Byzantine - Biography
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2013-
Biography
Hailing from the backwoods of West Virginia, BYZANTINE was formed in the spring of 2000 by singer and guitarist Chris "OJ" Ojeda, bassist Cid Adams and guitarist Tony Rorhbough. Following the demise of their former bands, Byzantine was just a tool to knock the dust off of their prospective instruments, write some songs and have a little fun away from their day jobs. During this time they employed a simple drum machine to practice with and write their tunes.
During the winter of 2002, BYZANTINE headed into Broadmoor Studios in Huntington, WV to record their first full-length demo with Wolfe on drums. With a very limited budget, this demo was rough around the edges but had a certain aggressiveness and attraction to it that BYZANTINE would soon harness and use to take on the metal world soon after. Their break came when the band's webmaster gave an mp3 of the group's music to Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler. He soon invited them to open a show in Virginia, which led to a small east coast tour and eventually to landing a record deal with Prosthetic Records. Soon after, BYZANTINE released their Prosthetic debut, The Fundamental Component, in February 2004. Coming across like a hybrid of Meshuggah, Pantera and Testament with more than a smidgen of southern groove, The Fundamental Component combined angular guitar riffing and unconventional tempos with roaring thrash rhythms and bellowing vocals which would quickly become the band's trademark sound. During this time BYZANTINE landed high profile gigs with Lamb of God and Shadows Fall as well as playing the main stage of New England Hardcore and Metal Festival in both 2004 and 2006.
After two months of writing and rehearsing and with the amicable departure of bassist Cid Adams, BYZANTINE was ready to record their second album, ?And They Shall Take Up Serpents, which received high praise both abroad and domestically. Having a knack for achieving a perfect balance of chaos and melody 2005's ?And They Shall Take Up Serpents delivered a gloriously metallic racket with boot to the groin, guitar driven metal. Juxtaposing serene soundscapes with hellacious walls of noise, BYZANTINE deliver sledgehammer rhythms and tandem leads that helped pin back some ears and made the musical world of the metal underground take notice.
With the 2007 release of Salvation, a fan-oriented DVD featuring exclusive live performance, bootlegs, behind the scenes footage, in-studio clips from the recording of Serpents, interviews, music tutorials and the uncut version of the "Jeremiad" music video as well as the performance of the never-before released "Cradle Song," BYZANTINE managed to continue storming one more fan at a time and scooping more up along the way.
In January of 2008 the band released their critically acclaimed third album "Oblivion Beckons". Sadly for their fans this would be their last offering as they announced they were disbanding less than a month after the album's release.
(Source: http://www.prostheticrecords.com/bands/byzantine/4.php)
During the winter of 2002, BYZANTINE headed into Broadmoor Studios in Huntington, WV to record their first full-length demo with Wolfe on drums. With a very limited budget, this demo was rough around the edges but had a certain aggressiveness and attraction to it that BYZANTINE would soon harness and use to take on the metal world soon after. Their break came when the band's webmaster gave an mp3 of the group's music to Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler. He soon invited them to open a show in Virginia, which led to a small east coast tour and eventually to landing a record deal with Prosthetic Records. Soon after, BYZANTINE released their Prosthetic debut, The Fundamental Component, in February 2004. Coming across like a hybrid of Meshuggah, Pantera and Testament with more than a smidgen of southern groove, The Fundamental Component combined angular guitar riffing and unconventional tempos with roaring thrash rhythms and bellowing vocals which would quickly become the band's trademark sound. During this time BYZANTINE landed high profile gigs with Lamb of God and Shadows Fall as well as playing the main stage of New England Hardcore and Metal Festival in both 2004 and 2006.
After two months of writing and rehearsing and with the amicable departure of bassist Cid Adams, BYZANTINE was ready to record their second album, ?And They Shall Take Up Serpents, which received high praise both abroad and domestically. Having a knack for achieving a perfect balance of chaos and melody 2005's ?And They Shall Take Up Serpents delivered a gloriously metallic racket with boot to the groin, guitar driven metal. Juxtaposing serene soundscapes with hellacious walls of noise, BYZANTINE deliver sledgehammer rhythms and tandem leads that helped pin back some ears and made the musical world of the metal underground take notice.
With the 2007 release of Salvation, a fan-oriented DVD featuring exclusive live performance, bootlegs, behind the scenes footage, in-studio clips from the recording of Serpents, interviews, music tutorials and the uncut version of the "Jeremiad" music video as well as the performance of the never-before released "Cradle Song," BYZANTINE managed to continue storming one more fan at a time and scooping more up along the way.
In January of 2008 the band released their critically acclaimed third album "Oblivion Beckons". Sadly for their fans this would be their last offering as they announced they were disbanding less than a month after the album's release.
(Source: http://www.prostheticrecords.com/bands/byzantine/4.php)