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The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Local band continues connection with fans

    Voice of the Enemy’s current lineup includes Sebastian Martin, Michael Elisar, Hayden Kimball and Tyler Laiche. The heavy metal band focuses on creating a bond with audience members through lyrics and performances. Courtesy of Kaitlyn Hebert

    Since forming a thrash metal band in 2013, the dream of two young musicians has blossomed into the growth of a community between the sole founding member, new band members and fans of Voice of the Enemy.

    “I want our fans to have a good time,” said founder Hayden Kimball. “That’s what we’re there to do. I also want them to feel like they can relate to us as people. We’ve all felt the frustration of dealing with the way the world is today. We’ve all dealt with our inner demons. We’ve all struggled with one thing or another. We want our fans to hear our music and say, ‘Man, these guys get me.’”

    Voice of the Enemy’s new lineup began in 2016 as a heavy metal band. Other current members of the band include rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tyler Laiche, drummer Sebastian Martin and bassist Michael Elisar.

    Kimball, lead guitarist and vocalist of the band and senior psychology major, explained his outlook on balancing being a full-time student and musician. He cited coordinating rehearsal schedules as an area of difficulty.

    “It isn’t easy, but we make it work,” said Kimball. “We do the serious stuff over Christmas and summer break when we have time and use the school time to focus on studies and play the local shows. We also use the time to write and rehearse.”

    Voice of the Enemy’s performance schedule can vary from shows that run every weekend to shows that run every few months. When long breaks occur, the band uses the time to rehearse, record and write new material.

    “We do a rehearsal the day before the show,” said Kimball. “When we get there, we get dressed, have a sound check and do a group prayer. After we do that, I like to go outside and do some vocal warmups while the rest of the band warms up individually. After that’s done, the intro plays, and we walk out onstage to do our thing.”

    Martin, who has been a member of Voice of the Enemy for two years, explained the significance of thrilling fans during sets.

    “I want our fans to experience the full thing,” said Martin. “I like to play and write the music. We have lost equipment or have had to hire new players. Deep down though, we still keep pushing.”

    Kimball can attest to the band being no stranger to member changes. Recently, Elisar, who has been a member for only eight months, got the opportunity to join amid those changes that include a possible shift in music style.

    “We recently shot a music video,” said Kimball. “We released music that is of a new fusion style. We haven’t dropped our southern metal flavor, but rather have experimented with new styles such as ‘metalcore’ and even included some industrial metal in addition to it. The results are quite appealing to us.”

    The EP “Gunslinger,” which was released in 2015, as well as the ballad “Burn,” which had its music video release in May of 2017, varies in style and sound quality in contrast to the new work that is anticipated to be out by late spring or early summer of 2018.

    “This album calls on more modern influences while still using older ones to create a very unique fusion,” said Kimball. “This new album is going to be a great one. We plan to send this one to a lot of labels and hope to get on some national shows with big bands in 2018. My personal goal is to get on a show with Texas Hippie Coalition or Black Label Society.”

    Alumnus Laiche graduated from the university in May of 2017 with a degree in marketing. During his nine months in the band, he got the opportunity to join after “Gunslinger” was completed.

    “I liked it and enjoyed playing songs from it, but this album is completely better in every aspect,” said Laiche. “The music is better, and the album is recorded to sound better. We have a new sound, new emotions and new content on this new album. We are so excited to be pushing this music out because we think it’s a home run.”

    Kimball referred to the band as a “brotherhood” that validated the long commutes to shows and long hours in the studio.

    “Music has always been my way to speak my mind,” said Kimball. “Voice of the Enemy has given me a unique voice with which to do so.”

    Laiche cited passion as a prime motivation in the band’s success.

    “Meeting new people, exploring new music and the process for all of this is a long but positive road,” said Laiche. “The music is what we do, and each of us has their own unique flavor and contribution to the music that we love playing. We want people to gain something from our music. We want to change people’s lives and help them through our passion so that they can discover or enhance their own passion.”

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