The Armed
Encyclopedia
The Armed is a six-piece band from Detroit
, Michigan
playing a blend of hardcore punk
and extreme metal
since 2009. Three of its members—Chris Elkjar, Tony Wolski, and Aaron Jones—were previously in another Detroit-based hardcore punk band, Slicer Dicer. The Armed play several Slicer Dicer songs in live shows and included two, Terrordactyl and Buy A Snake, on their first full-length album, These Are Lights.
esized elements in some of their songs. The vocals are most often yelled in the style of hardcore punk.
. Their shows were characterized by an energetic stage show featuring intense lighting and excitable stage antics from the band, including playing in the crowd and inciting the crowd to mosh
with the band. They broke up in late 2008, but three of their members went on to form The Armed and have continued to have a similarly energetic live show.
They released their first full-length album, These Are Lights, on July 6, 2009. It was self-recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou
at Godcity and mastered by Nick Zampiello and Rob Gonella at New Alliance East.
As of 2010, the band has announced a new free EP titled Friends Through Common Enemies was made available for free download on May 11, 2010. The album is also available for purchase from the band's website on a limited edition orange 7". The album features drummer Chris Pennie
formerly of The Dillinger Escape Plan
and currently in Coheed and Cambria
playing drums on one track, as well as saxophonist Mike Jones.
Their stage lighting setup has been compared to that of mathcore
band Botch
.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
playing a blend of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
since 2009. Three of its members—Chris Elkjar, Tony Wolski, and Aaron Jones—were previously in another Detroit-based hardcore punk band, Slicer Dicer. The Armed play several Slicer Dicer songs in live shows and included two, Terrordactyl and Buy A Snake, on their first full-length album, These Are Lights.
Description
The group's musical style consists of complex guitar work and off-time polyrhythmic drumming. They also include synthSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
esized elements in some of their songs. The vocals are most often yelled in the style of hardcore punk.
History
Slicer Dicer was formed in 2006 in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. Their shows were characterized by an energetic stage show featuring intense lighting and excitable stage antics from the band, including playing in the crowd and inciting the crowd to mosh
Mosh
Moshing is a dance in which participants push or slam into each other. They also flail their limbs to breakdowns of hardcore punk and its sub-genres. It is most associated with aggressive music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal...
with the band. They broke up in late 2008, but three of their members went on to form The Armed and have continued to have a similarly energetic live show.
They released their first full-length album, These Are Lights, on July 6, 2009. It was self-recorded and mixed by Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou
Kurt Ballou is the guitarist from Massachusetts-based band Converge. Aside from his role in Converge, he is a prolific producer, engineering and producing out of his own Godcity studio.- GodCity studio :...
at Godcity and mastered by Nick Zampiello and Rob Gonella at New Alliance East.
As of 2010, the band has announced a new free EP titled Friends Through Common Enemies was made available for free download on May 11, 2010. The album is also available for purchase from the band's website on a limited edition orange 7". The album features drummer Chris Pennie
Chris Pennie
Chris Pennie is the former drummer for the progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria and former drummer and co-founder of mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan.-Background:...
formerly of The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
and currently in Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York. Formed in 1995, the group incorporates aspects of progressive rock, punk rock, metal and post-hardcore....
playing drums on one track, as well as saxophonist Mike Jones.
Their stage lighting setup has been compared to that of mathcore
Mathcore
Mathcore is a rhythmically complex and dissonant fusion style of hardcore punk and Metal. It has its roots in bands such as Converge, Botch, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. The term mathcore is suggested by analogy with math rock. Both math rock and mathcore make use of unusual time signatures...
band Botch
Botch (band)
Botch was a four-piece mathcore band from Tacoma, Washington, United States, that formed in 1993 and disbanded in 2002.-History:The band released two full-length albums and a handful of smaller releases including several singles and an EP. Its members went on an indefinite hiatus to form Roy,...
.
Members
- Chris Elkjar - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Aaron Jones - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Kenny Szymanski - bass guitar
- Tony Wolski - drums, lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, vocals - Chris Blondeman - SynthSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, Stage Lighting
EPs
- Friends Through Common Enemies (Free online release, May 11, 2010)
- Young & Beautiful (Free online release, October 11, 2011)