Music Monday Blog Featuring Atheras
I have seen a lot opening bands. I’m talkin’ downright horrible to groups that are now headliners. As concert goers we remember the extremes: “Hey, remember that opener at BMF last summer? They were awful.” Or “How badass, was that local band that opened last week for Arsis?!” Bands who are just starting out can feel awkward around crowds, or even worse, like there’s no connection to the audience. A new, Technical Death Metal band out of Boise, has none of the usual “first show” jitters with all the swagger of polished veterans. I knew during the sound check at The Shredder on Nov. 8, Atheras could bring the metal horns out of any size crowd. They stood like Gods on the cramped pedestal, under the gaze of E.T. (Shredder natives know what I mean), and a modest crowd of biker bros, my neurotic girlfriend, and a supportive dad, clad in a band tee that read, “Atheras.” Austin Hetrick, vocals and rhythm guitar, smashes the audiences faces with his extremely powerful metal growls. This guy ditches the stage and brings the show INTO THE AUDIENCE to grind with the fans! Colin Hayman on drums, brings a much-needed double kick that even got the GF to head bang. Will Reynolds, bass, has the perfect metal helicopter stance while supporting the beat. Kasey Hamer, lead guitar, melts faces with his effortless technical skills. Kicking things off, no introduction, the band seemed perfectly connected and well-rehearsed. Big Breakdowns were accompanied by headbanging and face melting passion.
Atheras has seen lineup changes, as many new bands do, since their beginning in 2016. The band feels this current lineup will be the key to their success because of their drive and personal connections. The band is currently working on finishing their EP, which they hope will bring more attention and get them to their next goal of setting up some out of state shows (Lord, knows Utah could use it). Atheras brings a blend of fantasy and personal themes into their songs, pulling ideas from The Legend of Zelda to World of Warcraft (Hord 4 life, sorry Austin). The fantasy aspect of their music begins with their name, “Atheras” is a character that lives in the stories the band tells, their own super, superhero.
The name Atheras brings along strength and a will to overcome obstacles. The song lyrics mimic this name by singing about, “understanding your heart and mind and how to use it” they said. The band pulls influences from many great metal bands such as Revocation, Gojira, and Between the Buried and Me. Another huge influence on their music and lyrics is each other. Their constant need for perfection and bringing the best versions of themselves to the stage drives their sound. While the band loves interacting with each other on stage they also want to bring that fire into the crowd. Many of the band members enter the crowd during epic breakdowns to play next to their audience. This is a band that brings a unique passion to the Boise metal scene and we are lucky to have them! From the drums, to the bass, to the guitars and lead vocals this is a band I hope survives the freshman stage and continues to push into their sophomore years. No matter how large the venue or how small the crowd, Atheras will give the audience a high energy performance. I highly recommend an Atheras show if you want to blow off some steam and dive into a heavy mosh pit.
