Spotlight: Oblique – Indiana Metal Band

Nick Whetsel, Ryan Lee, Chad Leathers, Ross Locke, and Tanner McCracken. What do these 5 guys have in common? They’re each a member of what is probably the best metal band that Muncie, Indiana has to offer. They’ve described themselves as “being on the forefront of a third wave of Alternative Metal.” Their influences include Tool, Perfect Circle, Deftones, Theropy?, and Helmet. They’ve gained a decent local following, playing shows in and around the Indianapolis area. They finished second in this years Battle of the Bands, losing by a mere 8 votes. They recently played the Dead Leaf Festival here in Muncie, which I had the pleasure of seeing them for the first time. Unfortunately, they were given an early time slot on an all day event, and not many people were there to see them. They’ve also released two demos.

The first demo included the songs Believe, Shaping, and Chromosone. I’ve only heard one song from the demo, as it is no longer available. The song I was able to hear before it was recently removed from MP3.com was Believe. It’s a good song, but nothing like their new style.

Their second demo, which I purchased after seeing them play at the Dead Leaf Festival, is really good. They seem to have gone a different direction with their sound, as opposed to their first demo. This one includes the songs Color of Voices, Brutal Truth, Capture the Flag, Destination After Death, Pathway, and Our Flood. My personal favorites from the demo would have to be Color of Voices and Capture the Flag.

Ever since I first heard them play, I’ve tried to think of who they sound like, or who they could be compared to. I can’t think of anyone. My brother sent a couple songs to a girl over the Internet, and she said they reminded her of Tantric. I’ve heard Tantric, and Oblique doesn’t sound like Tantric. I highly recommend heading over to their web site and listening to some of their songs. The link is below.

Source: Oblique