KelownaNow wants to get to know the hard-working, up and coming artists who fill our city with music and we’re almost positive most of you do too!
Our Saturday Spotlight series that will feature a new, local act every other weekend, to better strengthen our scene and get to know the people behind the music.
Get to Know: Apollyon
Photo credit: contributed
This outfit of heavy hitters is one that no metalhead should sleep on. Having coined the term “Okanagan Blackened Death” Apollyon are paving a path all their own that treads on the edge of a wide variety of metal styles and unique influences, to create an original sound that is both mesmerizing and terrifying to those who may be new to extreme music.
Tell us about the inception of Apollyon?
We began as friends in High School, we all met shortly after our singer and drummer moved to Kelowna and initially started playing music together casually.
After a few lineup changes early on we started to take things more seriously and have been performing as a band for about four years now.
Photo credit: contributed
How would you categorize your music?
Currently, I suppose you could call us predominantly Blackened Death Metal. We pull from a wide variety of influences while trying to maintain a cohesive sound. Everything from Grind, Crust, Black Metal and Tech-Death to Post-Rock has influenced our music in some way or another.
I've often found people categorize music differently based on what they are used to hearing, because music is so subjective. Some people may hear more of the Death Metal elements of our music and label us as that, while another may focus on other parts and consider us something completely different.
Our sound and influences are constantly changing and evolving, we're not interested in repeating ourselves, and at the end of the day, we're just striving to make music that is authentic, regardless of what particular sub-genre it fits into.
Photo credit: contributed
While the group may initially sound villainous with their pounding blast beats and wretched riffs, often times the subject matter of their material stems from an attempt to shed light on the harsher topics in life, such as mental health.
This unique juxtaposition is most clearly portrayed in the group’s first full-length album False Light which was released nearly one year ago. It offers listeners all of the hellish gutturals and tempos you’d expect from an extreme metal album with the added twist of ambient interludes and uplifting guitar solos.
How do you feel about the Okanagan music scene?
There's something very special about the metal scene in the Okanagan. It's a very tight-knit community, and that's thanks in part to the great space that Leagh and Siobhan have created at Muninn's Post, but also to the fans who pack almost every show and the fantastic bands who do their best to one-up themselves every time.
Bands like Arkenfire, Gardener, and Death Machine have established themselves as must-see local acts and newer bands such as Eden Echo and Indecipherable Noise are bringing great variety to the table. It's an exciting time to be involved in Kelowna's metal scene.
Speaking of must-see performances, Apollyon’s (though usually far and few between here in Kelowna) is one you won’t want to miss!
Known for tight instrumentation and the incredible energy and crowd interaction from frontman Matt Depper, these guys muster up a mosh pit like no other.
You can catch them next Saturday night at Okanagan Disintegration Fest, alongside a handful of incredible metal acts from across BC and Western Canada, at Muninn’s Post. Follow along with them on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming gigs and new music.
If you know of a local band or musician the community needs to hear, nominate them for a Saturday Spotlight by sending an email to savannah@kelownanow.com
