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Heavy weights
Brooklyn metal band brings punchy sound to Gowanus
The heads that wear the crowns: The metal band Unbroken will play songs from its debut “Human Crown” at Lucky 13 Saloon in Gowanus on March 20. Photo by Caroline Ourso
COURIER LIFE, MARCH 13-19, 2020 45
By Rose Adams They’re breaking new ground!
A Brooklyn band is breathing
fresh air into the heavy metal
genre, combining a Metallica-inspired
sound with high-tech post-production.
The Unbroken, performing as part of the
“March Metal Beatdown” at Gowanus’s
Lucky 13 Saloon on March 20, uses downtuned
instruments and slick technology to
create “punchier” songs, said the band’s
drummer.
“Modern sound has a different tuning,
with newer sounds on the instruments, as
well as using today’s technology to create a
fresher, cleaner ‘modern’ feel to the overall
sound,” said Tamas Vajda.
The band — whose hit song “Suffering
in Silence” has racked up more than
170,000 views on Youtube — got its
start in 2017, when Vajda and lead singer
Chester Oszustowicz decided to combine
forces.
“We’re old friends,” said Vajda. “We
met through the metal circuit 15 years ago
or so.”
The pair recruited two more members
of the scene and called the group, “The
Broken Co.” — until a new band name
came to Vajda in a vision, he said.
“I had a dream which gave me a very
positive sign,” he said. “There’s nothing
wrong, it’s not broken therefore it’s
Unbroken.”
The Unbroken plays “groove metal,”
a sub-genre that features raspy shouting,
guitar riffs, and syncopated beats, Vajda
said. The group has quickly gained a loyal
following, but expanding its audience has
been difficult in Brooklyn’s small heavy
metal community.
“It’s pretty underground,” Vajda said.
“I can’t say New York has as much of a
metal scene as it used to.”
To expand its reach, the band created
an online experience to accompany its
debut album, “Human Crown.” Rather
than buying the collection, fans can
sign up to receive one song from the
album each day, along with its music
video and behind-the-scenes footage.
According to Vajda, the band began the
multimedia project to amp up its online
presence and give listeners an original
experience.
“You’ve got to give them something
new, something special,” he said. “That’s
our specialty.”
At the show, the band will play songs
from “Human Crown,” along with some
new tunes they are preparing for a new
album, which the group hopes to finish by
the end of the year.
The Unbroken at Lucky 13 Saloon 644
Sackett St. between Third and Fourth
avenues in Gowanus, (718) 596–0666,
www.lucky13saloon.com. March 20 at 11
pm. $12.
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