Nylithia - Biography
Logo
2011-
Biography
Nylithia was founded in 2008 by Royce Costa (guitars), Tyler Erhardt (drums), and Kyle Scott (vocals). The word "Nylithia" was created out of the conceptual idea of a nihilistic utopia, which in itself is contradictory since it is impossible for a nihilist to have a utopia when there is no option for a perfect world within their view. With that in mind, Royce, Kyle, and Tyler set out to create a soundtrack of calamity; a sound which would be uniquely identifiable in its overall tone and unbridled aggression. Soon after the first rehearsal sessions, bassist Nathan Rothstein was added into the fold, and the stage was set to bring the hyperthrash sound to a wider audience.
In the fall of 2008, the Infector EP was mixed, recorded, and released to public. The album was recorded entirely within the confines of Royce's basement, in addition to all the subsequent mixing and mastering. With the release of the EP, it was decided that it was time to perform the album in front of a live audience, with the same voracity and sound which we created in the production of the album. The first show was a sold out, all ages affair that was staged in the rural town of Abbotsford, British Columbia, not far down the road from humble beginnings of Nylithia in Langley, British Columbia. Not even 4 bars into the opening track "Infector", the fuse panel in the old hall blew and knocked out power to the entirety of the building. Fans inside screamed for more and after power was returned, a mosh pit ensued as people clamoured to release their various aggression and passion through shoulder to shoulder contact. This was a sight to be repeated at every show from there on in. Be it in front of 2 people or 200 people, Nylithia has always been a project that incites action in those who observe and hear it.
The following summer was comprised of endless gigs and touring within the confines of the lower mainland and outlying areas. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2009, things began to take a turn for the worst for founding drummer Tyler Erhardt. Friends and family began noticing exceptionally eccentric behavior and reclusiveness in the talented young drummer. He began speaking of things which sounded vaguely routed in religious context, but misconstrued into his own personal beliefs surrounding his purpose in life. Within the band, it became quickly apparent that he was struggling with serious demons inside of his own mind. Despite several attempts to route out the problem on behalf of those around him, Tyler quickly began to fall into a deeper and darker depression and eventually fell completely off the societal map. He retreated to the forested areas in the outskirts of Surrey, Langley, and Abbotsford, where he attempted to live off the grid with a 50+ year old self described spiritual guru that was formerly his landlord. He moved from place to place until finally he completely disappeared. Since then, no other contact or sighting has been made.
In the time span where Tyler began to loose grasp on reality, Nylithia found a drummer in the form of Dustin Hunter (ex-Mastic, Cobra Triangle) to fill in on touring and show commitments throughout the remainder of 2009. He filled in valiantly on the drums through to early 2010, when he amicably parted ways. At this point, Nylithia had found a drummer named Jon Morrison who appeared set to join the band for the 30 day Cross Canada InfecTour in the summer of 2010, only to quit the band via email 3 days before the tour kick-off show on Vancouver Island. With the future of the tour looking dire, Royce received a phone call from one Dan Yakimow, an old acquaintance/drummer/promoter who actually set up the afore mentioned inaugural Nylithia show. In a dramatic turn of events, Dan had become available at just the right time, and he began rehearsing with the band and practicing on his own to prepare for the 45 minute set that would be played nightly. Since 3 days was not enough time to adequately prepare, Dan was essentially given the keys to the rehearsal room as Nylithia embarked on the first 3 dates of the tour on Vancouver Island, armed with exported drum tracks from the sessions Tyler had on the Infector EP. Although a difficult proposition, the shows went remarkably smoothly and the bands trusty 1973 propane powered motorhome, affectionately named "Good Sam", trudged throughout the island to return for the Vancouver date with the newly acquired Dan Yakimow on the skins. After returning from the subsequent tour with a wealth of new experiences and knowledge regarding the inexistence of automotive propane in eastern Canada, production on the new album began immediately. At that time, founding bass player Nathan Rothstein amicably left the band as well to pursue other ventures outside of music, thus leaving the door open for prodigal 19 year old bass player Nikko Whitworth to step in and record bass for the Hyperthrash sessions.
The new album entitled Hyperthrash has been tackled with a decidedly different approach to the dated "album" concept that has been a stalwart in the music industry since its inception. This time, the focus was to put all efforts and energy into each song individually, instead of looking at them as a simple piece of the album puzzle. It was important to make sure that each song stood individually on its own, as put forth in the band's mission statement regarding Hyperthrash: "Our process so far has been to produce and release a song at a time, each with its unique concept, artwork and video, free to any audience who cares, with a view to putting as much value and radness into each tune as possible. Then we use the revenue from live shows and local & online merch sales to finance the next one.
So we're putting out a steady stream of content over a period of time, revenue neutral, to try & build demand for our sound. I think it keeps people aware, so that when we decide to maybe put 8 or 9 songs on CD or vinyl (of which there is one in production, 5 more ready to track) there'll be some interest there.
The most exciting thing has been the international interest we see in the form of foreign language fan pages, shout-outs & international merch orders that spike each time we put out something new, thanks to the power of the internet. I think our biggest goals at the moment include paying these folks a visit at some point."
With the band continuing on as an independent entity, Hyperthrash is currently being released song by song in order to propel it above the swarms of rock and metal being released simultaneously throughout the scene. Nylithia has always taken a unique approach to everything they do, and the writing, recording, and releasing of the opus that is Hyperthrash, will be no exception.
In the fall of 2008, the Infector EP was mixed, recorded, and released to public. The album was recorded entirely within the confines of Royce's basement, in addition to all the subsequent mixing and mastering. With the release of the EP, it was decided that it was time to perform the album in front of a live audience, with the same voracity and sound which we created in the production of the album. The first show was a sold out, all ages affair that was staged in the rural town of Abbotsford, British Columbia, not far down the road from humble beginnings of Nylithia in Langley, British Columbia. Not even 4 bars into the opening track "Infector", the fuse panel in the old hall blew and knocked out power to the entirety of the building. Fans inside screamed for more and after power was returned, a mosh pit ensued as people clamoured to release their various aggression and passion through shoulder to shoulder contact. This was a sight to be repeated at every show from there on in. Be it in front of 2 people or 200 people, Nylithia has always been a project that incites action in those who observe and hear it.
The following summer was comprised of endless gigs and touring within the confines of the lower mainland and outlying areas. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2009, things began to take a turn for the worst for founding drummer Tyler Erhardt. Friends and family began noticing exceptionally eccentric behavior and reclusiveness in the talented young drummer. He began speaking of things which sounded vaguely routed in religious context, but misconstrued into his own personal beliefs surrounding his purpose in life. Within the band, it became quickly apparent that he was struggling with serious demons inside of his own mind. Despite several attempts to route out the problem on behalf of those around him, Tyler quickly began to fall into a deeper and darker depression and eventually fell completely off the societal map. He retreated to the forested areas in the outskirts of Surrey, Langley, and Abbotsford, where he attempted to live off the grid with a 50+ year old self described spiritual guru that was formerly his landlord. He moved from place to place until finally he completely disappeared. Since then, no other contact or sighting has been made.
In the time span where Tyler began to loose grasp on reality, Nylithia found a drummer in the form of Dustin Hunter (ex-Mastic, Cobra Triangle) to fill in on touring and show commitments throughout the remainder of 2009. He filled in valiantly on the drums through to early 2010, when he amicably parted ways. At this point, Nylithia had found a drummer named Jon Morrison who appeared set to join the band for the 30 day Cross Canada InfecTour in the summer of 2010, only to quit the band via email 3 days before the tour kick-off show on Vancouver Island. With the future of the tour looking dire, Royce received a phone call from one Dan Yakimow, an old acquaintance/drummer/promoter who actually set up the afore mentioned inaugural Nylithia show. In a dramatic turn of events, Dan had become available at just the right time, and he began rehearsing with the band and practicing on his own to prepare for the 45 minute set that would be played nightly. Since 3 days was not enough time to adequately prepare, Dan was essentially given the keys to the rehearsal room as Nylithia embarked on the first 3 dates of the tour on Vancouver Island, armed with exported drum tracks from the sessions Tyler had on the Infector EP. Although a difficult proposition, the shows went remarkably smoothly and the bands trusty 1973 propane powered motorhome, affectionately named "Good Sam", trudged throughout the island to return for the Vancouver date with the newly acquired Dan Yakimow on the skins. After returning from the subsequent tour with a wealth of new experiences and knowledge regarding the inexistence of automotive propane in eastern Canada, production on the new album began immediately. At that time, founding bass player Nathan Rothstein amicably left the band as well to pursue other ventures outside of music, thus leaving the door open for prodigal 19 year old bass player Nikko Whitworth to step in and record bass for the Hyperthrash sessions.
The new album entitled Hyperthrash has been tackled with a decidedly different approach to the dated "album" concept that has been a stalwart in the music industry since its inception. This time, the focus was to put all efforts and energy into each song individually, instead of looking at them as a simple piece of the album puzzle. It was important to make sure that each song stood individually on its own, as put forth in the band's mission statement regarding Hyperthrash: "Our process so far has been to produce and release a song at a time, each with its unique concept, artwork and video, free to any audience who cares, with a view to putting as much value and radness into each tune as possible. Then we use the revenue from live shows and local & online merch sales to finance the next one.
So we're putting out a steady stream of content over a period of time, revenue neutral, to try & build demand for our sound. I think it keeps people aware, so that when we decide to maybe put 8 or 9 songs on CD or vinyl (of which there is one in production, 5 more ready to track) there'll be some interest there.
The most exciting thing has been the international interest we see in the form of foreign language fan pages, shout-outs & international merch orders that spike each time we put out something new, thanks to the power of the internet. I think our biggest goals at the moment include paying these folks a visit at some point."
With the band continuing on as an independent entity, Hyperthrash is currently being released song by song in order to propel it above the swarms of rock and metal being released simultaneously throughout the scene. Nylithia has always taken a unique approach to everything they do, and the writing, recording, and releasing of the opus that is Hyperthrash, will be no exception.