagine (even though I was shorter than most everyone in the crowd that evening, and probably because of my frivolous hat choice) I was a literal red flag to anyone on that stage looking out at the crowd.

It was a small place, maybe 200 people total at maximum capacity, which the crowd was trying courageously to be. We were right up front. Close enough to have to wipe the spit and sweat from my face that was raining on us all from the stage. The band exploded into the first song and the whole place converged into a frenzy. Matt Pike can fuckin’ shred and he had come to prove it.

As a crowd, we all stood in deafening silence, spoke no words, and in the center of the savage decibels we marveled at the destruction happening on stage. They played with monumental benediction. Like being baptized, we succumbed to the warrior hymns. A little over halfway through the set, what happened next is something I will never be unable to remember. Someone threw a fuckin’ beer... on stage… and it hit Matt Pike in the face. He was immediately pissed off. Enraged is a word I don’t use lightly. The guitar playing stopped, his eyes quickly and wildly dashed around the small room looking for the son-of-a-bitch that committed the foul act. Quickly the rest of the band realized the degree of actual physical violence about to ensue from their leader, and they stopped playing as well.

Just about the time it got quiet enough to hear mutterings from the back of the room, the front man had fixed his evil, gnarling, almost demonic gaze right at me. “Why is he looking at me?” I thought, checking behind me like a person does when they aren’t sure if they’re the main focus. “Oh yeah, RED HAT….”. I was snapped out of my micro-daydream by a loud voice directly in front of me.

“Come here! Was that you Motherfucker!?!?” Mr. Pike, as I like to refer to him after this encounter, was not only shouting directly at me, but he was leaning over the edge of the stage, shirt off, guitar swinging, dripping sweat. All the while pointing and grabbing and motioning for me to come up on stage. Had I taken him up on his offer I can only assume by his disgruntled glare, that he would’ve eaten me alive right there on the spot.

I imagined it being similar to the time Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire and the entire room stood in shock and awe, but no one dared to stop him, as they somehow knew it made perfect sense. Dammit. I wondered if the true offender would speak up and save me from the impending doom I was challenged with. To no avail. Everyone else was just as frozen in fear as I was, not quite sure what was happening, or what to do about it. I quickly removed my obnoxious loud red hat and shoved it in my pocket, hoping it would hide me from the spotlight I’d been hustled into. I spoke back. “It wasn’t me!” I pleaded like a little kid does when they’ve been busted and blamed for something they didn’t really do. It wasn’t really me, but the battle-hungry Viking slayer had started to snarl and pace back and forth, whispering to his brethren on the small stage. My soft cries from the other side of the spectrum had fallen on deaf ears.

There was nervousness in the air, and again as a crowd, we stood in silence and spoke nothing. Had we been allowed time to process what was unfolding we would have surely tried to escape. Just as the ruckus began to simmer, as people were stirring around, zoning out, and wandering their way to a refill and bathroom break, it happened. Like a thousand-year storm, an unmeasurable display of sorcery boomed with such violence, that it opened a hole above the stage to reveal the night sky. Lightning crashed, thunder pounded, and swirls of destruction danced. Plumes of fire and ash rose high above the stage, ascending above the tops of buildings. Smoke engulfed the guitar-playing demi-god as he transformed. Right then, with a wicked display of authority, they crashed straight back into their set. Song after song, one shredding solo after another, over and over again, they pounded us into the dirt.

“On another level” is the phrase that came to mind as I witnessed with my own eyes, the rebirth of an icon. I’ll just say it. Mr. Pike is our generation’s Lemmy Kilmister. What we witnessed that evening was incredible. I can’t speak for my peers who bear witness to my tale of an evening with Mr. Pike, but what I will say is that I feel I am not alone in my belief. The torch has been passed and handed down. Long live the Metallica’s, the Black Sabbath’s, the Slayer’s, and the Motörhead’s, and all hail High On Fire!

I’m happy to say no humans were actually harmed in the writing of this story, and I’m happy to say I lived to tell about it. Despite the odds against us —beaten, tattered and worn thin from the excitement of the night, we managed to make our way home. I immediately discarded my red hat and vowed to never be seen in one again.

Jumping ahead to the present day, we all know the power of Mr. Pike and the crushing band he leads. I hope we all really do agree that Mr. Pike is the new Lemmy, and I wonder if he knows the impact his presence made that evening on a room full of bored nobody’s looking for an escape. I still think about that evening and wonder about the beer that was thrown. I wonder about the guy that threw it. Was that a regular occurrence in his life? Was Mr. Pike still angry about it? Did he remember? Would he really have eaten me alive on that stage? At any cost, what I do know for sure is that had I been devoured, it would have been an honorable death. A warrior’s death. A communion of death. In closing, I’ll leave you with a quote…

“The circle of redeemers/the pact is made with human sacrifice/Under storm-filled skies/behemoth of the sea awakes/arise” - Matt Pike, Death Is This Communion

*** All photos stolen from the internet.

Artwork done by the great Patrick Laird. You can follow him and his amazing music related fine art on Instagram. To purchase prints, or read his blog, make sure to visit Patricklairdart.com

If you’re unfamiliar with the band, you can listen to High On Fire on Spotify. Make sure to follow the band and Mr. Pike on Social Media as well!

If you enjoyed this story please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

Every once in a while I run across a band that really speaks to me in a way that makes it difficult to articulate. I listen over, and over, and over again waiting, expecting words to spill out onto the page, and they just never come. One might say that I’m trying to “force it”, but that’s not very accurate. In a more formal setting, it could be called “writer’s block”, but that’s not quite on the mark either. Sometimes, this lack of expression makes it feel like I’m just not capable of fulfilling the task I set out to achieve. As I was writing this review I had a realization. None of these things was causing the lack of words. The truth is, I was lost in the music. My mind stopped wandering, time stood still, and I was completely saturated by the sound I was taking in. It became less of an examination, and more about the basic enjoyment of the music I was hearing, and I just drifted off. That’s the kind of vibe that the two-piece band Before We Part produces with their debut five-song EP titled, Please Forgive Me. This is the type of band I want to analyze as little as possible and selfishly save for my own enjoyment. A pallet cleanser, if you will.

Acknowledging that wouldn’t be very fair, and understanding my place in this whole thing, I decided to share a small bit about the record, while trying to leave you, the reader and listener, with a bit of mystery to explore on your own.

So take it as you will, but here goes nothing.

The first track called “Perfume” is a slow driving force that builds in intensity, as it sits comfortably right in the pocket. With a commanding vocal performance that tears through the wall of sound, it blends in and out like a warm breeze on a sunny spring afternoon. Next is “Borne Witness”. It’s a 51-second attack on all your senses that leaves you wondering if it was the end or the beginning. More driving drums start the next tune and truly showcase the musicianship between the two able-bodied composers. “With Each Breath I Return” is a perfect centerpiece to the entire omnibus. “We Have Never Been Here Before” is the fourth song, and it abruptly brings heavy guitars and palm muting that any thrasher will be proud of. Simply put, this song is heavy, and displays a meticulous assault, setting you up for the finale, “Please Forgive Me”. For two minutes straight you are brought to the end riff that allows for final liftoff, finding yourself scrambling to hit the repeat button again, and again, and again.

For those who aren’t so quick to hit reset, in the end lies a brief, but entertaining surprise.

For me, it’s difficult to put a label on a band like this, so it will be up to you to give it some attention and decide for yourself where they land in the word salad of genres we have acquired these days.

If you want a few insider things for the sake of clarity, then please read the interview below with the band, and just enjoy the damn music. That’s what we are all here for anyway, isn’t it?

Before We Part is:
Gio P. - Guitar/vox
Mary Sophia - Drums/vox

Thank you both for this interview. Since the release of your album, I have really come to love the music you’re making. What influences you to create, what drove you to be a two-piece band, and how long have you been together?

Thank you for having us. The two of us have played together in various bands for a decade now. We use this project as an outlet to process turning points in life and explore concepts such as grief, rage, and love. Our musical history and common creative language naturally brought us to form this musical duo in the spring of 2024.

A lot of bands produce songs that come from simply jamming and expanding on ideas. Would you say this is your approach to writing, or does one of you bring a fully realized song to the table and it stays pretty close to the original idea?

We lived together when writing this EP so we spent a lot of time jamming. Gio brought most of the source material to the table via guitar parts, then I, Mary, helped to assemble these ideas into songs and added drums and lyrics.

Do you think you will ever add extra members to the band?

Probably not. We enjoy having a small operation that serves as an extension of our friendship. If anything, we would add tracks to fill out our sound more in a live setting.

Your debut album has only been out for a few months now, and if I’m not mistaken, it was recorded live at the Puritan in Tulsa. How was the process there, and what are some highlights of working with so many talented people during recording?

Recording at Puritan was an incredibly fun and fulfilling experience for us. Our friend Cassidy Mandel operates the studio and has curated a very inspiring atmosphere there. We had been playing the EP for about a year as our live set, so when it came time to record we tracked the instrumentals live in one take, then added vocals on a later date. The EP was mixed by Colton Jean. We were thrilled with the expansive yet raw sound of the final mix.

Since that time, how has the response been, are there any new songs in the works, and what will you do differently next time?

We have been pleasantly surprised by the amazing response to the EP so far. Currently, we live in different states so progress has slowed, but later this year we both will be located in Portland, OR where we plan to write new material and play some shows in the Pacific Northwest. At the moment, we have one new song in the holster that we have played live a few times.

The songs seem to touch on a lot of different areas when it comes to genre, so it would seem you could play live with just about any band out there. Have you found that to be the case, and are there any local Oklahoma bands you would like to play with, but haven’t yet?

We’ve always loved mixed genre bills, so we strive to play with artists that sound different from us, as well as playing shows with our friends regardless of what style of music they play. We would love to play a show with our friends in the band Honor Choir out of OKC. Playing with Ben Quad or Chat Pile would also be sick.

Thank you both again for taking the time for this interview. It’s always a privilege getting a chance to chat with some of my favorite musicians. If you could sum up Before We Part in one sentence, what would that be?

The year is 2006, you’re playing Halo 2 and sipping on a Code Red when your older brother shows you his favorite LimeWire ripped singles from Poison the Well’s ‘The Opposite of December... A Season of Separation’, 7 Angels 7 Plagues ‘Jhazmyne’s Lullaby’, and an unreleased track from The Chariot’s upcoming album ‘The Fiancée’.

All photos taken by Rachel Rector

To listen to Before We Part and their new EP, Please Forgive Me, you can stream it on Bandcamp. To reach out to the band for booking you can visit them on Instagram, where they are active.

If you enjoyed this review and interview, please follow Keep Oklahoma Heavy on Instagram to stay up to date with your favorite local Oklahoma bands, musicians, and artists. Don’t forget to join the free mailing list!

Please take a moment to read the thought-provoking op-ed written for Keep Oklahoma Heavy, where he tackles the very heavy subjects of privacy, social media reach, and the newly released journals of the late Alice In Chains front man, Layne Staley. - KOH

When I think about privacy I think about being able to think, act, or just exist in my own space without the threat of any person or anything getting a say in any of those activities. In the modern age, we take a selfie sitting on the couch and post it to our Instagram story as a way to communicate with the world that “See? I’m having a good time and not at all bothered by the persistent horrors of our waking world!” I, too, am guilty of this. I love the attention as much as anyone else but my fear is that eventually, it gets to a point where we find it hard to draw the line between what is private and what is public. My thoughts are constantly worried about the engagement my posts or stories get because of the long game of them ushering in a new fan or a new friend who digs all the same shit I do. I find myself constantly trying to pull new ideas out of the content hat and hope that what I pull out is enough to make someone sit for just long enough to capture the message I’m trying to get across. Same as with writing, it’s why you and I are both here. We want to experience something. A new way of looking at something or maybe just a distraction from the shit-show of life, either way, I find myself poring over these ideas and wondering how much of myself am I willing to let the reader see. How much of myself is private?

A few nights ago, while sitting on my couch watching one of the many crime procedural dramas that Hulu has to offer, and as I was scrolling on Facebook, (I can’t remember what got me there even now) and I noticed a post that featured a picture of one of my favorite musical influences, Layne Staley. Curious, I began to read the post and what I learned was that it was a promotional post about the newly released book, This Angry Pen of Mine: Recovering the Journals of Layne Staley, back on November 11, 2025.

If you don’t know who Layne Staley is, first off, you’re already doing yourself a massive disservice by never experiencing Alice In Chains Live at The Moore. We can take a brief break while you catch up and watch one of the best live performances of any band ever. I may be a crazy Alice fanatic but watch that concert and try and tell me there was a better band in the entire world at the time of it being filmed. By the way, there wasn’t.

As you have probably gathered, Layne Staley was the lead vocalist of the band Alice In Chains who was most known for his powerful voice and unrelenting ear for harmony and eeriness. Layne, like most musicians from the Seattle scene, was plagued with addiction to heroin and it ultimately cost him his life on the same day, albeit eight years later, than Kurt Cobain. April 5 has been dubbed “The Day Seattle Died”. Layne was not only a musician, however, he was also an artist, a writer, and a poet who kept extensive journals of his work for years, and most of these endeavors he kept to himself. Like most artists, including myself, Layne had a small cache of creative works: journals, drawings, pictures, writings, poems, etc. However, since November 11, 2025, you are now able to purchase all of these in the book I mentioned above and be able to cruise the inner sanctum of Layne’s mind and see all that he keeps for himself plastered across the pages of this posthumous work of literature.

But before you head over to Amazon and spend the money on the book, I’d like to tell you a short story.

Like many of my millennial counterparts, I spent a great deal of time in the aisles of the great fallen kingdom known to us as Hastings. I was a broke kid who was constantly looking for the secrets of the universe in everything that Hastings sold: books, movies, CDs, and band tees. Unfortunately, for me, well–maybe fortunate for you, I never found any secrets of the universe that would give me the power to conquer all my fears and doubts, but perusing the book section one day I came across a book that I thought would solve all those problems. I had been walking through the biography section when I noticed the spine. It was a publication of Kurt Cobain’s journals. I ripped it from the shelf, held it in both hands admiring the red spiral notebook and the words written on the front that simply said “If you read, you’ll judge” written in Kurt’s handwriting. My head was reeling because I too had spiral notebooks that gave heed to the would-be reader who had been rummaging through my stuff to stay out of my personal effects. I usually wrote “Don’t Read!” on mine, however.

I didn’t waste any time. I had secrets to unravel and music to make. I just knew by reading into this book of journals that I would find some process, some inner workings of the mind of an incredible musician and lyricist who would put all those pieces together for me and help me just be better at the craft. I felt like Indiana Jones discovering some ancient esoteric text that would deliver me to the holy land of creativity and inspiration. So, I walked to the front of the store with the fourteen dollars in hand, you could say a death grip, set the book on the counter, paid the money, and then left the store.

It wasn’t until I got home later that night after work that I got the chance to open the book. I had been thinking about nothing else other than the influx of knowledge it was about to bestow upon me so I sat on the couch and cracked it open. Oh boy…

I spent a good hour thumbing through the pages of the journal where I found page after page of scribbled band name ideas, little comic strips Kurt had made, and to be honest, not much else. These journals didn’t look like the scrawlings of a musical and lyrical genius like I thought. There were no secrets to writing riffs or lyrics, no hidden language of the Sun that would allow me to fly closer without my wings catching flame.

“These don’t look any different than mine.”, I can remember thinking to myself as I started to feel agitated that I spent $14 of my hard-earned cash on a book that I could’ve written. This wasn’t a manual for success, it was just the journal of some dude. With all these thoughts spinning around me, the irritation and feeling like a fool who just got sold a timeshare I took the book to the back room and put it on the bottom shelf with all the other biographies and works of non-fiction.

After a few days, I reclaimed the book from the shelf planning to do another deep dive to see if the fog of irritation had clouded my judgment the first time around, but when I picked up the book and stared at the “If you read, you’ll judge” on the front I had a realization. I had realized the reason I was so upset was because I thought this journal was going to solve my issues with songwriting, hell even music as a whole, but that’s not what this book was. It wasn’t Kurt Cobain’s Manual for Musical Success and Other Secrets, it was his journal. His safe space for every idea, a melting pot of inspiration thrown in the cauldron to stew. He never intended for some halfwit kid from a town no one has ever heard of in Oklahoma to pick it up expecting to find the solutions to his problems. I imagine he never intended any of it to be read in the first place.

My stomach was turning and I was flooded with guilt. How could I have bought this very thing that I myself wouldn’t have published? How would I feel if someone were in my personal journals looking at every thought I had in my head? I wouldn’t like it because why else would I put “Don’t Read!” on the cover if I did?

I put the journal back on the bottom shelf in the backroom bookshelf with the rest of the biographies and non-fiction. It has remained there unopened since 2012.

Now, thirteen years later I’m seeing the very same type of book being published but this time, it’s my idol. The very reason that I ever picked up a guitar. The guy who inspired me to spend countless hours with my stereo blasting in my room trying to emulate his haunting and relentless presence. I have screamed my voice bloody on more than one occasion trying to hit all the notes in the chorus of “Bleed the Freak” and “Man In the Box”. I have watched every interview and every live performance taking notes all in an effort to do like Layne and write and record music that heals me in the same way his music did.

So the big question, the entire reason I’m writing all this, is at what point in this day in age do we value privacy? It seems that we don’t value it much at all if there is the possibility of making a few bucks off of it. Our lives are open books on social media posting our every thought and opinion. I’m no saint, I too have been given the taste of the drug and without the internet, I would have mostly remained another nameless face in the crowd of the Southwest Oklahoma music scene. I don’t think the problem lies in social media in itself because it has done great things for so many artists across the world from its accessibility for smaller artists like myself to make a bit of a splash so I’m not trying to bite the hand that feeds me, but rather opening a dialogue about how we use it and to what extent do we allow it into our lives.

Another point I would like to make, and to be completely transparent, the release of these journals is linked back to Layne’s mother, Nancy McCollum, who in the years since Layne’s death established the Layne Staley Memorial Fund that provides education, support, and treatment for those in the Seattle area struggling with heroin recovery. Nancy has been a strong voice for those in the throes of addiction. The fund raises money from donations as well as annual tribute concerts often partnering with Therapeutic Health Services. She has done so much to honor Layne and to help those who struggle with the same addiction as her son. As well as with the fund she established this book featuring so much of Layne’s personal art and writing the proceeds will go to help those in the throes of heroin addiction.

So, the question still remains. Is it right? Well, it seems to come from a genuine place to help those who struggle in the same way Layne did, and maybe with the release of the book it can get that money into those who are sick and need healing that they otherwise may not be able to afford. With that being said, I’m still very lukewarm to the idea. Is that wrong of me? I’m not sure, and I’m not here to tell you what to think or how to feel about it either because the more I dug into the topic the harder it was for me to see the journals in the same light as I did with Kurt’s journals. However, in the end, I think intention is what matters most and Layne’s mother being a huge proponent for the heroin addiction crisis in Seattle is an honorable position and I do hope that, if anything, the book helps those who truly need it in the same way my idol did.

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

For more on Ryan Tyler and his various projects, you can follow him on Instagram here. You can also check out Chasing the Coyote, Norville, and Tales of the Astrothrone. To listen to an episode of the Heavy Rotation Podcast on Spotify, click here.

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