Sceneazine.com
Sentinel
by Jenny Johnston
W
ith today’s seemingly endless supply of
trends, few bands can say they have risen to
the occasion and created something truly unique. Such
is the case for Middle Tennessee based metalcore outfit Sentinel, whose name was taken from the legends of
a ghost that inhabits the Trans-Allegheney mountain
chain in Western Virginia. Walking the thin line between beatdown hardcore, deathcore and even alternative metal is something the band does in stride, and it
seems almost natural. Vocal comparisons to grindcore
legends Napalm Death, walls of crushing guitars reminiscent of bands like Emmure and Bury Your Dead, and
enough ferocity to make this years latest death metal
release look like child’s play is something that the good
ole’ boys in Sentinel pride themselves on. The band is
currently in the pre production stages of recording their
debut EP “ An Invitation To Ashes” and gearing up for
live shows across the Southeast in 2015!!
So how long have you guys been together as a band?
Share with us a brief history.
Travis Wood: We have been a band for 1 year in
October. We had all played together under a different
name, End Of Ages. We’ve all been playing together in
different bands and stuff since High School.
Matt Foust: Jesse and I have been playing together
since Sophmore year.
Jesse Wilson: We’ve all switched around instruments
throughout the years. In our first band, I sang, Foust
played guitar and Travis played bass.
Who in the band came up with your name? What, if
any, reason did you guys choose your name?
TW: I did. I was in Roanoke,VA visiting family and
watched the movie “Mama”. That’s kind of where the inspiration came from
What are the members names and what instrument
do they each play?
Travis Wood – vocals, Anthony Martin – guitar,
Matt Foust – bass/programming and Jesse Wilson drums/vocals
Who are some of you guys influences? Would you
say that’s where you get your sound from?
Anthony Martin – Metallica, Parkway Drive, Emmure, Yeah I definitely think it impacts our sound
Travis Wood – For me, Eighteen Visions, because
I like flashy, confident vocalists. And I’m into a lot of
death metal and grind. Napalm Death, Vomitory, stuff
like that. A lot of my vocal influences are death metal
bands
Matt Foust: Metallica, Sublime, For Today and Periphery. I like to add a variety of bass techniques
Jesse Wilson: August Burns Red, Periphery, Incubus,
Nirvana, Joey Jordison and Dave Grohl. Those guys had
a huge influence on my drumming for sure
At what age did you guys decide you wanted to be in
a band? Is that the same time you become interested
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in Music?
Jesse: It started with me in fifth
grade. My dads friend gave me like,
half a drum set and I started playing
to Nirvana
Travis: I started playing music
in 9th grade. I was into all kinds of
weird nu metal bands and stuff. The
big jeans, chains, makeup haha. I
saw this local band play at the park
in our town and I was like, if they
can do it, so can I.
When it comes to creating Is
there one person who writes all the
songs? Or do you guys write them
as a band?
Anthony: We write them as a
band.
Jesse: Of course Anthony writes
all the guitar riffs, he brings ideas
and we piece them together as a group, and Travis usually has a notebook full of lyrics that he pieces into what
fits the song.
Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Travis: Lyrically for me, I write about a lot of stuff
that I have personally went through. A lot of our songs
are about supernatural events and the trauma that follows in the wake of those
experiences. We find our
hope and faith in God,
and there is light in the
darkness of those songs.
It’s not all a rainy day.
There’s light at the end of
the tunnel
Do you guys have any
favorite local or regional bands that you really like? Have you ever
shared a stage with them?
Anthony:
Consulting The Arbiter is pretty
sweet. Last Embrace, Eyetooth
Travis: There are
some pretty good Nashville bands out there. I
dig The Human Condition, SOMA, Behold The
Slaughter. The dudes in
Eyetooth and Last Embrace are awesome too.
What’s your opinion
of your music scene? And
what would you like to
see change?
Matt : I would like to
see the heavy scene get
bigger. Nashville needs to be a hub for metal
Jesse: Personally, I would like to see bands support
each other. Instead of looking at each other like competition, I’d like to see bands group together and take over
the scene.
Travis: I second that. It seems like so many bands are
out there to cut each others throats. That’s not healthy,
for the bands, H