Fri 5/1 @ 8PM
Sat 5/2 @ 8PM
Olathia is a brand new name on the Cleveland metal scene, debuting in late 2014. But local headbangers will recognize the band’s vocalist and frontwoman. Chris Emig fronted Cleveland’s Cellbound for more than seven years, providing the voice for an EP and two impressive albums, 2008’s Fallen Angel of the Sui Caedere and 2012’s Monstrum. Their powerful melodic metal was always a treat to hear.
Their fans should be equally impressed with the sound of Olathia, who are releasing their debut EP, the seven-song Hunters, this week, after less than a year together. It takes metal in a direction that’s both fluid and grooving, retaining some of the heaviness but injecting some intense beauty as well.
“Cellbound broke up in June 2103,” Emig recalls. “I took a break the rest of that year. I knew I’d do another project but didn’t want to jump right into it. I wanted to take some time find the right people.”
She found drummer Jeff Morrow first and by the summer, they started looking around seriously for other members. They found guitarists Jake Nicholson and Steve Albenze from around the local music scene, while bassist Sully came via the Internet.
“When it clicked, we knew,” she says. “I feel like we were way past the starting line when we started. We just started writing and had a really good time with it. The dynamics of it are really cool. I haven’t had the experience of writing things musically from the get-go with the band. With this band I’m doing that and I’m loving it. I’ll have an emotional thought and somehow they get it. We have a shared vision.”
The band indeed sounded way “way past the starting line” when they played the annual Auburn Records holiday food drive at the Beachland Ballroom last December. Their polished, punchy performance easily rose to the level of bands on the bill who’d been together many years with Emig as always a commanding presence vocally and visually.
Oh, and about that name:
“It’s so hard to figure out a band name,” laments Emig. “We had a name we were tossing around but we weren’t really in love with it. I went and got my iPad and said, ‘I’m going to find a name.’ I thought about what an earth girl I am and how I love nature. I come across this name: I like how it looks, I like how it sounds, but I’m thinking I better find out what it means. I look up the word and it means ‘pretty’ or ‘beautiful’ in native American. Jake is always saying ‘We need a pretty part or a beautiful part here.’ The cool thing is nobody has that name. Because it’s such an unusual name it seems like people remember it too.”
The band has back-to-back CD release shows, Fri 5/1 at the Empire in Akron and Sat 5/2 at the Maple Grove Tavern in Cleveland. Admission is $10 and includes a copy of the CD.
After that Olathia is going to be taking their music regional with gigs in other parts of Ohio as well as Michigan and Pennsylvania.
“We’re having a really good time playing smaller clubs,” says Emig. “We find people who are really into music. We’re getting some good word of mouth and we want to get out there where the people are. We’re already writing the next CD. I’m coming into the sweet spot, that’s how I feel.”
Akron, OH 44310
Maple Heights, OH 44137
Maple Heights, OH 44137