Hello Rockstars! Today’s Artist of the week is Hardcore / Groove Metal band SERRATED!
Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy!
VMS:
“When did you start writing and performing your music. What’s your backstory and current lineup.”
SERRATED:
Current Lineup is:
Judah – Vocals
Landon – Drums
Jacob – Guitar
Kenzo – Bass
“Landon (drummer) and Jacob (guitarist) we’re already friends and loved jamming together. For about 3 years they would jam to covers until they decided to write some instrumentals. Around July 11th 2023 Serrated was formed with Jacob and Landon being the only members. They texted a friend of a friend after seeing them play guitar on their story. That man was Judah. We asked him if had ever wanted to be in a band and he said yes. He joined as our bassist but that decision changed after seeing him doing some screaming vocals over the song “One by Metallica” during a rehearsal. After that we knew he was gonna be our vocalist.
After that we went through 2 more bassists before we found who we thought was gonna be our secured bassist. His name was Cash and he played with us for our first 3 shows (our only shows).
He left the band a couple days after our 3rd show. We’ve had 3 shows so far; 1st one was at battle of the bands at the Water Street Plaza March 30th 2024, 2nd was at American Legion Post May 25th 2024, and 3rd was at Cemetery Pulp June 21st 2024.*”
(*Since these questions were answered they have played the following shows:
#4th: August 9th at Eagle Aerie Hall.
#5th: Sept.13th at Brew It Coffee House.
#6th: Sept. 28th Voodoo Brewery Co for PUNX FEED THE HOMELESS.
#7th:Oct. 20th at Taverna Costera.)
Here’s a live stream I did of their show on Oct.20th at Taverna Costera:
VMS:
“What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.”
SERRATED:
“Our inspirations are Lamb Of God, Drain, Meshuggah, Pantera, and Slipknot.”
VMS:
“What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.”
SERRATED:
But mainly Jacob and Landon write the song instrumentally. Then after that, we get to lyrics and vocal melodies. We let Judah take control but we do give our thought and what we think the song should sound like and how the vocals should sound. There are songs where Landon has taken over with lyrics and vocals, Like “Reincarnation”. But it’s really not something we decide, just feel out.”
VMS:
“I love your songs “How Far We’ve Fallen (demo ’24)”, “Hooray for Freedom (demo ’24) ” and “Torment (demo ’24)”. What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.”
Serrated:
“”Torment” is inspired by horror movies and lyrically death metal. The song is about internally torturing someone forever. This song is very Lamb Of God inspired instrument wise.
“Hooray for Freedom” is written about revolution, corruption, and change. The vocals and lyrics were inspired by Rage Against The Machine. But the instruments are heavily inspired by all types of nu metal.
“How Far We’ve Fallen” is HEAVILY inspired by TOOL. This song is about world leaders seeing how the world actually is and not just how it looks from their ivory tower. To see how downhill things have gotten, to see how far we’ve fallen.
We’ve recorded and mixed all of our songs on our own. Our last release “How Far We’ve Fallen”, we got a ton of new recording equipment that we paid with from merch and show sales!”
VMS:
“Which local artist would you like to work with and why.”
SERRATED:
“We are close friends with the band The Dollheads, we would love to write music with them someday, and another band by the name of Tragic Dreams. We really love their sound and we’ve had some shows with them. Really cool dudes. To write music with somebody there needs to be good ideas and respect for one another. And I think they have those qualities.”
VMS:
“What’s your overall theme or message of your music.”
SERRATED:
“We don’t have a specific message in our music. Most of our lyrics consist of violence, murder, corrupted government, people who have wronged us, and cool monsters Judah likes (lol).
Our message to the crowd at shows is to have fun, be respectful, don’t hurt each other too bad, and get ready for this heavy ass breakdown.”
VMS:
“Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.”
SERRATED:
Each members favorite song to perform live:
Judah – “Torment” or “Serrated”.
Jacob – “How Far We’ve Fallen”.
Landon – “Reincarnation” or “Serrated”.”
VMS:
“Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.”
SERRATED:
“The first practice we had with Judah we wrote ALL of “How Far We’ve Fallen”. Our song “Order For Paul” is based off of something Jacob and Landon liked to do as a prank. An order for Paul is when you grab a hand full of ice from the ice machine at a hotel and walk down the halls until you can’t feel your hands anymore and you have to drop the ice. Whatever door it lands on you have to knock on it and yell “ORDER FOR PAUL” and then run off as fast as you can.
Our Last show the whole crowd sung along to “Hooray For Freedom” and that was a very crazy moment for us too!”
VMS:
“What does the future hold for Serrated.”
SERRATED:
“More shows, more music, more fans, more HEAVY BREAKDOWNS, more complex song structures. Maybe an EP soon who knows.”
VMS:
“What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.”
SERRATED:
“We want our audience to express their love for the music IN THE PIT. Run around, push and shove.
Have fun and enjoy the performance.”
Vegas Music Scene Thoughts:
What I love about SERRATED is their amazing musicianship and their electric live show. I knew they were crazy talented when I heard their songs, but getting the privilege of seeing them live on Oct. 20th at Taverna Costera was truly something magical. They might be new to the music scene, but they do not mess around live! Judah’s vocals were powerful, raw and guttural, you could tell he was truly singing from his heart and his passion for what he does is palpable. He also had a wonderfully commanding stage presence, that audience was truly grooving along with him. I know if they could have started a Mosh pit at a restaurant they would have. (lmao).
Landon, Jacob, and Kenzo have a wonderful electric energy, a amazing force to what they were playing, you can tell they are hungry and are not playing around. All of them are outstanding musicians who are here to rock your face off, and have a skill set that is beyond their years, they are definitely ones to watch out for! Musically they are no holds barred with their lyrics and sound. Talking about the government, horror, revolution and change, giving them such a unique voice in their lyrics and such a strong force to their music with their amazing guitar riffs and sound, that I can’t wait for an inevitable EP one day. I encourage you to not only listen and purchase their music, but definitely go check them out live! They have such an amazing magnetism to their live shows, I guarantee you will have an amazing time!
I’m so excited to see where the future takes these guys, I hope they always stay true to their music and always have that passion and drive in their music. I’m proud to call them my Artist of the Week, and encourage you guys to stay tuned for the evolution of this band, it’s gonna be a wild ride.
—–VMS