Wings Denied, my choice for prog metal band of the year for 2014, are embarking on a January tour with prog death metallers Cryptodira. Wings Denied are touring in support of the excellent Mirrors For A Prince and deliver serious technical skill paired with a killer instinct for brilliant melodies and heavy distortion.
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I could be witty here. I could be sarcastic. This isn’t the time for that. Wings Denied are the type of band who prove how valid metal is as an art form, as human expression on an individual and community and even spiritual level. This D.C. prog band (with an old school kind of 80’s sounding name) are a blend of BTBAM-style/Faceless trickery, solid songwriting and pure chemistry. But they are really on their own trip. This is undeniable music made by real, brilliant players with passion in their blood and a lot on their young minds. The best discovery of the month was learning of this band through my PR friend Zach Shaw (not to be confused w my former Divest bandmate and current Dead Unicorn drummer Zac Shaw).
Mirrors For A Prince, the band’s current album, could appeal to fans of everyone from Coheed to Car Bomb, in pretty equal measure, as well as the other bands I name checked above. Dark at times yet soaring and techy without losing sight of impactful emotion at others, this is the super real deal bomb ass shit, kids!
It is inspiring to hear music and know right away the band really cares about things, just from getting a glimpse into their inspiring work. I had to chat with the group about prog metal names, mental gridlock in society and much more. The thought provoking answers by Zach Dresher (Guitars) and Luka Kerecin (Vocals) are below.
Band photo by Ryan Biller.
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Wings Denied are a must hear metal and proggy hard rock outfit out of D.C. who will get your blood pumping. The band have intelligent, awesome transitions and riffage plus a great range of vocal approaches without the melodic parts ever sucking down the heavy into candy land. Can’t recommend their new Jamie King (BTBAM, Scale The Summit) tracked record Mirrors For A Princeenough. My favorite track is “Neant” featuring Joe Lester of Intronaut. This release has everything from moving piano parts to harsh metal sections to eerie passages and ghostly vocals akin to Dead Letter Circus. Top form stuff.
Now the band have premiered a new lyric video for the song “The Machinist” with Kerrang! Magazine.
In regards to the meaning of the song, vocalist Luka Kerecin shares, “‘The Machinist’ is a tongue-in-cheek criticism of the direction we, as a society, are headed-i.e. false sense of morality, lack of comradeship and overall decay of inherent human values. These have become acceptable, and in some instances encouraged. We are easily manipulated, much like machines and our machinists do with us as they please, discarding us once we’ve served our purpose- but it doesn’t matter as long as you have that new iPhone you’ve always wanted.”
Watch the lyric video for “The Machinist” here.
You can also check out upcoming tour dates here.
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Escuela Grind is one of the most intense AND fun bands out right now in the extreme metal scene. Anyone who has seen the outfit live knows they put on a careening and death-defying show, blending elements of many of the heaviest sub genres into a world changing charge. It has been awesome discovering truly fired up and creative acts such as them, Habak or Hostilities this year, giving me hope for the next generation of ass kickers. When I heard Indoctrination I was hooked and feel blessed Escuela Grind were one of the first bands I caught live when shows revved up again. Long may they reign.
