Band: Agonize
From: Savannah, Georgia
Their formation story:
(Nolan Mobley, guitar): "I had gone from touring in Vatican full-time to trying to figure out a next step by the end of 2022 when we disbanded. There were different ideas we worked on, but it was a period where I needed to start creating something that was exactly what I wanted. It was therapeutic in a lot of ways while I had moved into trying tour managing/merch and knew that wasn't fulfilling in the same way.
"I hit up Josian to do it because he's genuinely the only drummer I trust with knowing the vision overall and we had wanted to do something with Spencer for a while. They're two people that will always understand the vibe and so working with them on bringing Agonize to life was a well-oiled machine. Everything has made sense for every step."
Their sound in their own words:
(Josian Soto Ramos, drums): "This is just our first demo, but the sound we are inspired by are bands like Pantera, early Meshuggah, and Candiria where the songs have a lot of rawness, are rough around the edges, and are just going for it. If you're a fan of 4 wheelers, Puerto Rican flags, and being turnt, then you will definitely like this."
Latest release info:
(Spencer Guerrero, vocals): "We recorded in the Fleshwater practice space after their rehearsals, so each night we were working from midnight until about 6 AM. During the day, Nolan and I mostly smoked weed and watched movies like Jackass and The Dictator while we waited to go back to the practice space. We started recording vocals at 2 AM on the last night.
"We got two songs done, I puked in the bathroom, and then finished up the other 3 songs. By 4:15 AM on the third night, we were finally done. 30 minutes later we got in an Uber to head home. Eventually we got back after spending all day in the Miami airport. I was half dead and slept for a full day after we got back, but I'm proud of what we were able to make."
(Nolan): "This is an amalgamation of the musical wave we're on right now and it'll continue to evolve. This was a great point to jump on and I think it's a release that you can feel in the subs, which was important. The bare bones feeling of the process comes through in the sound and that's what we wanted."
Future plans:
(Nolan): "We just had a hometown release show in Savannah at Lodge of Sorrows with Ends of Sanity, and we have another show with them at New Brookland Tavern on Feb. 11th. We're working on getting a regional run together in late March, so hopefully hitting places like south Florida, Birmingham, Greenville, and some of these spots that are growing and look exciting to play. Video and visual art are also a big part of our group, so this will be an overall art project while we keep writing and prepping for 2024."
What other bands from your region should we check out?
"Ends of Sanity, Pez, and Jon Mackey."
***
Agonize on social media: Instagram
***
Tagged: agonize
