If you saw the six members of Cleveland metal band Cellbound hanging
out at the Dirty Dog, a blue-collar corner bar just outside Parma’s
city limits, you’d probably tab them for another bunch of Parma
metalheads who’d been playing in bands together since high school.
Dressed in leather jackets and Metallica T-shirts, they’re making jokes
about their mascot skull beer bong, which they’ve brought along, and
finishing each other’s sentences as they talk about their debut CD,
Fallen Angels of the Sui Caedere, which they’ll celebrate with
an official CD-release show at Peabody’s on Friday.
The slashing music on that disc — with its spiraling lead
guitars, aggressive rhythmic stomp and perfectly meshed male/female
lead vocals (a sound they self-describe as “Pantera meets Lacuna Coil”)
— adds to the impression that they’re lifelong friends. But, in
reality, they all met via the Internet and come from all over
Northeastern Ohio; no one knew anyone else prior to joining Cellbound.
Drummer Todd Alley and guitarist Dave Borowske weren’t expecting a
woman — the tall, forceful, vivacious Chris E. — to show up
to audition when they advertised for a singer back in 2007, but, says
Alley, “She came in and blew me away.”
Later that year, guitarist Shaun Vanek, singer Tom Herttna and
bassist Greg Baise completed the lineup. Baise, who, like Herttna is
from rural Geauga County, remembers, “I was sitting on the couch
watching the Discovery Channel when Chris called me. They saw my ad on
the Internet and said come to practice. At that first practice, I felt
this great energy and it didn’t take me too long before I realized, I
hope they invite me back.”
“The sound changed once we added Shawn, Tom and Greg,” says Alley.
“Shaun’s playing is freakishly good. Halfway through the first
practice, he knew all the songs. We had to step it up to the next
level. At our first show I realized — this is the group.”
That show took place at the Beachland, opening for Ringworm. Perhaps
as a weird omen, Dennis Kucinich was there.
“As soon as we started the first song, these guys went crazy,” says
Alley. “It was like a mosh pit onstage.”
“I had a black eye and pulled Tom’s hair out with my guitar,” adds
Baise.”There’s an injury every show,” says Chris. “Tom’s head was
bleeding. Some people who had been with us from the get-go and had seen
us through all the changes said it was perfect.”
The band went in last summer to record its CD, following up an EP
made with an earlier lineup.
“Things flowed really well in the studio, even though most of the
material was written prior to us being in the band,” says Vanek.
“Everyone added their own personality to it.”
They had the CD in hand by their Halloween show but decided to wait
until spring to officially release it to avoid potential blizzards.
Instead, the closing of the Jigsaw derailed their scheduled April show.
But they aren’t sitting back and waiting for things to happen. They’ve
been writing new material (at their release show, they’ll play a new
song, “Stolen Silence,” which showcases how they use dual lead
vocalists to present two characters with different points of view) and
playing as many gigs as they can. This summer, they’re booked at
everything from a metalfest outside Chicago to an acoustic in-store gig
at the Strongsville Hot Topic. And, as much as they have the Internet
to thank for their existence, they don’t believe in the long-distance
approach to promoting a band.
“We try to get out and meet people, not sit at the bar,” says Chris.
“You can be on the computer, you can be on MySpace, but if you’re not
out there creating an environment onstage and meeting people, it’s not
going to happen.”
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2009.