Tired of shallow pop music that never seems to stand for anything? I Am Abomination could be your band. The Michigan progressive metal quintet wear their convictions on their sleeves.
They confront the Founding Fathers on "Since 1776," the opening track on their new album, To Our Forefathers. "To our forefathers with love," sings vocalist Phil Druyor. "Thanks for tearing the world apart. If we are so free, then why are our minds not meant to be?"
They vow to be something more than cosmetic in their promotional materials. "I Am Abomination are not a thrown-together pretty-boy scene band that fake their way through a set of choreographed guitar swings and drop tuned breakdowns," reads a biography provided by their label. The band plays an all-ages show at the Loft on July 17.
When I talked with Druyor by phone last week, he had an opinion, too, about what sets I Am Abomination apart from other hard-rock and heavy-metal bands.
It's the singing.
"We wanted to make our songs without the screaming that goes with a lot of heavy music," says Druyor, 22. "We think screaming limits the range of what you can do musically. You can have a high scream, a mid-scream or a low scream. That's only three notes you can make by voice at any given part of the song."
The members of I Am Abomination grew up in Taylor, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. Three of them attended high school together.
The band formed during the summer of 2007. It released a debut EP the next year. The success of that recording was fueled by "Heir to the Throne," a piano/synth-rock melodrama akin to the Muse song "Uprising."
Like Muse, I Am Abomination thrives on brooding, hard-rock conspiracy theories and musical war against the forces of darkness. "These guys are an elite fighting force...they have an undying desire to slay the masses live," reads the band bio.
I Am Abomination is currently touring in support of its full-length debut album, To Our Forefathers.
The five will tour all summer because of something else their website says the band believes in: winning fans "one headbanger at a time."
