Rising Artist Spotlight: Advents

Metalcore is one of the most common subgenres of heavy metal and it’s arguably the most popular. Combining the best elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, metalcore is brimming with aggressive breakdowns and mosh inducing hooks. Advents, a rising metalcore band from the outskirts of NYC are working tirelessly to ensure they bring innovation to the genre they hold so dear. Each of the five members has a passion for a different subgenre of metal and when they merge, they stretch the bounds that bands typically stay within. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with 3 members of Advents as we discuss their formation, latest single and what the future holds for them. 

Advents is Anthony Spizzirro (vocals), Kevin Chapilliquen (guitar), Sebastian Ferlin (guitars), Nor Omar (bass), and Joe Koza (drums).

Could you tell us a little bit about how you guys got started? 

• Sebastian – So me and Anthony, AKA Spizz go way back. We were in a band called Equivalency. That’s how we met. Then through the music scene I met Kevin, our other guitar player. We all just kind of became friends after I met Kevin. Equivalency took a nosedive and fell apart. Around the same time Kevin’s band was going through some stuff and we got into a room together and collectively decided to make our own band. 
• Spizz- This was all right before the pandemic
• Sebastian – Yeah this was shortly before the pandemic. Then Kevin and I were talking one night and we decided to just do it. It was basically just a group of people in the local music scene coming together. 

What made you pick Advents as your band name?

• Spizz – Our original band name wasn’t Advents, We started out as Ashn and we kept that for about a year or year and a half. Once we had the first couple songs recorded we realized that there was another band called Ashen and they had an E in the name. They were also a metalcore band and we realized we had to change our name once their first song did really well. Some of their band members are social media influencers. We decided on Advents because for us we had been sitting on the music for so long and things were starting to finally come together and it was all such a big and monumental thing to us. That’s what the name Advents represents to us, what we wanted to become from the beginning.  
• Sebastian- We are not a Christian Metalcore band! Even though Advents sounds like an Advent calendar.  Haha

How often do you get together to practice? 

• Sebastian- We usually get together about once a week. Everyone has pretty tight schedules for work but are trying to get as tight as possible before we start playing out regularly. 

What is your songwriting style when you guys get together? 

• Sebastian- Usually Anthony and I start off with demos. We grind out a demo in my apartment and then we start from there. Nor comes in with his ideas and then Joe comes in and changes around some of the drum parts and we discuss the progress of the song. It usually starts off with Spizz and I and progresses from there. Then we bring it to our producer, Rick Armallino and he livens up the songs. 

What would you say makes you different from other metalcore bands? 

• Joe Koza- Without sounding too cliche, I think everyone in the band comes from a different background and you can hear it in the music. Some of us are more into deathcore, some of us have more of a thrash background and some of us like more of a hardcore sound. Our music is a combination of many different things and each part flows into the next without it sounding too all over the place. 
• Sebastian- Metalcore is a very big genre and we definitely have a lot of influences and many aspects of our sound reflects that. I think for us, our songs encapsulate an emotion and sometimes I write these lyrics with the demos and I try to catch an emotion with each song. We like to pull from everything, sometimes it can be electronic or clean vocal styles. I think these things set us apart from other bands and if you really listen to our music you can see that. 

One of your most recent single’s is called “White Flag”. I was wondering, since a white flag typically is associated with surrendering, is that what the song is about? 

• Spizz- The song is more about the assumption of surrender but not the definition of surrender. That’s why you never see the flag in the music video. The video is dominated by the color red. The song for me is more about a struggle you are facing in life. The feeling of throwing in the towel or waving the white flag but you keep pushing and fight through it. Everyone has ups and downs in life but this is more about overcoming that feeling of almost giving up. 

What are some of the challenges you guys face as a new band in the indie music scene? 

• Joe Koza- Aside from trying to get recognition without having a big budget, no booking agent and no social media presence, we also play music in a scene that is getting harder and harder to stand out. Most metalcore bands, you listen to a few riffs and you can predict what is going to happen next. It’s not new or fresh. You need a lot of out of the box thinking and I think we are doing a good job at that so far. The people that like us really like us. They are reaching out to us all the time. People are really buying into this whole thing so far. We are barely 4 songs in and while there have been challenges we are doing well so far. I am excited to see how the next few songs do. 
• Spizz- I am the oldest member of the band and this is my last chance at making a music career happen. This is my last hurrah to get music to be the main thing in my life. We know that financially a music career really isn’t sustainable but we all have that urge to make something happen. The future is bright for us because we all have the perseverance to make something happen. I really believe the hard work will pay off. 

What does 2023 hold for Advents?

• Spizz- Definitely more sick breakdowns! 

Speaking of breakdowns, do each of you have an all time favorite breakdown? 

• Spizz- The one that comes to mind for me is Restricted (R18) by Alphawolf. The ending breakdown, I know it’s nothing crazy or technical but it makes me want to hit drywall. 
• Sebastian- I was actually going to say an Alphawolf too! The first time I heard Subzero..my face just collapsed. It just melted off. I wasn’t crazy about the vocals at first but the instrumentals were absolutely nuts. 
• Joe- It’s too tough to pick one, I am gonna go old school… the first time I heard the breakdown in Lamb of God’s song “Now you’ve got something to die for”. There was something about the bends in that song that made me think “what the hell is happening here?”. I don’t know if I can pick an all time favorite but that one is great for me. Gotta give respect to the OG’s. 

For more on Advents check out their website (here) 

Additional artist links: Instagram | Twitter | Spotify

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