A Gathering of None

The Bucketlist With: A GATHERING OF NONE
By Turbo Lover | May 7, 2018 | Artist Showcase, Interviews

We’re back once again with one of my personal favorite segments, The Bucketlist, where we ask the age-old question: “What band(s) would you like to see before you die?” Everyone has their own bucket list and your favorite bands and musicians are no exception. In this segment, we aim to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the personal preferences of your favorite artists as well as artists you may not know – yet.

This time around, Metal Nexus caught up with A Gathering Of None, a “quintet based all over the north, southeast and southwest of the United States” as so put by the band themselves. A Gathering Of None was formed in 2013 by the band’s vocalist/lead guitarist, TB, formerly of Blitzkid. Since their early beginnings, the band’s momentum increased with the addition of Justin, Jeff, Ken, and Chris eventually releasing three albums, the latest being 2018’s ‘One Last Grasp At Hope’, that dropped April 6th. Speaking on their sound, the band states “If you like heavy guitars, groove-laden inhumanly proficient drums, prog rock bass lines, hooks aplenty and more vocal harmonies than you can count per song, then you have just found your new favorite band.” I can attest that statement isn’t wrong, however, I could add that during my first listen to the band’s material, I could hear a bit of influence from the late Ronnie James Dio within the vibrato-laden vocal harmonies in “No Stone Left Unturned” which you can check out the lyric video below!

Now that we’re all up to speed, here’s what TB had to say about his bucketlist:

MN: “As a touring band/musician you get the chance to see a lot of bands up close and personal. A luxury not everyone has. A lot of music lovers keep a “Bucketlist” of bands that we want to see perform live. What are the top active bands you would like to see live (in order) and why?”

TB: “As difficult a question this is, there are a top five for me.

The Cryptkeeper Five from Trenton, NJ. They have been together for over 20 years, release rock solid albums and tour all over the US and Europe, yet still maintain everything in a DIY fashion and should be HUGE. It’s one of American music’s greatest travesties that they are not selling out stadiums.

www.thecryptkeeperfive.com

Northern Skulls who have none other than Jonah Jenkins (formerly of Only Living Witness) on vocals. They’re a new band and local to me, so I hope to check this one off soon!

https://thenorthernskulls.bandcamp.com/releases

The White Swan Heavy, HEAVY doom metal with Mercedes Lander from Kittie on vocals. I would imagine they crush live.

https://thewhiteswan.bandcamp.com

WRONG Florida-based Helmet meets Unsane noise rock that is heavier than anything I’ve heard in recent memory.

https://wrongriff.bandcamp.com

Bonehawk 70s inspired stoner metal that grooves, has a ton of soul and just plain rocks from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

https://bonehawk.bandcamp.com

Gygax from Ventura, CA. D&D themed stoner metal reminiscent of Thin Lizzy and rocks hard.”

https://gygaxguild.bandcamp.com

Be sure to check out A Gathering Of None on Bandcamp, BigCartel, and CDBaby, as well as social media, to stay up-to-date on all the news, show dates, and releases. Also, be sure to pick up the band’s latest release ‘One Last Grasp At Hope’!

Download / Stream:

agatheringofnone.bandcamp.com

agatheringofnone.bigcartel.com

store.cdbaby.com/Artist/AGatheringofNone2

A Gathering Of None is:

TB – guitars/lead vocals

Justin – background vocals/guitars

Jeff – background vocals/guitars

Ken – bass

Chris – background vocals/drums - Metal Nexus

INTERVIEW: A Gathering Of None

RJ Frometa May 2, 2018

Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
TB: We’re doing well, thanks for having us! We are just busy promoting our new album so things are good.
Can you talk to us more about your latest single “No Stone Left Unturned”?
TB: Sure. The song in question was actually the second or third one written for the new album. We chose this song in particular as the first single because the chorus happens quickly and is very catchy, so we wanted people to be able to latch onto it right away. I also think it displays that we are all very competent in our individual roles as a band.
Did any event in particular inspired you to write this song?
TB: No one event was the inspiration, but a number of them were. I tend to write lyrics from a very personal and introspective point of view and “No Stone Left Unturned” isn’t any different. This song is ultimately about realizing you’ve made mistakes and instead of learning from them, you’ve kind of lost who you were. So, in essence, you have to look within yourself at the “why” the mistakes were made and connect who you ARE with who you’ve lost in the process. With this tune, there’s a sense of reconciliation in that you have to make now better instead of repeating the past.
How was the filming process and experience behind the video?
TB: As mundane as this might sound there really wasn’t much of a process as its just a lyric video. We had our friend Carlos Avila of the band Shadow Virus do it. I told him what kind of imagery we were looking for and that it should coincide thematically with the promotion of the new album. He worked very quickly on it and had the finished product to me in about three days, so it was all very seamless.
The single comes off your new album One Last Grasp At Hope – what made you want to do a sort of conceptual record?
TB: The fact that One Last Grasp At Hope is sort of a concept album happened by complete accident, but with perfect symmetry at the same time if that makes sense. In the preproduction/demo stage, we all kind of realized that each song was dealing with the idea of hoping for certain things. There are some heavy lyrics and all of them are celebrating the idea of hope in some way. You hope for things to change personally for the better, you hope that certain joys or happiness will last, you hope that hard times, anger, self loathing and bad situations won’t. The constant theme of having any hope is something we all have to hold on to as human beings. That became the basis for the album title, because sometimes, it is all you can reach for.
What’s the story behind the title?
TB: I kind of answered this in the last question huh? Haha! If I had to sum it up, it means that there are always times in the trials and tribulations of life that hope is all we have. - Vents Magazine

A Gathering of None; your new favorite band


A Gathering of None is a quintet based all over the north, southeast and southwest of the United States. The band has existed since 2013 and have released 3 albums, the latest being "One Last Grasp At Hope". A Gathering of None are a quintet comprised of musicians from all over the north, southeast, and southwest United States. AGON began as a one-man project, with TB (formerly of horror punk underground icons Blitzkid) recording the 2013 EP "Purging Empty Promises" entirely on his own, performing all instruments as well as vocals.


We saw them at Dingbatz last week and witness ourselves how this band mixes melodic punk with 90s grunge, alternative, posthardcore and progressive metal.


Last April they released their official lyric video for their single “No Stone Left Unturned”, off of their newly released third album.

Vocalist/songwriter TB says, "The song 'No Stone Left Unturned' is somewhat autobiographical in that it's about realizing you've made your fair share of mistakes and are trying to repair the damage those mistakes have caused. I've dealt with feeling that way numerous times in my life. The main idea is, as the very last line says, "and so you seek you'll find", meaning that if you've lost who you were, you have to take the necessary steps to rediscover that person and apply it to who you are now.


There is a constant search for answers and a feeling of hopelessness in there that I think everyone can identify with, yet maintaining a positive outlook about your want and need to grow as a person. "One Last Grasp At Hope is inadvertently a concept album when you get into the lyrical content along with the mood the individual songs create. Each track deals with an underlying sense of light at the end of the tunnel. There will always be moments of despair, sadness, anger, emptiness, happiness and joy. Each time you have any of those said moments though, one thing always remains, the hope we cling to for things to get better or to stay as life affirming and as joyous as they are at that very time and place. We grab at that every day. One last grasp at hope...."

Despite the breadth and diversity of backgrounds and influences, the band exists as five people all with the same goal in mind, to bring something nostalgic yet entirely modern and multifaceted to the heavy rock genre. If you like groove laden songs with heavy guitars, inhumanly proficient drums, prog rock bass lines, hooks a plenty, and more vocal harmonies than you can count, then you have just found your new favorite band.

Coverage by Anna Antonopoulos

I - Soundbite Magazine