A band a day...Vestascension

In this blog entry, I discuss my favorite music discovery of the entire year to date, Vestascension.

Vestascension is:
Mike Semesky: Vocals
Josh Clark: Vocals/Live Guitar
Justin Gosnell: Guitars/Keys/Programming (also the band manager)
Nathan Heavel: Bass
Mike Chubb: Drums (recently departed the band)

Vestascension is self-described as a progressive dream rock band from Frederick, Maryland, but prove to be so much more.

Their influences are as vast as the sound they produce...it ranges from dreamy ambient music to djent metal...sometimes even on the same song.

Vestascension has really been around for years, but didn't really start making music heavily until this year. They had a great idea where they would release one song a month for every month on the first day. Not only would that music be released every month, but it would be released every month for free.

I didn't catch on to this band until about April of this year which is around the time they put out Then We Are Here. That song seems to be their highlight thus far as it displays everything that is beautiful about this band's music. It's a band that is as intense as any without having to rely heavy on screaming vocals or omnipresent guitars.

That's not to say that they don't have great music that features guitar work. Lifoliage, which features members of bands from other local metal bands such as Periphery (whom I credit with my discovery of Vestascension), displays brilliant guitar work.

They aren't going to be a radio band (like a lot of the bands I like to post about), but I think that's what makes their sound refreshing.

Apart from the musical aspect, Vestascension takes their concept a step further by changing with the seasons. Their online presence changes with the time of the year. Their merchandise also changes with the seasons. There aren't any bands out there that take the total package into account and Vestascension looks to change all of that.

Unlike most bands where I can recommend a song or two for you, since everything they've released to date is a free download on their BandCamp page, I would suggest you download anything that's available. There's literally something for everybody.

Unfortunately, they've fallen behind schedule in their monthly music releases due to the recent departure of their drummer, but they are still plugging along.

Keep track of their progress on Facebook and Twitter!