So this is what Tommy Vext and Tim Yeung were up to. A few weeks ago, they posted teasers insinuating that they would be reactivating Divine Heresy until Dino shut that down saying he owns the name.
So, they decided to continue with a new name… Westfield Massacre. I exchanged a few emails with frontman Tommy Vext and he let me know that the whole idea of jamming with drummer Tim Yeung again started at this past NAMM convention in January. They agreed they should both jam but schedules prevented them from getting together until now.
As for how they came up with the name, Vext says "The Westfield Massacre is a name I had come up with for a graphic novel idea. Coincidentally it turned out to also be the name of an episode of American Horror Story. In their episode Westfield High is the stage for a school shooting."
As for who else is playing in the band, Vext says their guitarist is Brazil's Bill Hudson II, formerly of Savatage and Jon Oliva's Pain. Their second guitarist is Rick DiMarco, who played with Tim in Death Division. While recording, the band had Scar The Martyr's Kyle Konkiel on bass duty, but due to scheduling he is not able to commit to touring with the band, so they are actively looking for a bassist.
The band are currently in pre-production for a full length record. Unfortunately, with this new commitment, Vext is no longer a part of the Snot reunion.
The decision step down from Snot was mutual and ultimately the result of scheduling conflicts. While Snot is on their US tour, The Westfield Massacre will be in preproduction for our full length at Echelon Studios in Burbank, CA. Snot is like family to me. I'm very excited to see the guys coming back to the scene as a full time band. Everyone should go check them out on their upcoming US & European tours. They have an amazing replacement to pay tribute to Lynn Strait & will be performing their debut, Get Some in it's entirety on both tours.
So what does The Westfield Massacre sound like? We have an exclusive premiere of their first single, "Darkness Divides" which certainly can be compared to Divine Heresy's music, but still has a sound of it's own, that can also be comparable to the melodic stylings of Killswitch Engage and In Flames. Take a listen:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkU5Al0e-JY[/youtube]
You can follow the band on Facebook.
