Benjamin Nunnally
At first listen, it’s easy to tell that Atlanta’s Inviolate
is a band built to be taken on its own terms: industrial electronics welded to heavy riffs beneath
singer Kadria’s Eastern-inspired vocals, a distinctive blend that defies comparison.
That defiance of sameness is reinforced by the
band’s live shows, where Kadria not only sings but
makes use of her experience as a bellydancer —
even bringing out and balancing a sword on her
head during a dance on the floor amongst audience members — taking a show into entirely new
territory for heavy music.
That uniqueness now carries over into the band’s
lineup by way of “Inviolate 2.0,” a reinvention of
the modern band that pulls musicians throughout
the Southeast onto the roster for live shows. The
band’s Birmingham show in September featured
guitarist Derek Obscura of The Casket Creatures,
Robert Hannon of The Void on bass and drummer
Ernie Topran of Halcyon Way, but October shows
will see new guitarists filling the role while Obscura takes the Creatures out on the road.
We had a chance to sit with the band and discuss
influences, sneaking off to buy metal CDs and
what the 2.0 means for touring and recording new
material.
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