Rain of Salvation is a new straight edge band from across the Northeast and Midatlantic. I loved their EP, so I reached out to their vocalist James Austin and bassist Zach Stachura to find out more.
Where are your members from?
Zach Stachura: TJ, Marazzo, and Sal are from Long Island, James is from Delaware, I’m from Connecticut, but recently moved to Boston.
How did you meet, and how did the band come together?
Zach: TJ and I met through Atonement when we were looking for a second guitarist. Him and I would talk a lot about starting a straight edge band one day but nothing really ever came from it besides the idea. When he relocated to Long Island him and Sal really made Rain of Salvation. They wrote just about everything and then sent it to James, Marazzo and I to learn, since we are all spread out.
James Austin: I met Sal at the last Foundation show and we’ve been friends ever since. Tj, Zach, Marazzo, and I all became friends because I booked their bands in Delaware (Atonement for TJ and Zach, Typecaste for Marazzo) one day I woke up in a group chat to a text that said, “you wanna sing for this band?”
What are your influences musically?
Zach: Finding hardcore when I moved to Connecticut my influences are really based around there: Palehorse, Death Threat, and 100 Demons are the Big 3 for me. Outside of Connecticut, I’ve always been drawn to the Cleveland scene specifically, Integrity, Ringworm, and In Cold Blood.
James: I’m super influenced by a lot of different stuff, in and out of hardcore. My favorites bands to listen to are a lot of that '90s metallic hardcore like Buried Alive, Strife, Trial, Indecision. But my influences fall more on the melodic side of hardcore, bands like American Nightmare, Hope Con, Modern Life is War, The Carrier...bands of that nature have always been what I’ve aspired lyrically. There’s something so fascinating about being able to tell a grand story in a 2 and a half minute song
What bands were you in before Rain of Salvation?
Zach: Before Rain of Salvation I was in Atonement and Guilt Ritual.
James: I was in a band called Past Hope.
You initially released your EP through The Coming Strife (UK), and now LDB Records out of Louisville. How did you get linked up with each label?
James: The Coming Strife was all through our drummer, Sal. He threw it together. Oli did a great job on it. We also released it on Streetfight Records over here in the States.
Tyler Short from LDB contacted us to do the release and we couldn’t be more thankful for all the opportunities everyone has given us. Records are a huge undertaking, but Tyler reached out to us and told us how much he believes in us as a band, it truly felt like the natural choice for us to do and to grow.
You have only played a few shows, tell me about those. Bands, locations, reactions etc.
Zach: For me, just playing again has been great. It had been a year since Guilt Ritual played their last show, so I was more than ready. We’ve played Long Island twice and New Jersey. Honestly, great turnouts at all 3 shows. It’s always fun playing with our friends in Typecaste, Safe and Sound, Fixation, Foreign Hands, and Draw the Line. Cool seeing people know the words to our songs, let alone have even heard of us at this point.
James, what or who did you have in mind when you wrote “Turn Traitor”?
James: It’s a song about the bands, and people who aren’t actually what they say they’re about, and the convictions that they say they have but they don’t actually mean it. I feel like now more than ever so many people just say things for the sake of saying them, so this song is my way of lashing back. It’s kind of the theme of the whole EP. When you say something you should mean it, and you shouldn’t break those convictions that you have for anyone.
What are your upcoming shows and tour plans?
Zach: Our next show is in Philly on May 2nd with Vamachara, Chamber, Dilate, Ripped Away, and Simulakra.
What other bands in your respective areas do you recommend readers check out?
Zach: Maniac, Soldier of God, Dilate, Hell of Self, Fixation, and Zero Hour. I really can’t stress this enough: Listen to Maniac.
James: Year of the Knife, Hangman, Roseblood, Vicious Embrace, Draw the Line, Jesus Piece, Foreign Hands, Chemical Fix, No Option...the list goes on and on I can’t even begin to describe. Shout out to LDB.
Follow Rain of Salvation on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Tagged: new artist focus, rain of salvation
