Artist Spotlight #1: Atlas At Hold, Lovedraft's Brewing Co.

Atlas At Hold, a Columbia, PA based metalcore band joined Oxymorons and Varsity at Lovedraft's Brewing Co. on Monday night 8/5/24. They are newer in the scene but are quickly making a name for themselves and becoming a well known name in the central PA area. The six piece comprise of Anthony Guymon (vocals) and Parker Ohrel (vocals), Donovan Ross (lead guitar), Dillon Brugger (rhythm) and Owen Culp (bass) and Jordan Baker (drums). Together they create a modern melodic metalcore sound that is unique and incredibly powerful. Boasting a handful of original songs, a full length music video for the song Deadweight, and a new EP on the horizon, the guys are doing the "thing" and making it happen. The one thing that makes the band stand out is how well tuned they are to each other. They play as if they are a well seasoned band and have a stage presence as strong as some of the greats. They don't just play music, they create an art that you can not only hear, but feel. A personal favorite of mine, Gravedigger, really showcases that. From heavy chugging riffs to fast paced kicks paired with the perfect blend of vocals, Gravedigger to me is the perfect example of quality metalcore. Even the show promoter Nick Myers of 717Entertainment is incredibly pleased with the band and their performances. This is the bands second time on one of his shows and I asked him for a comment: " I adore them. One of my favorite new bands and I think they are on the right track to make it. I don't know that I've seen a band with more support in awhile". For such a new band, they brought a slew of fans who partied not only for them, but the entire night. Some of which even stated this was their first trip to Lovedraft's specifically to see Atlas. Coming from a promoters or venues perspective, that is exactly the kind of thing that they look for when booking bands. With their incredible skill, awesome stage presence, and a already growing fanbase, I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more from Atlas At Hold and I am so excited to see where these guys end up.

I got the chance to sit down with the band after the show and dive into their background a bit and what makes them tick as a band. From writing styles to influences on their music, favorite venues, and hints to new music, the interview covers a wide range of topics. Mark, Beyond The Barrier: How about you guys introduce yourselves, go down the line, what instruments you play, and then we'll go from there. Band: Hi, my name's Owen Culp and I play bass. My name is Donovan Ross and I play lead guitar. My name is Anthony Guymon. I'm a singer. My name is Parker Roroe. I do screaming vocals. My name is Dillon Brugger. I do the rhythm guitar. And my name is Jordan Baker, and I beat on the drums. Mark, BTB: Alright, so this is your guys second time playing here, correct? How do you guys like the venue itself?

Band: Love it. The sound's great, I'll tell you that. The man running the sound is phenomenal. He's one of the best. Hayden from If Not For Me is amazing, amazing sound producer, and amazing band that he plays in. Mark, BTB: So you guys are from Columbia, right? So how far of a drive is that for you guys? And what other venues do you guys normally play at? Band: About 45 minutes or so. last night (8/4/24) we just played at Skid Row Garage, so that was in York. That's about a 20 minute drive. Phantom Power in Millersville, and we got a Pittsburgh show at the Smiling Moose coming up at the end of this month. Mark, BTB: What venue have you guys played at so far that is your favorite?

Band: Lovedrafts! Shout out to Nick Myers. Amazing. Nick Myers is one of the best promoters we've worked with. Mark, BTB: So when it comes to making your music, you guys are relatively new, correct? Band: So we actually just started, well, this is going on our first year as a band, so yeah. This is actually our sixth show as a band together.

Mark, BTB: Have you guys played in any bands prior, or is this kind of just, hey, let's just do this thing together?

Band: I mean, when we started out originally, it was just us three (Donovan, Anthony, Parker) really. And we started as a band called Those Who Cry Black. But we dropped that, and we brought more people in, and since we brought more people in, we thought it would be a better to have a whole brand new start. It's been very good lately and a whole different style than when we started. And we've been progressing more and more. So I think this is pretty much where we wanted to be at the beginning to be honest, we just keep evolving I mean every song that we make together, it's better and better and better. We're working on our new album right now and it'll be coming out soon. We are not gonna announce it yet, but it's gonna be amazing. Mark, BTB: Are you guys working with anyone to get that album finished or is it all a solo project? Band: Yeah, so we're actually um, So we're actually working with uh, Lee Fenstermaker. Shout out Lee, you're the man. Yeah, he is the man. Uh, he's based up in Williamsport. He actually shot our music video, Deadweight. Mark, BTB: Do you guys write all together, or is it a kind of an individual thing, what's your writing process? Band: So, so these guys will mostly write the music together (Parker, Anthony) we'll get together and write our lyrics, our melodies, and pretty much just slap it together like that, and we keep making bangers, so. Yeah, when it comes to writing the instrumentals, like, sometimes it'll be one person writing, but then we'll all throw it in as a group idea, ask if there's anything that needs to be changed, or if there's anything somebody would like better than another part. But yeah, these two right here, these are the guys in front of our lyrics. Sometimes we have, sometimes we do throw suggestions in there and sometimes we do help out, but it's most of the lyrics are these guys and they do a really great job. Mark, BTB: So when it comes to your lyrics, one of my favorite songs that I like out of all you guys is Gravedigger. When putting that song together, what kind of was the, uh, I don't want to say the meaning, but what was the focal point or what kind of made you go that direction?

Band: So actually in our last band, Those Who Cry Black, just with us three together, we had a song called Skeletons. And as we were writing Gravedigger, we were like, dude, you know, let's kind of bring a part of that, that band with us. So Gravedigger was kind of like a part two to skeletons. So yeah, we just kind of carried that over. And, uh, in the one part, you'll hear me say, 'skeletons building every day' So like I kind of wrote that lyrics based off of the last song. Mark, BTB: I personally don't like to dive into like genres. I think metal is metal. But, what kind of genre do you find yourselves fitting more into if you had to pick? Are you trying to branch into different areas? Or just kind of stick to one sound? Band: I think we're all up to try even new things just to, you know, see how they sound but mostly metalcore. I think we're really similar to that Killswitch, As I lay Dying sound kind of. I'd say we are sort of along the lines of like melodic metalcore. That's what we're going for. You heard our first song tonight. that's a newer song that had like trap beats in it and something different But like we like the older metalcore sound from the 2000s but putting some more a more of a modern twist to it and just you know experimenting. Mark, BTB: Do you guys have any bands that you guys kind of look up to when you guys are writing? Band: Obviously Killswitch, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Dread. Uh, IceNineKills, Motionless in White is a big one. Motionless in White, and those kinds of sounds. Mark, BTB: Now, as you guys know, Beyond the Barrier is a media company that is specializing in pushing disabilities at concerts and live events. I know you guys don't have a lot of shows under your belt, but everywhere that you've played so far, have you seen a lot of inclusion at shows, or what's your thoughts on it? Donovan: I think there should be definitely more inclusion. I mean, I think everybody should be included in all the shows. The more the crowd, the better. No matter who you are, you know, what your like, the more the crowd, the better. I would definitely love to see everybody and anybody at any of our shows. There was a point in time where I was disabled and thankfully I grew and I'm way better off from that right now. And I very much appreciate everything that's happened in my life. Even when that happened to me, it was a life lesson. I would love to see, like again, everybody and anybody. You are one of the craziest guys at these shows and I love it bro. Mark, BTB: Do you have any shows that you're looking forward to attending as a fan coming up? Band: Oh yeah, this August 10th, which is next Saturday, but a lot of us are going to Summer Slaughter to see This Is A Threat and Vail of Maya and Brand of Sacrifice are headlining. I plan on hitting a tour coming up with In This Moment, Ice Nine Kills. Mark, BTB: This one is for Jordan, the drummer. I noticed on your Instagram you play for multiple other bands, is that right?

Jordan: I play with one other band, it's a band with my stepdad and it's more of a trap side thing, but I'm also diving into more of my roots. I never took a lesson, but I self taught myself on metal and hopping in this band turned into something that I never expected. Mark, BTB: Do you think that helped you as an artist playing in something else that has a different sound?

Jordan: Yeah, honestly, I think being diverse and trying other styles out is great. Even if you're, you know, doing covers or something like that, keep yourself playing and occupied while you're not on the road.

Mark, BTB: For the band, your new album coming out soon, do you have any guesstimate on when that will be done? Band: Not really. We would like it to be done before the year ends. But we cannot make any promises. We'll probably get it done before then.

Mark, BTB: Do you guys have anything that you guys want to promote, share, social media, websites, anything like that? Band: I just want to say thank you for having us on this interview. We really appreciate it If you wanna find out about shows, you wanna see photos of us, etc. You can look us up atlasathold.com And everything is on there. Social media links, music, merch, etc.

Mark, BTB: I know I was impressed my first time I saw you guys. When Nick said it was like one of your first few shows with Kingdom Collapse I was like, "that's a lie". I literally said to myself, that's a lie. You guys are playing together way longer than that. You guys actually have that chemistry on stage. It's not just like a bunch of people on stage making it work. And that's what we really like. I like that a lot.

Band: We wouldn't be able to do it without a single individual person here, so thank you. Everybody carries their own weight and they carry it so well. I couldn't ask for anything more. We love everybody here. Mark, BTB: So with that, I don't have anything else. Do you guys have any last minute comments? Band: Tonight's show was a fucking banger. Thank you for Oxymorons and Varsity for allowing us on the show. It was a lot of fun.

Don't feel like reading? That's okay, here is the recorded version!

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