Originally posted on June 24th, 2023
Today my Artist of the Week is the Heavy Metal Band Madzilla!
Madzilla is:
David Cabezas (Lead Vocals/Guitar)
Daniel Gortaire (Background Vocals/Bass)
Luis Zevallos (Drums)
Ian García (Guitar)
Here’s their story in their own words:
David: “Daniel and I started this project together in late 2018, and played as many shows as we could. Then, a couple months before the Covid 19 lockdown, we had the privilege of supporting Soulfly on tour along the West Coast. When the lockdown happened we unexpectedly had to switch gears, and spent a whole year writing music and releasing singles. Luis joined right as the world was reopening. Thirsty for live performances, we got back onstage at the Warlando Metal Fest, which included Judas Priest, Sabaton, Soulfly, and more. Since then we’ve been playing live as often as we can, including touring alongside The Veer Union and 2 Shadows, as well as sharing the Vegas stage with great bands like Allegaeon, Texas Hippie Coalition, Late Night Savior, Adema, and more. Our latest addition is Ian, who after a killer audition has been shredding with us for most of this year.”
Their Influences:
“We all share great inspiration from the thrash metal era of Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer. But we’ve also grown, musically speaking, by listening to more progressive bands like Gojira or Mastodon.”
On their new album and the evolution of their music:
“Since we started in 2018, the Madzilla image has been represented by our monster friend “Zilla”, who is a metaphorical representation of the dark side of human nature. In our upcoming album, ‘A Deadly Threat’, Zilla is portraying the extremes to which greed can take a power hungry mind, and its irreparable consequences. This album really encompasses all the musical growth we have experienced in the last few years by sharing the stage with such amazing bands and working with a great team offstage.”
Here’s what they said about their last single “Your Nemesis” (and my personal favorite song right now!):
“‘Your Nemesis’ is a graphic representation of a guilty conscience. Knowing that one has done wrong where it can grow to a point that your mind can become its own nemesis. The video presents Zilla portraying that feeling, hunting them down and becoming judge, jury, and executioner of those evil souls who bring pain to others. The song is also written in ⅞ time signature, which emphasizes the uneasy feeling.”
Listen to “Your Nemesis” on Spotify:
On their live shows and what they want the audience to experience with their music:
“We want people to feel connected with our music and just have fun, headbang and hope to awaken the passion that we have for music in them.We believe that every professional musician has, at some point in their life, been to a show that ignited their passion for creating music, and we just want to share that feeling with them. If you haven’t been to a Madzilla show, don’t miss out!!”
What I love about Madzilla is their passion for what they do and how that translates into their music. It’s intense, unrelenting, it’s rock! Their electric live shows bring a new height to what a metal band should be and will make you come back for more. Like all these wonderful bands in town, I see a wonderful future for Madzilla, they are definitely ones to watch. And that’s why they are my VMS Artist of the Week!
Their new album, ‘A Deadly Threat’, will be out later this year!! Stay tuned!!
Check out www.madzillalvband.com for all the upcoming shows and other info about the Band.
***Pictures Courtesy of David comes courtesy of Ruben Martinez, @vegasphotoexperience and All the other photos are from Tiffany Salerno, @halfstop***
——Vegas Music Scene