Check the world premiere of the latest video from local metal outfit Luminosity. The name of the song is “Rebirth Of The Second Form” and it will shred your face into 10,000 pieces. We recently caught up with the band to talk about the video, the future of the band and and their thoughts on the local music scene. Check it. Wreck it.
As of this interview, Mike is in basic training. What kind of effect is that going to have on you guys, moving forward? Will the band still exist, just in a different way? If so, what is that way?
That band will still exist. Mike being in the military will only make us want to use our time wisely and plan fewer and bigger, more exclusive shows. Recording the music is the easy part. We worked remotely with our producer Greg Macklin to complete our album. We also have material for the next album stockpiled and ready to go. There will be details on our upcoming and return-performances very soon.
What are some of your favorite memories as a band?
For a new band, having the opportunity to open for legendary acts like Soilwork and Scar Symmetry was a major morale booster for us early on. That show in particular might’ve been only our fifth or sixth performance. Come to think of it, that’s when we met our good friends in Earthside, too. Those guys had jumped on the tour last minute, and are we glad they did! Aside from being awesome musicians (their first release is fantastic), they’ve been very insightful about the music business, and great friends to us. Another favorite memory is from our first road trip, which was down to South Carolina. There, we played GroundZero alongside Khaotika (another band close to us). As our first out-of-state show, we were excited to watch the music land on a new audience and there’s a tight scene down south. The most recent memory was throwing a going-away show for Mike called Frost Fest. Despite the stress that goes along with throwing a show of that size at a large Baltimore venue like SoundStage, Frost Fest was well-attended and a great send-off for Mike. During our final song, we invited members from all the bands on the fest to hop on stage with us and thrash. There’s video of it out there. We’ve shared bills with most of these bands before and to have them on stage with us for our finale was a party.
Who are some of your favorite local metal bands that we should check out?
We never miss an opportunity to promote our old friends The Averist. Their style, heavy with a progressive edge, retains that which is usually lost in this kind of music – improvisation. Their sound is dynamic and their songwriting is unique. There isn’t anyone around right now who can ramp a salsa-influenced section into a disgusting breakdown. You gotta be courageous to do that. We support any band who play solos, and they deliver! We also admire local thrash legends Vitality. Our sound is fast, but these guys are warp speed 9. And they’re flawless live. All of them are great players. Then, last but not least, Faith in Jane. These guys jam. Consider them the bluesman’s metal. If you want killer grooving riffs, an awesome voice and a vintage kind of heavy, check out this lethal three-piece. Ashley has produced them for a few years now.
Can you share some thoughts on the local music scene?
We’re blown away by the level of talent around this area, and not just in the category of metal. We find ourselves going to fewer big national shows just because we can go right down the street and hear bands that are just as awesome as the big ones. In recent years, Frederick has really stepped up in terms of showing appreciation for music and artists and helping provide them opportunities to showcase their respective arts, and it’s really been a boon for both the town and local artists, which is fantastic. Of course, metal isn’t for everyone, so it can be tough to get a huge crowd out or get new faces to the local shows, but all the right ingredients are there. The music is great, the patrons are great, and with a little organization and the right spark, it could be explosive. One thing that would be nice is to have a dedicated music venue in Frederick to draw in the big acts and folks from other places along with them so that the local scene could show what it’s made of to a larger demographic. Hopefully in time someone who isn’t as broke as us will put two and two together and see the opportunity for something like that. And if not, who says we can’t all get together make it happen ourselves? A lot of times, musicians and artists get written off as lazy and unmotivated, but a lot of the folks we meet are hungry, motivated, and have a good head on their shoulders, so I think there’s a lot of potential to take things to the next level and make Frederick a thriving arts hub.
So, how did the band start? Who contacted whom first, and then how did you go about moving forward?
(As told from drummer Ashley Maccabee): Luminosity began as the brainchild of Mike Gerlach. His writing process began many years ago, working with several musicians in the Frederick area, including Alex Rudinger and Greg Macklin. Both assisted with some of the early writing processes and pre-production of demoing the nine-track Luminosity album. After several years, Mike’s career with Fallen Martyr came to an end, and his focus shifted back to Luminosity. Stefan, who met Mike and Greg through the local scene and his own band, What We Call Victory, reconnected with Mike after both of their projects ended and convinced him to pursue a new project. In early 2012, Mike began scoping out the remaining members, and began searching for drummers. Mike was familiar with my work in various groups I’ve been a part of. I was impressed by the fast tempos and technical riffing in the demos he sent my way. The sound was reminiscent of some of my favorite bands such as Arch Enemy. I began learning several of the tracks, though not long after that, family priorities got in the way of progress and the project went by the wayside for Mike, and it was essentially forgotten about until early 2015. By this point, I was drumming in my band, Inoculum. I was re-contacted by Mike, who was again ready to begin formulating a band for Luminosity. I knew he’d been in contact with Stefan, another mutual friend/musician who had worked with me before. Stefan was finishing his education at Berklee College of Music and was eager to join a hyper-tempo metal band. With the drummer and bassist locked in, naturally, the next member to find was rhythm guitar. I posed the idea of trying out Jeremy (one of the guitarists in Inoculum). With the members solidified, we began practicing the songs religiously, preparing for shows and the eventual final recordings for the album, which began in late 2015 and neared completion in late 2016, with Greg Macklin once again at the helm of production. Mike’s decision to join the Navy was finalized in late 2016, and the final tracking for the album was completed in early February 2017.
What’s next for Luminosity as a band?
It’s funny how one can get inspired to create at the most inopportune times. The last week before Mike left, despite how busy we all were, we started demos for the songs going on the next album. Upon his return (around two or three weeks), we’ll be talking about the album release. We’ll be focusing on select shows when time allows and doing more videos for the rest of the songs. Shortly after the release of this video we will be releasing another song for you guys.
About the new video: what was the concept behind it and how did it come together? Who filmed it, etc.?
The video was directed by Jordan Miller and shot by Daniel Wyland and Mike Laws. We can’t thank these gentlemen enough for their hard work on this project. We were pretty hands-off about things and let them showcase their own style. The shots are powerful and the edit aggressive. We feel it represents the music and aesthetic of Luminosity accurately. It was a great experience. And, after one plays the same song 13 times in a row, there’s no messing up that song ever again! The story portrayed in this album is most definitely an epic. There is a hero, villain (mentioned in this song), and an almost excalibur-like item that gives our hero power (also mentioned and seen in this song). The songs on our four-song EP, “The Black Horizon,” give you snippets of the story. But, I will say they’re pretty spread out within the timeline. This video will give you another piece to the puzzle for now.
