Life on any local scene means bands come and, unfortunately, bands also go. The latter is the case for one city band now that Deathtax are officially calling it a day following an impressive 11-year run.
During their time, the metal act have released two EPs, 2018’s Vol. I: Ever Since the Storm and 2021’s Are We Left No Other Choice. They also released four singles, including “Crepuscular” on March 20.
On top of their releases, they performed an abundance of shows locally and regionally, had a few member changes, changed their name from Louisiana Lot Lizards, plus all of the other typical band mayhem, while Joey Kaufman has been the constant.
The band’s final appearance will be on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. at American Legion Post 241, 7605 Bluffton Road, with friends King’s Gambit and 89 Letters.
They will also be releasing an EP titled Called Home in the near future as a nice farewell gift.
Thanks for the memories!
Grounds working their way up
Grounds have been around a couple years, but are starting to make some waves on the local scene.
The noise/garage rockers perform mostly originals but slide in some covers now and again. One of their most covered songs is “Wolf Like Me” by indie rockers TV on the Radio.
Grounds consist of C.J. Dolby on drums, Logan Thacker on bass, and Alex Tillinghast on guitar/vocals. Together, they have a five-song EP, Good Luck, under their belts which can be found on your favorite streaming platform.
They are also gearing up to record their first full-length album early next year, so stay tuned to Whatzup for that.
You can catch Grounds on Friday, Dec. 22, in Stan’s Room at Piere’s alongside To Breathe Again, OLC, and Silverpond.
Black metal enters the scene
Vile Eyes are fresh to the scene, taking inspiration from European black metal.
“We want to bring the mystery and mysticism around black metal to the Midwest, as there aren’t many Fort Wayne black metal bands that do the classic second wave of black metal,” said vocalist Soroa, who is joined by Kerrik on guitar and Draven on bass.
They released their In the Mirror EP last month. It can be found on all major streaming platforms and is available on cassette at vileeyes.bandcamp.com.
On Friday, Nov. 17, they will release a new single, “One True God,” and will perform an all-ages show at The Ruin the following evening with friends Damage, Samarra, and Still I Rise, and Cocaine Culture.
Sunny Taylor album now streaming
On 11/11/11, Sunny Taylor released a four-song self-titled EP that featured the tracks “Trucker,” “Highway Drive,” “Paper Tiger,” and “Break My Heart.”
At the time, it was only released on CD for your listening pleasure. Now, 12 years later, the EP can now be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Taylor is also remastering her 2014 album, Map to the Fire, which will also be available to stream soon.
You can catch Taylor at Tap House at the Square in St. Marys, Ohio, on Saturday, Nov. 11 and at the Club Room on Dec. 5 during their weekly Smooth Tuesdays set.
Taylor will also be with her women of rock tribute band Whoa, Man! on Dec. 8 at the Club Room and Dec. 22 at Sylvan Cellars Event Center in Rome City for their Christmas Break Kickoff.
Local singer has band in Chile
Local singer Gary Wayne will release a new album with his thrash metal band Nimrod on Dec. 1.
Why does that name not ring a bell? Well, that’s because the band is actually from Santiago, Chile. That’s right, Wayne sings for a band 5,000 miles away but pulls it off well.
It all started when he met founding member/guitarist Chris Ira through Wayne Smith, who owns Last Man Standing Music + More, in Defiance, Ohio.
An instant bond was formed, which led to Wayne singing on two albums: 2017’s God of War and Chaos and the new album, Legacy of the Dead.
When asked how he makes this all work, Wayne said: “First, the band sends me a pre-demo of the music, and then I come up with the lyrics and melodies and do a rough draft in my mini studio and then send back to them. Sometimes we leave it alone or change little things, and when it’s complete I send over the (audio files) to them.”
The first single off the new album, “Mortality of the Seas,” is on streaming platforms.
There are plans for Nimrod to team up for a tour as well as release a couple videos. Hopefully, we get to see them live here in the Fort sometime soon.
Until then, you can catch Wayne fronting Cougar Hunter on Nov. 11 at Vinnie’s in Decatur, Dec. 16 at Hanger 9 in Auburn, and Dec. 31 at Mitchell’s.
He tells me he even has another project brewing with details coming soon.
Geez, this man’s busy!
