AGE OF EVIL

Age Of Evil Named “Best Newcomer” in Heavy Magazine

(Scottsdale, AZ, September 18, 2007) – These two sets of teenage brothers are more than meets the eye. Since becoming Age Of Evil in February 2007, they have delivered a metal show unlike any other, refusing to let their age get in the way of what they hope to accomplish. Lyrically to musically and every way in between, the group is actively redefining metal by writing music with purpose and lyrics with substance and meaning. When they were named 2007's “Best Newcomer" by Heavy Magazine Germany, it became clear that nothing will stand in their way.

Their debut album, Living a Sick Dream, brings old school metal into a new era by giving a refreshing twist to the ripping guitar solos, powerful drum beats, energetic vocals and booming bass. They stay true to those who have gone before them while creating a sound that is uniquely their own. Citing influences like Slayer, Motley Crue, Anthrax and Dream Theater, Age Of Evil does their best to learn from other metal greats.

Still in high school, the young metal prodigies of Age Of Evil still find themselves doing “normal” teenage activities. They hang out with friends as much as possible, go to the gym, hang out at Guitar Center, go to parties and do basically what most teens do. But it’s like they’re living in a parallel world when they find themselves jet-setting to Europe to play noteworthy gigs.
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Age Of Evil recently returned from Germany where they played the opening spot at “Bang Your Head!!! Festival”. The festival was also home to other bands like Heaven And Hell, W.A.S.P., Hammerfall, Nazareth, and Amon Amarth. The band received the call to duty just twelve days before the festival would start. That night began the rush to purchase plane tickets, make the travel plans and of course, rehearse until their songs were in pristine condition. At the festival, Age Of Evil, as always, did not disappoint. Although it was different and unlike anything they had ever experienced, they delivered their most impressive and electrifying, crowd-pleasing performance. Their talent and extreme knowledge of everything metal was just icing on the cake for their audience in Germany. Before they had even left to return home they had been invited back to perform again next year.

While in Germany, Age Of Evil received plenty of attention from the press; German and American magazines and eZines couldn’t get enough of these heavy metal teens. Different producers and equipment companies such as Gibson, Hughes and Kettner showed interest in the band as well. They also met with producer Chris Tsangarides (Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath) and began to build a solid network with many of the other bands that also attended the festival. In retrospect, the “Bang Your Head!!! Festival” was a huge opportunity to learn from and network with the pros. The trip over the ocean to Germany was a crucial turning point for the young men in Age Of Evil as they realized they were slowly entering the big leagues.

Making a splash in the music industry is definitely on the agenda for these two sets of brothers. They aspire to have their music withstand the test of time and stand apart from the norm regardless of the age of their peers. Currently, Age Of Evil plans to continue playing shows, writing new music and hopefully inspiring other teens to try their hand in the music industry; quite impressive goals for four almost-normal teenage boys. It is safe to say that metal and the music industry will never be the same after Age Of Evil has their way with it.
- Heavy Magazine-Germany

Scottsdale Metal Band Age Of Evil a Hit in Germany
By: Nicki Escudero


The teenagers in Scottsdale metal band Age of Evil may not think they fit in musically with their peers in the Valley, but overseas in Germany, the band has become quite popular in a short amount of time. They played in front of thousands of people at the Bang Your Head!!! Festival there this past summer, and they were also named Best Newcomer by Heavy magazine (Germany.)

“The metal in America doesn’t even compare with the metal that’s going on in Germany,” said Age of Evil bassist/vocalist Jacob Goldberg, 15. “Metal is the style that everyone listens to, so playing Germany and Europe in general is a much better place for us and is a really cool place to play.”

Touring around the world can be difficult when three of your band’s members are still in high school. Goldberg and lead guitarist Jordan Ziff, 16, attend Horizon High School, while vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Goldberg, 17, is a student at Brophy College Preparatory. Drummer/vocalist Garrett Ziff, 18, graduated from Horizon in May and now works at Guitar Center.

Because of their young age, the guys get a lot of support from their families. Their two sets of parents were friends and brought their kids together more than 10 years ago. The band members attended the same elementary and junior high school, and they’ve been playing music with each other for the past five years.

About a year and a half ago, jamming together became more serious, when the boys decided they wanted to devote time to making an album and possibly go on tour. They were introduced to Chandler producer John Herrera, who produced their 10-song debut album, Living a Sick Dream, which was finished last December. The disc is now available online and at local Zia Records for $10.

The band described their sound as being heavily influenced by older metal music, such as by groups like Megadeth and Iron Maiden, making the music accessible to a diverse audience.

“We’re trying to take our influences and put a contemporary feel to it so the younger kids as well as the adults can enjoy themselves,” Garrett said.

When it comes to the lyrics, though, the band draws inspiration from their own experiences. Primary lyricist Jeremy said he was influenced by politics and war when writing for Living a Sick Dream.

One song on the album, “Eye for an Eye,” was written after Jeremy took a trip with his friend to war-torn Israel and was affected by hearing about children being casualties of war.

“I don’t think I’m going to be writing in that direction anymore, but at the time, my world view had been changing, and I started to see things differently,” Jeremy said. “When I wrote the songs that were political, I wrote them because I was mad or had been angered about what was happening in the world.”

The group sent off the finished disc to Germany, where magazines and e-zines started to take notice—Jeremy said the band was constantly getting press requests and reviews.

Two weeks before Bang Your Head!!!, the band was invited to open the festival and shared the stage with one of their influences, Black Sabbath.

Besides playing with one of their idols, Age of Evil also made industry contacts at the festival, and they said they received an endorsement from Gibson guitars. Along with winning the Heavy magazine title, too, they also scored some studio time in Germany.

The band hopes to gain a management deal and use their new recorded material to gain more label notice, though Garrett said they’ve already been contacted by some.

“Hopefully within the next year, we’ll have a new CD out,” Garrett said. “Hopefully at that point, we’ll be on a label. If not, hopefully it will be because we chose not to be.”

If the band does get signed, the members said they have no problem finishing high school through means such as online classes and want to make music a full-time career. The band practices every day and plays almost every weekend, including Sept. 15 at the Brickhouse with Mokshya, another metal band.

Even though they occasionally play gigs with bands with similar styles to them, Age of Evil members said they stand out in the Valley for having a more melodic sound.

“There are a lot of people in our age group who listen to metal,” Garrett said. “They like a lot of the same influences that we do, but while we’re up here playing the kind of music we grew up on, they’re up there playing open note songs with pig squealing over it.”

Jeremy said the band finds kids their age are performing more of the grindcore, screaming genre of metal, but Age of Evil prides itself on enabling the listener to understand the lyrics.

The band also tries to put on a professional, energetic stage show that makes fans want to see them live.

“The thing you’ll notice about our show is the stage presence,” Jeremy said. “We don’t just stand up there and put on a show, we run around the stage, we’re involved with the aud - Nicki Escudero

From The Phoenix New Times:

Age of Evil - Metal Never Sleeps, By Niki D'Andrea

Good news for metalheads who are still living in 1983 — Age of Evil (whose members are half your age) is making new music that sounds like outtakes from Iron Maiden's Killers album and Judas Priest's Hell Bent for Leather. The Scottsdale quartet (composed of two sets of teenage brothers) sticks to the old-school British metal formula fairly well — tons of twin guitar harmonies; high-pitched vocals; lyrics about rotting flesh, paranoia, and self-loathing; and a doomy album name, Living in a Sick Dream.

- Niki D'Andrea

From www.rarwriter.com. Feature on Happenin' Harry

RarWriter: You have a blog on your MySpace about a teenage band from Arizona who you featured and said wonderful things about. You seemed sincerely taken with them. What was going on there?

Happenin' Harry: "Most importantly they are hungry for living in this business. They work hard. They always look for ways to improve. And, they aren't full of themselves. They are willing to take dirrection, and listen to become a better "band." They are called AGE OF EVIL by the way. Great guys! And, they all belong to great supportive families."
- RarWriter

"Despite the fact that the guys in Age Of Evil were not even born when old school metal peaked, they seem to have an extremely firm grasp on it-even more than some of the actual veterans of the genre who are still playing it. Because of that, they have the "new/old school" sound down to a science and have considerably upped the anted for metal of the future..." - Marty Friedman