Release The Captive have been around the Austin, TX metal scene for a few years now.  I spoke with the band previously back in Dec of 2021 (link below if you want to give that a listen first).  Now that the band has a new drummer and a new single, "Defiance", we got together and caught up with the guys to see what's been going on in the RTC camp.

We get into how their new single "Defiance" came to life, what RTC is doing to stay on top of today's socials to reach their fans, how to be more engaging and how to build their brand to set them apart.  And, with the new addition of Danny to the team, he tells his story about how he made it from Mexico to Berkley and all over the United States and finally here to Austin, TX.  We round out the interview talking about the concept of their upcoming album, what shows they are playing the rest of the year and what's up with Taylor Swift.

Episode Info:

Spotify episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4pNJZdiT7xaZkzDTFLrfFL?si=-d_J8VyHQbO_O_Uzce03wQ
Bandcamp: https://releasethecaptive.bandcamp.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/releasethecaptiveband

IG: https://www.instagram.com/releasethecaptiveband/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoW8GJ7JY8J-NviE9K0vnaQ

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Defiance" by Release The Captive

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

The Fieldhouse at The Crossover: https://www.thefieldhousetexas.com/

I get a fair amount of emails asking for reviews and promotion and I came across one email for a band based out of Germany.  It isn't everyday that I get emails from across the pond so I had to check it out and I am glad I did.  Thanks to Hannes, he connected me with Christopher Danner, the vocalists/guitarist of Torrential Rain, a metalcore outfit from Nuremburg, Germany. 

Germanys progressive metalcore highflyers Torrential Rain catch you where everyday life lets you down. Romance, Break-ups or reflecting on one‘s own life are just a few of the themes to let their fanbase located in over 99 countries know: You are not alone!

Coupled with the guiding principle of "power meets precision“ they fuse the unfusible: the brutal energy of bands like August Burns Red and Polaris combined with progressive-virtuoso writing á la Periphery. The four guys hailing from Germany create a perfect balance of both worlds in which brute force and delicate thoughtfulness coexist and present these American novelty trends to Europe’s stages.

We talk about the bands origins, their latest single releases and upcoming album "Digital Dreams", AI and much more.

Check out their latest singles and subscribe to their socials to stay up to date with future releases.

Episode Info:

Website: https://www.torrentialrain.de/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TorrentialRainBand

IG: https://www.instagram.com/torrential_rain_band/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@torrentialrainband

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Count on You" by Torrential Rain

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

The Fieldhouse at The Crossover: https://www.thefieldhousetexas.com/

I wanted to mix it up a little bit so instead of interviewing one band, I sat down with three individuals from three various projects to talk about all things guitar.  In this episode I sat down with a long time friend Brien Allen (Bridges Ablaze / Arborenna / Altermind), Dylan Kortz (Living Hollow / Hopefool) and Jon Tadon (Lift the Curse / The Browning). 

In my years of doing this podcast, of the many things I have learned is that the musicians are nerds, haha.  The depth of knowledge that they have about their gear, instruments and software they use to make the sweet, sweet sounds for our listening pleasurer amazes me.  So I decided to get some of the best ones I know in a room together to have a conversation about the thing they love the most.

I wanted to dig a little bit into each other their backgrounds and get to know where all this started and what fueled their passions.  Over the course of the interview we find out origin stories, first instruments and influences.  I ask who will todays generations look up to as they did to the great 80's and 90's metal bands. Of course we talked about their influences and what sounds got them into their sound to include what there tuning is and how many strings is too much.

We also talk about scale length because inches matter and the thickness of your pick.

Episode Info:

Bridges Ablaze: https://bridgesablazeband.com/
Living Hollow: https://linktr.ee/livinghollow
Lift The Curse: https://www.liftthecurse.net/

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured tracks: "Forever Fallen" by Bridges Ablaze; "The Earth Beneath me" by Living Hollow; "Kingsbury" by Lift The Curse

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

The Fieldhouse at The Crossover: https://www.thefieldhousetexas.com/

It is always good when I finally get to interview a local/regional band that's been on the radar for a while.  Familiar With Failure is one of those bands for me.  This 4 piece hailing from La Grange, Tx came up to The Fieldhouse in Cedar Park to sit down with me and have a chat about everything FWF. We chat about everything from how they started to the "it" moment they knew playing music as a band was their future.  We also dive into why MySpace was so cool and dearly missed to the state of the scene in terms of promotion (or lack thereof) for shows.

We had a great time and I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.  "Death Trip" is out now on all streaming platforms.  Here is a short message from the band:

“The best way to support us is to follow us @fwftx on Instagram and Facebook. We post promotion posts about live shows we will be playing all the time. Also go listen to Death Trip (feat. Alec Torres) 100 times on Spotify or Apple Music.”

Episode Info:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG50kY5O_uHEhMLCa5pM27A

FB: https://www.facebook.com/fwftx/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/fwftx/

Merch: https://familiarwithfailuremerch.bigcartel.com/

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Death trip" feat. Alec Torres by Familiar With Failure 

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/
Dead Reflections Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/deadreflectionspodcast/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

The Fieldhouse at The Crossover: https://www.thefieldhousetexas.com/

The A&R Foundation was founded in 2022 as a non-profit organization, providing services to independent musicians in Austin, TX. Since then, our mission has been to turn creative passions into sustainable businesses by providing independent musicians access to tools, resources, and education on entrepreneurship and music business.

The A&R Foundation is governed by a board of directors who have a wide range of experience in music business, public relations, finance, nonprofit management, fundraising, human resources, and entrepreneurship. The day to day operations of The A&R Foundation are carried out by the organization’s executive leadership, who have a combined 50 years of experience in working with performing artists at all levels of the industry.

Episode Info:

Website: https://theanrfoundation.org/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/theanrfoundation/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/anrfoundation/

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Fall/Fade" by Burning Years 

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

The Fieldhouse at The Crossover: https://www.thefieldhousetexas.com/

Episode Info:

Website: https://www.affiantrecords.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/affiantrecords/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/AffiantRecords/
Audio/Written Book: https://www.amazon.com/Music-Agenda-Best-Practices-Career/dp/B086DC2TCP

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "I Wanna Run Feat. Gutter King," by Waterfront, a Calgary based hard rock band on Affiant Records

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Message from Affiant Records:
"William is a multifaceted professional whose expertise spans the dynamic world of the entertainment industry. With a comprehensive focus on various transactional areas including music, film, electronic media, gaming, photography, copyright, trademark, and broader business dimensions like entity formation and career planning, William's practice covers the spectrum of entertainment.

Having once tread the path of a professional musician, William brings an innate understanding of the nuanced needs across the entertainment spectrum. His firsthand encounters with the challenges faced by artists provide him a distinctive vantage point in guiding his clients.

Among his clientele are Emmy-award winning film producers, Billboard-charting artists, musicians and bands, record labels, managers, industry executives, and ambitious entrepreneurs. Drawing from his experience as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, William employs his tenacity and strategic planning to protect his clients' interests and secure optimal deals.

In 2021, William established Affiant Records, an independent rock record label based out of Dallas, Texas.  Affiant Records provides powerful and purposeful entertainment through music, film, and media to our audience around the globe to emotionally affect and bring about a positive change to the world through our entertainment."

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

Episode Info:

Website: https://ststx23.wixsite.com/slaythescenetx

IG: https://www.instagram.com/slaythescene_tx/

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Cause He knows Casinos" by Gnarwolf

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Message from Slay the Scene:
As creatures of habit and emotion we often revisit times, places, feelings, and life events through music. Whether it’s the feelings of your first crush or your first heartbreak. Maybe even the sadness and anger you felt when your parents got a divorce or the first time you decided to stand up for an injustice in the world. Music is there connecting us to those things that make us human. This blog is here to do just that, celebrate the humanity of these very particularly arranged vibrations we call music. I hope that you can connect with us on a human level to continue to grow the support for the scenes we know and love! Let’s slay the day!

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/

Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

Akron, OH is known for the Goodyear Plant that makes racing tires specifically (in case you were wondering) and is my hometown.   Another thing you can find in Akron is the band Audience of Rain.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out after talking with the band that the rock/metal scene is doing well there. We talked about how and when they formed, what the scene is like around them and the venue situation since we all know what happened to so many years ago.   We also talked about the DIY house parties and their upcoming show on July 29th in Wilmington, OH along with the meaning of their song "Earth//Decay" and "Anti-Venom".

About Audience of Rain:
Audience of Rain is a modern hard rock / metalcore band out of Akron, Ohio. The band draws from their hard rock, metal and metalcore roots to build a modern sound with imaginative lyrics fueled by mutual passion. Audience of Rain provides a message of togetherness, that even when isolated, we all share common frustrations and fears, hopes and dreams, and in that sense, that we are never abandoned or alone.

Episode Info:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/audienceofrain

IG: https://www.instagram.com/audienceofrain/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@audienceofrainofficial

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Antivenom" by Audience of Rain

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/
Texas Metal Untied: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

I sat down with Eric Gutierez of Scoundrel out of Fresno, CA and was also joined by the man himself Taylor Anderson (Titan Audio /Aaerial/Pala) for a chat back in late April 2023 to learn a little bit more about the heavy coming out of the west coast.  Due to life getting in the way on my end, this podcast was a little behind schedule to promote their recent tour that had three stops in Texas.  I spoke to the band and they said the tour was great and they plan on coming back to Texas and hitting the other markets so I owe them a redo. 

Eric is the main song writer for Scoundrel and also I found out he is a bit of a foodie (he'd fit in well here in Austin).  We talked about their singles "Ides of March" and "Skinwalker", Eric's live set up, AI generated cover art and we even got some Titan Tips from Taylor.

Message from the band:
Fueled by “Brews, Brujas and Blunts”, Scoundrel is THE heart-pounding metalcore outfit from Fresno, California, which was formed in late October of 2018 by Guitarist Eric Gutierrez, Bassist Steffen Clark and Drummer Chris Bradburd. Scoundrel thrives with heavy influences from Hardcore, Nu-metal, Deathcore, and Progressive metal. 

Scoundrel focuses on raw, force-of-nature-type energy when playing live and in the studio – having shared the stage with a diverse catalogue of bands such as Left to Suffer, Oceano, Nonpoint, Dropout Kings, Alesana Carnifex, Enterprise Earth, The Faceless, and many more.

Episode Info:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Scoundrel559

FB: https://www.facebook.com/BrewsBrujasandBlunts

IG: https://www.instagram.com/Scoundrel559/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scoundrel559

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Ides of March" by Scoundrel

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/
Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited

Sozora is a band with a diverse and evocative sound.  the group's music combines many influences, including post-punk, hardcode, and more.

I sat down with Trevor, Jacob, Aaron and Jake along with Jet who helped produce the interview out at DUP Recording Studio in Burnet, Tx.  I have known these guys for a really long time, seen them play at various venues around Austin and to me, they are one of THE definitions of local Texas metal.  Join us for an hour or so convo about where they started, how many different connections we have through the local scene and a few more tasty topics.

Message from the band:
Our most recent album "Pillars" allows a hard-hitting wall of sound to collide with lush and mesmerizing melodies. Clean vocals and blood curdling screams alternate seamlessly, creating a huge dynamic range for a true sonic roller coaster.  From lush, reverb-laden guitar parts to down-tuned heavy riffs and even some tasteful dissonance, anything goes.

Episode Info:

Bandcamp: https://sozora.bandcamp.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/sozoraband

IG: https://www.instagram.com/sozoramusic/

Intro track: "Common Flow" by Arborenna

Featured track: "Pillars" by Sozora of their latest album "Pillars"

ATXMP Website: https://www.atxmp.com/

Sponsors:

Come and Take It Productions: https://www.comeandtakeitproductions.com/

Come and Take It Live: https://www.comeandtakeitlive.com/

Bumperactive: https://www.bumperactive.com/

Titan Audio Productions: https://titanaudioproductions.com/
Texas Metal United: https://www.facebook.com/TexasMetalUnited/