Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Auditory Armory formed in late 2010, with April Montallana and former drummer, Mike Owens. At that time, April intended on primarily performing as an acoustic project; it evolved into a full four-piece band when Oscar Garcia replaced Mike on drums in 2011 and when Justice Maynard (bass) and Dennis Burns (lead guitar) joined the band in 2012. All four members of Auditory Armory met each other through mutual friends in the Orlando music scene and were once involved in another band together, called Fields of Glass, which was a symphonic heavy metal band from the Central Florida area.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We think that this should always be a difficult question to answer for any artist out there. All four of us have similarities in musical taste, but vary in our musical influences, which I think lends to our unique brand of alt-metal. At the end of the day, it is what helps us stay continuously creative without falling into monotony. We’d like to think of our style as A Perfect Circle meets Soundgarden meets British Prog with hard edge. Collectively, some of the bands that have influenced our music are: Tool, Soundgarden, Tori Amos, Testament, Anthrax, Megadeth, Faith No More, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, The Contortionist, God Is An Astronaut, and Monuments.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Between all our influences in different types of metal, we believe we have something to offer for any metalhead with an open mind. We have songs that are very melodic, but we also have songs with thrashy and technical guitar work. We actually get mosh pits at our shows too, haha! We’d like to think of our music as a good blend of metal, hard rock, alternative, grunge, post rock, and ambient -- and it would be a good dose for any metalhead tired of listening to the same stuff that’s always played on the radio.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
So far, we have released “Anomaly” in 2012 and “The Awakening” in 2014, with our new EP “Dark Matter” due for release this year. The public and media received the releases well; we had a packed venue for both CD release shows. With each album, we have progressed in our evolution as a band, incorporating more of our varied influences into each new recording.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Yes, we play live quite often! We are probably one of the most recognized rock acts in Central Florida; we were also selected to play the 2016 Annual Kink Fest last November, alongside national artists such as Evanescence, In Flames, and Hellyeah! But we also play shows all over Florida, from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa and many places in between. We are looking to start playing shows beyond Florida by the end of this year.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
They should know that we are a band with a brand of rock music that does not fit in one particular mold, and they should be interested because it is something unique and exciting. To be honest, there are so many good undiscovered music artists out there, but then there’s also a lot of the same type of rock band out there – an X amount of bands with a hot female singer and lackluster music, an X amount of bands who wear face paint that make mediocre music, an X amount of bands that just want to do breakdowns, and so on and so forth. We are hard-working musicians with no bullshit or egos. We are extremely appreciative of our audience and all of the people who have helped us get to the point we are at today. We are dedicated to creating energy and emotion in our music and creating that special connection music has with a listener. Our music and lyrics have substance with a variety of mood and stylistic changes, so the listener is always captivated and well, - listening.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Our plans for the near future of this band are to extend a touring schedule to venues outside of Florida (probably starting with the East coast and moving northward), to keep pushing our music out there with the possibility of capturing label attention, and to keep writing new music that breaks boundaries and stereotypes.
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can purchase our music through CDBaby, Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes. Our music is also available to listen to on Spotify. Our merch website is http://auditoryarmory.bigcartel.com/.
June 2017