*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is California!
“And now for something completely different…”
– Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Sorizon is a very rare and unique band based out of Orange County, CA. Playing throughout Southern and Central California, Arizona and Nevada; this sextet of wickedly talented musicians have thrown caution to the wind and decided to create whatever strikes their collective, creative fancy instead of targeting one group of listeners or chaining themselves to any certain genre. When asked “what is your target audience”, song-writer, studio guitarist, and manager Dr. Danny Mann enthusiastically states “Everyone! We’ve heard many times after our shows from people who don’t really like metal that they really dug our set. I’m proud of that!” That said, Sorizon has much to be proud of because after just one listen to their music, one understands why this is true!
Universal appeal is a tall order and all too often a recipe for a train wreck, but with the energy and obvious cohesion of its members, Sorizon never once comes off the rails. From their new CD “End of Entrapment”, solely acoustic songs like “Cosmic Eden” and the overwhelmingly catchy “Poisonous Kiss” to the larger than life “Beauty In The Darkness” (this song is simply incredible!) from their first release “Behind The Emerald Starscape”, everything is owned by this band; their style, unmistakable and identifiable as Sorizon. There is also the potential to sound schizophrenic: unable to land on a definable path. Again, Sorizon successfully navigates their direction much like assembling a compound polyhedron: complex in its detail but wonderfully elegant, simple and beautiful as an integrated unit. Bottom line: open your mind and don’t get caught up in the minutiae because when their music is taken in its entirety, Sorizon is nothing short of brilliant!
Sorizon was formed by Dr. Danny Mann, vocalist Keith McIntosh and drummer Sean Elston, relics of the locally successful band Joust in 2008. Once adding Taylor Courier and Tim Hall on guitars and Kevin Vickers on bass, Sorizon was complete. Most striking about this line-up is that there is no weak link among them, even with the bar set so high as a collective. Stellar guitar work ranges from furiously fast to ominous, low and dark; often trading these same traits with the drums and bass to create seamless bridges between musical ideas in the same song or from one song to the next. The vocal prowess of Keith McIntosh fits perfectly in this ever-changing paradigm of Sorizon musicianship. He has one of the best clean vocals available: rich, soaring and powerful but able to switch to vicious screams and growls when appropriate. Simply amazing. Being all over the musical tapestry with their self-described brand of “Progressive Metal with feeling” is reflected by Sorizon’s variety of influences which range from classics like Black Sabbath, Dio and Iron Maiden, to Symphony X, Megadeth and Metallica all the way to Mastedon, Opeth and Gojira.
Sorizon currently has three, self-recorded releases:
“Behind the Emerald Starscape”: (2009) Mastered in Finland’s Finnvox Studios by the Mika Jussila who has also produced albums by Children of Bodom, Dragonforce and Nightwish
“Somnus“: (2013) Mastered in Sweden’s Fascination St. Studios by Tony Lindgren who has mastered notable bands such as Opeth, Amon Amarth, Kreator and Symphony X
“End of Entrapment” (March 2016) Mastered and produced by Dr. Danny Mann and Sean Elston
Quoting Mann’s response regarding the future vision of Sorizon: “My personal vision is that Sorizon gets recognized as an innovative metal band with memorable, unique songs. No matter what happens, I’m really proud of the music we’ve made because we’ve put a ton of effort to do our best making metal that we think people need to hear.” Innovative: check. Memorable and unique: check. Metal we need to hear: BIG CHECK! Recognition, no doubt will follow with the brazen quality of Sorizon’s music. Definitely a band to watch out for!
Check them out: Sorizon
On Facebook: Sorizon
Special thanks to Danny for all of his help! His patience and wealth of offered information is much appreciated! Much love Brother!
- Odyssey
