Forging an original sound while not directly copying one’s influences is never an easy feat, but it’s a skill upstate South Carolina’s Broken Testimony have mastered to a T. Their recipe for supreme sonic success is as follows: Place equal parts Breaking Benjamin, Tool, Alice in Chains, and Chevelle into a rock-driven transmogrifier, press blend, and subsequently create new music that is notably hard-hitting, melodic, and catchy all at once. “We’re trying to mold multiple different sounds and genres into our music,” explains BT’s lead vocalist and lead guitarist Judge Page. “We pull together stuff from alternative indie rock to heavy metal to classic rock, and it all falls in together really well.”
Indeed, Broken Testimony proves they’re more than up to the task with the sound of their kinetic debut album Holding on to Nothing, which celebrated its release on June 22, 2018, via Thermal Entertainment. From the unsettling ghostlike vibes of “Unknown” to the moody slither of “Fade Away” to the ugly metallic screamo head of “Medusa” to the ultimate uplift and release of the album-capping “Vitality,” Broken Testimony have staked their claim for being at the forefront of a new generation that’s leading rock & roll’s ever-evolving melting pot.
“With the music on Nothing, we were able to take our listeners on the journey we wanted them to take,” believes BT drummer Bryce Chism. “They get to feel certain ways with certain songs, where it doesn’t have to be just one thing. And that’s cool because we want people to feel we can go as soft as we want or as hard as we want, and still have them like whichever road we go down. And having those moody interludes between some of the songs gives listeners a break to all the chaos going on around them. We put them on a rollercoaster of emotion, which is exactly how we wanted to set that table — and I think we did a phenomenal job of it.”
Page and Chism found they had an instant connection when they first started jamming together about three years ago, once they discovered they had mutual interests while attending the same graphics communications class. “Bryce and I were jamming on some songs that were actually difficult to play, but we played in perfect time and never got off beat,” Page recalls. “It all just flowed so well together, and we knew right there. You just know when you have that kind of chemistry with somebody.” Concurs Chism, “We were down in his dad’s basement, and his mom and dad were watching us. At the end of it, we all looked at each other and they were like, ‘You guys were on key. You knew each other’s cues already.’ Judge and I clicked right off the handle, and we just knew it. We jammed for like three hours, and that’s when we went, ‘Yeah, we just need to start a band. This is it.’”
And from there, Broken Testimony was truly born. “To be able to play my music in front of people and give them energy and give them hope — that’s what I want the most, and I’m sure every single one of the guys in the band feels the same way,” concludes Page. Adds Chism, “I want someone to pick up this album and go, ‘Yeah — whatever you guys are doing, I’m on board. This is worth it. This is a band I need to invest in.’”
Without a doubt, based on the myriad of satisfying sonic evidence found all throughout this most evocative debut album, Broken Testimony handily demonstrate that you can get something from nothing.
SOURCE: Official Bio
