User:Out of the Black (band)/sandbox

Out of the Black are a Welsh metal band from Blaenavon formed in 2016. Their musical style mixes heavy metal, progressive rock and djent with a large focus on lyrical content confronting controversial and unusual themes. The band is known for their energetic live performances as well as the shared lead vocals between guitarist Steven Priest and Bassist Kevin Timothy. They have recorded and released two EPs and two music videos to date.

History Out of the Black began as a three-piece heavy rock covers band consisting of guitarist and vocalist Steven Priest, bassist and vocalist Kevin Timothy and drummer Casey Thomas. The band gained popularity in the south Wales area; especially with motorcycle clubs as the band performed high-energy live performances and dared to play the heavier songs that most cover bands avoided. Bassist and vocalist Kevin reflects;

“We were all in covers bands before and we were pretty fed up with playing the same old songs that every other cover band played. We agreed to play only the songs which we enjoyed playing. We were really surprised and pleased by people’s positive reactions when we played the heavier material and that gave us a buzz. We would cover the more obscure songs by Incubus, Deftones Rage Against the Machine, Metallica and Black Sabbath. We once had one guy come up to us in a show and ask if we played any covers? That’s when we were like; we may as well be playing original material!”

Out of the Black have since recorded and released 2 EPs comprising original material written by the band. The band continue to play a mixture of cover songs and original songs at their shows.

EPs The first self-titled EP was recorded and released in the summer of 2018 and was comprised of 4 tracks, all controversially themed around religion. The band’s debut single and third track on the recording ‘Captured’ holds one of the most controversial themes of the recording as it portrays the emotions of an innocent prisoner held hostage by a religious extremist group. A music video was made and released shortly after which reflects the provocative theme. The opening track ‘Sins of our Fathers’ deals with the harsh subject of child abuse within the Catholic Church. ’72 Virgins’ the second track on the EP is a recount of the London bridge terrorist attacks in 2017. The fourth and final track attacks the Church’s tithing system.

The band’s second EP ‘Observer’ was recorded and released in the summer of 2019. It exposes a maturity and grounding in songwriting that has evolved since their first release and it is the band’s strongest lyrically to date. Drummer Casey explains;

“I really think we found our sound the second time around. We didn’t compromise on anything and we worked so hard on the themes of each song. It was important to us to not only have good music but to make the subjects meaningful and authentic. We were really proud of our themes in the first release and wanted to delve even deeper lyrically”.

The EP comprises of 5 tracks with topics that range from scientology to quantum physics. The second track and single ‘Stoned ape theory’ is based on the work of American ethnobotanist Terrance McKenna. The song highlights the suggestion that early brain development in the primitive ages was a direct result of ingesting mycelium. The band has planned to release a music video to support the single later in the year. The opening track ‘Down the Rabbit hole’ is an attempt to sum up the methodology of scientology. ‘Delayed choice quantum eraser’, the third track is the band’s most extraordinary theme to date. The song tries to portray the bizarre behavior of a photon passing through a double slit depending whether or not it is being observed. The final two tracks; ‘God of the Gaps’ and ‘Perfection of Narcissism’ sees a return to anti-religious themes that the band are very passionate about.

Style Out of the Black’s music is a blend of rock, metal and djent that exhibit a diverse range of influences including Tool, Mastodon, System of a Down, and Faith No More. Their unique sound can be attributed to the duel vocal lead by both singers and crushing polyrhythmic sequences forged by severe riff patterns and odd time signatures. Guitarist and vocalist Steve explains;

“We are all huge fans of music! We try our very best to include hints of our influences in our songs. I suppose most bands go out of their way to get that ‘original’ sound but we try our best to pay homage to the best bits of our musical heroes.”