KILL RADIUS REVEALED - Stoney 6/16/04
In the history of lokal Augusta music bone crushing heavy metal has tended to live within an underground bubble normally reserved for the teen masses to vent the angst of the rigors of youth. This has left an untapped legion of adult metal fans to rely on the more melodic new metal talent that would regularly appear live to rapid fans happy to rock but eager for a much more explosive wave of energy and aggression. Those who have made the valiant attempt to bang the heads of metal loving fans have been met with modest responses from fans grazed on the evil fields of bands such as Slayer who can be more scrutinizing than any well known food critic. Out of the blue arrives KILL RADIUS who after less than a handful of shows are pulling in rapid adult metal fans by the truckload. Below is their story and more through the words of crushing drummer Roman Howerton.
LL - How did this band, who has seemingly come out of nowhere, get together?
RH - I guess about 2 years ago guitarist Craig Amorosi
& former Optimist Prime bassist Scott Baskin were trying to put together a metal band. After figuring out exactly what they wanted to do they started looking for a drummer. Around that time I got fired from Drop level. They found out and hired me on.
LL - You guys looked for a singer for quite a while. What were some of the obstacles/reasons that made it difficult to find one??
RH - Our music. It scared would be singers off. We auditioned so many guys and found nothing forever. A few months back we found a guy from a defunct lokal band. He did put time in but we just couldn't count on him and he just didn't fit us. Enter Qwen10. This guy totally blew us away. He was totally amazing. Definitely in his own zone.
LL - Were most of your tunes written before Qwen10 joined and what part has he played in the bands' songwriting?
RH - Our stuff is actually 2 years old. We tried putting lyrics to music, we asked for outside help to do it. It just couldn't be accomplished. We found Qwen10 on the Lokal Loudness Klassifieds (thank you Stoney for that). Qwen10 is a major player in writing now. Just a plethora of ideas. I do have to say that Craif writes at least 75% of our music. He's amazing!
LL - You guys have a recording with some of the tunes. When & where did you record?
RH - We went to Columbia and found the Jam Room. This happened about 3 months ago. Those guys are great. We got much for out money. Lots of time and attention.
LL - So any plans to record any new material any time soon?
RH - Always. Now with Qwen10 on board we've got a new drive to develop stuff and Craig's steady pimping it out and Scott has plenty as well. Scott by the way is a phenom!
LL - What about a future regular release?
RH - Yup. We want to find some good art or something for a slip cover. We really want to do another run. Can't believe we're almost out of what we already have.
LL - So what was the first official complete band gig and how did it go?
RH - The first was actually the Masters Massacre. MAD RUSH! But it was awesome. That's probably the best way to get us out there. Play with other known bands. We really had a ball.
LL - KILL RADIUS doesn't look like your typical metal band image wise. Do you consider yourselves metal and how do you feel metals "image" has changed since the days when everyone just wore old jeans and Metallica t-shirts?
RH - I definitely don't want to take away from the wild dressed bands but I think we're just more refined/conservative in appearance. I don't think the look takes away from the music. We're definitely metal. Old school is cool.
<LL - What would you consider to be some of the top metal releases of all time?
RH - Pantera "Cowboys from Hell", Messhugah "Nothing", megadeth "Rust in Peace", Anthrax "Persistence of Time", Sepultura "Arrive", Iron Maiden's "Somewhere in Time", Primus "Sailing the Seas of Cheese", Deftones "Adrenaline" and both Chimaira cd's.
LL - What ingedients do you feel make up a kick ass metal band?
RH - Thought in writing. Song structure. Music ability is a must. I love bands like Candiria - jazz to fusion to absolute metal. That's impressive. Not being afraid to push the boundaries. True signature, your own and no one elses.
LL - Describe each member of KILL RADIUS.
RH - Craig is extremly focused and to the point, almost uptight...but we like him this way! A total machine, perfect every time. Writes amazing stuff. Scott is PHENOMINAL! What else can I say? So creative & melodic. Unorthodox. Does his stuff his way. Sure he has influences but Scott is his own. Qwen10 - Where did this guy come from? He completely complements us in every way. How lucky are we? He blows my mind with his onstage antics. We're all in awe of him. Me, I just try to play drums!! (laughs) I'm just happy to be here. New guy Gavin (samples) is just total energy. He's up and coming for future shows. look out for this guy he's multi-talented.
LL - How about a final message for the readers of Lokal Loudness.
RH - Just because a genre isn't your bag, don't knock it. All music is art. It doesn't take much intelliegence to be a smartass or to write something off. Just come out to some shows and have a good tim. Let us ebtertain you.
