AllurA will see you in hell
AllurA, who play the See You In Hell Halloween Party at Saint Rocke Saturday.
Halloween’s that strange and special time of the year which allows us to be more silly, sexy, and spooky than usual, without feeling bad about it. It’s time for cobwebs, and hanging dead guys from the tree in your front yard, without it being weird. Time for zombies, jesters, heroes and villains, monsters and aliens, honeys and hobos. Time for the dead to walk alongside the crazy, parading in search of tricks and treats; candy. It’s time for costume contests and Halloween parties. It’s time for local Metal band AllurA to see you in hell.
AllurA performs Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach this Halloween weekend for their See You In Hell party. The festive gathering begins at the stroke of 9 on Saturday night, Oct 29, and will also feature the talents of Hoist The Colors, Neo Geo, Friends In Low Places, and DJ Nocturn.
AllurA is Taylor Killam (guitar, vocals), A.J. Bartholomew (lead guitar, vocals), Adam Romine (bass), Chris Bartholomew (lead vocals), and Brandon Brown (drums). With the exception of Romine, hailing fromPasadena, they’re comprised of class of ’05 and ’07 Mira Costa students.
Reasonably in line with the spirit of Halloween, this band of seeming tattooed bad boys actually took its name from a female cartoon character.
“Our old bass player came up with it,” says A.J. Bartholomew. “It’s from the old anime cartoon Vultron, one of the princesses is named AllurA. We thought it was alluring enough for a good band name.”
She must have been one badass princess to name such a band after; while their music might be delicately made, it’s by no means a delicate sound.
“We’re a heavy band,” says Bartholomew. “But when you listen to us, I think it’s pretty evident that we’re not just a straight metal band. You can hear a lot of different styles in our music; every song is a little different… Some songs are fast, and others are more groove oriented.”
As their sound digs beyond the surface level of straight metal, rather than going too in depth – Bartholomew usually resolves to say the band is simply metal, with the most common impression being a heavier version of Rise Against.
Romine suggests, “AllurA’s in your face sound combines an aggressive metal feel with a melodic backbone.”
Perhaps stemming from the essence of a melodic undertone, Bartholomew says the band projects a positive message full of energy and passion, with most of their current songs giving him a sort of uplifting feeling.
“The understanding of where one stands in the world and the contribution they make is really important in our lyrics,” he says.
To date, the boys have an EP titled Change in the Winds (’07), and an LP The Organization of Sound and Silence (’09) under their belts, as well as a freshly completed LP called True Colors, released Oct 4 on Hardline Entertainment.
Ken Seaton of Hardline Entertainment has played an integral role in both facilitating the most recent release by AllurA and conditioning their current status as a band.
“I used to work for Famly Clothing, a clothing company owned by Ken Seaton and Fletcher Dragge (of Pennywise),” Bartholomew says. “They gave us the opportunity to be a part of the Warped Tour for a few years, which led to us working together in a more official capacity. We recorded our new album with Ken at his new studio ‘The Porch,’ and now we’re putting the album out on his label Hardline Entertainment. He has been nothing but supportive towards us; and his love for music, especially up-and-coming music, is just awesome!”
The same being true for all art, all bands require support. And AllurA has also provided support of their own. They’ve performed at several important venues, including House of Blues and The Troubadour, and have opened for such notable acts as Pepper, Strung Out, Stick To Your Guns, Attack! Attack!, Ignite, and Death By Stereo (the lead singer of which is featured in a guest spot on AllurA’s new album). And with a fresh pressing to show for themselves, they’ll be hitting the venues like crazy in the near future.
Bartholomew says, “Now that the new album is done, we’re starting to shift our focus back to playing live – as much as we can, as many places as we can. We have a lot of shows booked through the beginning of November already, and we’re gonna keep building from there, back up to being on the road full-time.”
See AllurA live while they’re still local, Saturday Oct 29 at Saint Rocke’s See You In Hell Halloween Party w/ Hoist The Colors, Neo Geo, Friends In Low Places, and DJ Nocturn (show at 9 p.m., doors at 5 p.m.). For more info on AllurA go to facebook.com/alluraband. Their new LP True Colors is available for digital download on iTunes, and physical copies can be purchased at shows or from www.HardlineEnt.com.