AURA Fest brings The Order of Elijah, Corrupted Empire and other metal acts to El Rocko

AURA Fest is presenting another titanic metal line-up at El Rocko Lounge featuring four brutal bands that should get the mosh pit roiling like an angry sea.

Headliners The Order of Elijah formed in 2010 and hail from Joplin, Missouri. They are known for their massive guitar assaults, hyper screams, atmospheric electronic elements, and dynamically arranged progressive deathcore music, as heard on their albums, “War at Heart” (2016) and “Dethroned” (2017).

The Order of Elijah (TOOE) are currently in a transition phase following the departure of vocalist Shannon Low (who remains the band’s manager). But the band are nothing if not perseverant and are relying on guest vocalists for their current tour, including Nate Gilbert on the first leg and at El Rocko.

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“It’s been very testing,” said Cam MacDowell, TOOE’s synth and electronics player. “I know the stuff we’ve had to go through would probably be enough to get another band to cancel their tour, but we’re pushing through. We’re definitely making this happen.”

TOOE used to market themselves as a Christian metal band until Low controversially announced a change of his ideals and that he was renouncing his faith. The band has been able to evolve since then, if not completely distance themselves from the controversy.

“It’s always going to be there,”said MacDowell. “The way we explain it now is we didn’t want the label of a ‘Christian’ band. We just wanted to be a band.”

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“We’re always willing to talk about it. We didn’t go completely away from it like, ‘We hate Christianity.’ We just had some different ideals and stepped away from the label of that. We still take the empowering lyrics from the songs written in that era, and we still bring those out. We still have a lot of Christian fans out there and we love them.”

TOOE’s most recent single, “Wolves” was inspired by Low’s Cherokee lineage and addresses the many wrongs done to indigenous people. Low’s last performance with the band was at the Navajo Nation Metal Fest with Suicide Silence. The track highlights TOOE’s symphonic synths, pummeling rhythm section, and souring guitar solos from Bryan Cox, who MacDowell describes as the “heart and soul” of the band.

TOOE are currently in the studio forging their next single, which they expect to finish once they finally settle on a permanent vocalist, but MacDowell is already fired up for the direction the band is going in with the new material.

“The samples we’re using, there’s a lot to it we’re super excited for.”

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Joining The Order of Elijah at El Rocko are their tour mates Homicyde, a melodic death metal band from South Carolina who made a big impression when they played at Savannah’s Mosh for Tots.

Local bands on the bill

Savannah deathcore/beatdown band Omenkiller are also returning to El Rocko after releasing their punishingly heavy EP, “As Above, So Below,” back in January.

Another Savannah band on the bill that is garnering attention is Corrupted Empire. Corrupted Empire features Paul Devlin (vocals), David Herman (guitar), Riley Vest (bass), and Lance Adair (back on drums from guitar after a line-up change).

Corrupted Empire released three singles last year that showcase their low-end, gut-rumbling guitar chug that draws inspiration from bands like Lamb of God, After the Burial, and Periphery. For their next three singles the band want to get even lower and heavier.

“We’ve got a bit of a style shift, but it’s still heavy music,” said Herman. “We shifted our style a bit and are trying to go lower tuning...Me personally, it’s something I’ve fallen in love with, as far as going lower and lower. We’ve found our formula for how we want to write.”

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“Still keeping the low-end grooves,” added Herman. “Basically we want something that people can move around to. Or at the very least gets you bobbing your head.”

Corrupted Empire recently posted a practice session video of their groove-laden upcoming single, “Unaccountable,” to give a taste of what’s in store for the future.

“Our new sound is a mixture of djent/prog/groove metal,” explained Herman. “I’d say we’ve got something very different going on from a lot of our peers. I love everything that’s going on here. They’ve got the hardcore thing going, or the deathcore thing going. We all love that. I would say we definitely have a unique sound, at least for the area, because I can’t really compare ourselves to a lot of the stuff coming out now.”

As the designated spokesperson for Corrupted Empire for this interview, Herman was given strict instructions from his bandmates not to use any of his usual catch phrases. However, he was given permission to fall back on one of his favorite expressions to describe his talented bandmates — “Them boys are on shine.”

“The four of us are very passionate about our music and we live for playing live,” said Herman. “We just hope to continue to put out stuff that everybody digs, and we get to meet more bands and more fans throughout our time of doing this little project.”

IF YOU GO

What: AURA Fest Presents The Order of Elijah, Homicyde, Omenkiller, Corrupted Empire

When: Thursday at 8 p.m.

Where: El Rocko Lounge, 117 Whitaker St.

Cost: $12-15

Info: aurafestsavannah.com

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA concerts: AURA Fest presents The Order of Elijah