“River (guitar) and I have been working on this project for years, but we were never able to put together a permanent lineup,” singer Jacob tells me the story behind the formation of Warmachine, a Denver band that many No Echo readers will enjoy.
The frontman continues: “We just always had the idea in our heads to start a crossover band, as we were both huge fans of Suicidal Tendencies and Slayer when we were younger and wanted to find like-minded people for this project. We talked to Alex (guitar) about replacements and put our heads together to find Connor (drums), who I also grew up with in Northern Colorado, and Jack (bass), who I recently became friends with through the scene.”
Warmachine caught my attention through their eponymous debut EP, which was released on streaming platforms earlier this summer. “If I had to describe our style, it would be metal hardcore with a lot of influences from older thrash/death metal. If I had to choose one word, it would be ‘crossover’. My personal influences for this band are the bands listed previously, as well as Power Trip, Liar’s Tongue, Primal Rite and Forced Order.”
“Lyrically, my influences come from a lot of dark fantasy novels and video games,” laughs Jacob. “There are a lot of references to Berserker, World of Warcraft, Elden Ringas well as Dark Souls.
The EP was recorded, mixed and mastered by another childhood friend of mine and River, Alex Carrillo. It has everything we look for in hardcore, consisting of hard and fast guitar riffs, heavy mosh parts as well as catchy sing-along parts in every track.”
From the sounds of it, Jacob and his band have other musical commitments to consider, but they’re ready to make it happen. “Two of our members are currently touring Europe with their other bands (Mindz Eye and Moral Law), but once they’re back, we’ll team up and play quite a bit.”
“We’ve already talked about starting to write our next EP and hopefully releasing it before the end of the year now that we finally have a full lineup of great musicians. If all goes well, we’re also looking to do a little tour of the Southwest with some friends in the fall, so keep an eye out for that if you live in the area.”
Over the past few years, I’ve covered a steady stream of Colorado bands, and Jacob reminds me why:
“Denver and Colorado Springs are a hotspot for great hardcore/metalcore/punk bands. Shoutout to Mouth For War, Mindz Eye, Moral Law, Writheinfear, Backlip, Destiny Bond, Playn for Keeps, Wide Man, Eyes of Salt, Spear of Cassius, 10 To The Chest, Direct Threat, Time X Heist, Raw Breed, Candy Apple, Wolfblitzer, Sewerslide and anyone else I may have forgotten.”
At the end of our conversation, the singer shows some extra love: “I also want to give a big shout out to D3 Arts, the best DIY venue in the world.”
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Warmachine on social media: Instagram
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