Powderburn

Powderburn
Origin Austin, Texas
Genres Heavy metal
Thrash metal
Hard rock
Years active 1998–present
Labels independent
Website www.powderburn.net
Members
  • Ken Lockman – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Eric Anthony – lead guitar, vocals
  • Greg Enkler – bass guitar, vocals
  • Joel Reyes – drums, vocals
Past members
  • Josh Klayman – lead guitar, vocals
  • Patrick Swift – drums, vocals
  • Kerry Jennings – lead vocals
  • Joseph Smith – bass
  • Pete Vigliano – bass
  • Blake Martin – drums

Powderburn is an Austin, Texas–based rock band. They formed in 1998 and have released three full length CDs under independent labels. The group is one of the foremost acts in the metal scene in the city of Austin, having won several honors in the city's annual awards show, and is sponsored by several significant companies.

The band was started by Josh Klayman, the previous lead guitarist, and as a result of his departure, there are no founding members of the band currently in the lineup.

Style

Powderburn's style of music began as a mix of the controversial "nu metal" with 80s style composition under harmonized 3 part vocals. Their first CD, A New Sin, with Original lead singer Kerry Jennings is an aggressively brutal recording characterized by guitar driven aggression and Jennings growling vocals mixed with his heartfelt melodies. This album produced the hit song and crowd favorite "Now You Know" that was the number 1 downloaded metalcore song in the world on mp3.com in 2001. Their second full length CD simply called Powderburn, made a shift to more complex composition - leaning more towards the "80s style" and moving towards more drum-driven guitar riffs. That album also marked a change in the vocal style, where at various points all 4 members contributed to vocals.

In early 2006, Powderburn released a single entitled A Bloodstained Memory, which was the first recorded track with new drummer Patrick Swift. This track displays a return to the guitar-driven style that the band started out with. There is also a shift to more commercialized style, with less focus on aggression and more focus on groove and moderate tempo.

In January 2007, Powderburn released their first CD in over three years, entitled "Echoed in Red". This record follows the songwriting trend begun with "A Bloodstained Memory", which indeed is included on the disc. It comes packaged with a DVD that contains three music videos and an interview with all four band members.

In the months of December 2007 into January 2008, Powderburn began writing intensely with new lead guitarist Eric Anthony, and there was to be yet another shift in songwriting style, with the range increasing from simple, groove-laden commercial tracks to include a wider range of common metal subgenres, including thrash and speed, and also ranging farther into softer and more melodic territories.

As of September 2009, Powderburn's MySpace page states that the new record, titled "One Fix", would be released in the last week of October 2009.

Discography

Full length CDs

EP

Singles

Newly Released

On January 7, 2008, a single track entitled "One By One" was released from a recording session done with producer Paul Soroski, which was the final one attended by Josh Klayman. It is unclear if any of the other songs recorded in that session will see the light of day.

On January 13, 2007, Powderburn released a new EP, titled Echoed in Red. The CD was released following several promotional appearances during the previous week, including an in-store performance at Encore Records, and a listening party the night before at The Yellow Rose Gentlemen's Club, both in Austin, Texas. The EP was released officially at a live show at Antone's, perhaps the best known live music establishment in the Live Music Capital of the World.

Awards

Powderburn has won numerous awards in the Central Texas region:

Band member information

The band is currently a quartet, with two guitars, bass and drums comprising the entirety of the music.

Ken Lockman, from southern New Jersey, is the lead vocalist and handles rhythm guitar duties. He is the driving force behind the band, and brings a charismatic approach to the live show. He is also the main lyricist, and along with Greg Enkler has over the course of Powderburn's career been one of the main songwriters.

Eric Anthony, from Houston, Texas, is the newest addition to the lineup. He is noted for his virtuoso lead guitar style, influenced equally by 80s classic metal bands and newer guitar heroes like Dimebag Darrell. He is also noted for his clownish behavior on and offstage and is possibly the most fan-accessible member of the band.

Greg Enkler, from upstate New York, is the bassist and second-longest tenured member of Powderburn. He is one of the main songwriters and contributes to virtually every aspect of the band on and offstage.

Joel Reyes, from Austin, Texas, is the drummer and a secondary lyricist/vocalist. Reyes returned to Powderburn in 2010 after former drummer Pat Swift moved back to New York.

Recent departures and additions

Founding member and guitarist Josh Klayman left the band in the winter of 2007, with his farewell show being a December 5 performance at the Red Eyed Fly. His departure was due to his desire to pursue a career in sound engineering. The band had just finished recording four new songs when Klayman left, and since then one has been released as an Internet-only download, and the band is unclear as to what will happen to the other tracks.

He has since been replaced by Eric Anthony, a native of Houston and a former member of Texas-based bands Swinging Teresa, Pinhed, and Epic. Klayman's departure show was notable for a performance of an acoustic song that Klayman performed with both himself and former drummer Joel Reyes on guitar duty and a friend named Gabe who performed vocals. Josh was quoted as saying that "this is what you can expect from me in '08", but it is unclear whether this will formalize into an acoustic group or not.

Joel Reyes left the band in September 2004 for personal reasons. He was listed in a news report of his departure as the band's "original drummer". However, descriptions on the band's website of the members who recorded on their CDs paint a different picture. Guitarist Josh Klayman is said to be the only original member left from a demo CD made in 1999. This description of the "demo cd" was up when Reyes was still in the band, so that would mean Reyes was not the original drummer.

Reyes was replaced by current drummer Patrick Swift, formerly of the NY-based band Frail. The two shared a "handing over of the torch" style show for Reyes’ final performance in Austin, Texas at the Backroom. Reyes and Swift played "Release the Men" and "Now You Know" together during the set.

Joel Reyes is the brother-in-law of Aben Eubanks. (Guitarist/Songwriter for Kelly Clarkson)

Reyes returned to Powderburn in late April 2010.

Other departures

Co-founding member vocalist Kerry Jennings left the band in March 2002. He was never formally replaced as the band went from having a single lead singer to the remaining band members sharing vocal duties. Kerry left the band during the production of an album called Staple. This put a halt to the release of the album so that all vocals could be re-recorded and the album renamed to the self-titled Powderburn release in 2003. Jennings went on to form a band called Furthest From the Star with other Austin musicians. Jennings only worked on this project for a month before deciding to retire from the music business to spend more time with his wife Jana and son Jordan. That version of Furthest From the Star ended shortly after Jennings departure as they were unable to find a vocalist who truly fit. Judging by album descriptions, there have been at least two other departures from the band. One resulting in Joel Reyes becoming their drummer and another resulting in Greg Enkler becoming their bassist. Prior to Greg Enkler, the bassist was Joseph Smith of Austin, Texas who was asked to leave the band due to poor playing ability as well as personal differences with the band members. Jennings has since admitted he regretted not handling the situation better and wishes Smith all the best. No other info is given on former members.

Current members

Former members

(info on other members not listed)

Sponsorships

Powderburn is currently sponsored by Jägermeister, Budweiser, Coffin Case, and Skull Strings.

Endorsements

Joel Reyes is endorsed by Ukko Drum Mics. A division of BBand Ltd.

External links