Broken Testimony

Band: Broken Testimony
From: Easley, SC
Bryce Chism – Drums
Judge Page – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Justin King – Bass
Nik Delvaux – Rhythm Guitar
Forging an original sound while not directly copying one’s influences is never an
easy feat, but it’s a skill upstate South Carolina’s Broken Testimony have
mastered to a T. Their recipe for supreme sonic success is as follows: Place equal
parts Breaking Benjamin, Tool, Alice in Chains, and Chevelle into a rock-driven
transmogrifier, press blend, and subsequently create new music that is notably
hard-hitting, melodic, and catchy all at once. “We’re trying to mold multiple
different sounds and genres into our music,” explains BT’s lead vocalist and lead
guitarist Judge Page. “We pull together stuff from alternative indie rock to heavy
metal to classic rock, and it all falls in together really well.”
Indeed, Broken Testimony prove they’re more than up to the task with the sound
of their kinetic debut album Holding on to Nothing , which celebrated its release
on June 22, 2018 via Thermal Entertainment. From the unsettling ghostlike vibes
of “Unknown” to the moody slither of “Fade Away” to the ugly metallic screamo
head of “Medusa” to the ultimate uplift and release of the album-capping
“Vitality,” Broken Testimony have staked their claim for being at the forefront of
a new generation that’s leading rock & roll’s ever-evolving melting pot.
“With the music on Nothing , we were able to take our listeners on the journey we
wanted them to take,” believes BT drummer Bryce Chism. “They get to feel
certain ways with certain songs, where it doesn’t have to be just one thing. And
that’s cool, because we want people to feel we can go as soft as we want or as hard
as we want, and still have them like whichever road we go down. And having
those moody interludes between some of the songs gives listeners a break to all
the chaos going on around them. We put them on a rollercoaster of emotion,
which is exactly how we wanted to set that table — and I think we did a
phenomenal job of it.”
Page and Chism found they had an instant connection when they first started
jamming together about three years ago, once they discovered they had mutual
interests while attending the same graphics communications class. “Bryce and I
were jamming on some songs that were actually difficult to play, but we played in
perfect time and never got off-beat,” Page recalls. “It all just flowed so well
together, and we knew right there. You just know when you have that kind of
chemistry with somebody.” Concurs Chism, “We were down in his dad’s
basement, and his mom and dad were watching us. At the end of it, we all looked
at each other and they were like, ‘You guys were on key. You knew each other’s
cues already.’ Judge and I clicked right off the handle, and we just knew it. We
jammed for like three hours, and that’s when we went, ‘Yeah, we just need to start
a band. This is it .’”

And from there, Broken Testimony was truly born. The very band name itself is
one of those uniquely evocative, visceral monikers that can’t help but evoke
multiple interpretations. “The name means a lot of different things to me,” Page
admits. “Some people take it as a religious kind of name, but that’s not what was
intended. I like to let people interpret things as they see them, but I will say a
Broken Testimony is something that gives you a really dark vibe. When you sit
and think on the name, it’s a dark story of life where you’re coming through all
the ups and downs. It signifies hope coming through the dark times. That’s what
it symbolizes to me.”
Chism, who also designed the band’s signature interlocking logo, had a specific
goal in mind once Broken Testimony got down to recording. “I’ve watched a
number of bands I know stick to a certain sound, and what they come up with are
just carbon-copy songs,” he notes. “So I sat down with my guys and said, ‘Look —
I really like where our sound is, but I want us to hit every angle we can. We can
explore different avenues.’ I want someone to pick up this album and go, ‘Yeah —
whatever you guys are doing, I’m onboard. This is worth it. This is a band I need
to invest in.’ If I can get somebody to stop scrolling and look at and listen to what
we’re doing, then I’ve hit my goal at the end of the day.”
Page shares the evidence of the band’s early evolution. “When we first started, we
were going to be a heavier band, more like metalcore,” the vocalist details. “I
grew up with Axl Rose and Sebastian Bach — those are my big vocal influences.
We were going to go for the heavier screaming thing, but we decided we wanted
to do something we thought would have longevity. We wanted to do something
we could be doing 30 years from now. I hope I bring people to the point in a song
where they go, ‘Wow, that hit hard!’ I hope the overall sound of this album brings
some of that out.”
Chism agrees with his songwriting partner. “That’s where I’m glad we were able
to execute it the way we wanted,” the drummer concurs. “We went in the studio
going, ‘We want this record to be big.’ We wanted you to hear every guitar and
every bass line, and have the drums be huge and on top of you. We wanted it to
sound enormous, to where you could hear all these crazy leads that needed to be
big and bold. And it really does sound huge .”
Page hopes to make as many new fans at every Broken Testimony show that he
can. “And for the fans that we do have already, I hope they keep wanting to listen
to us,” he adds. “I try to do my best to correlate emotion into my performance.
What’s my master plan? Man, I just want to help somebody with my music. You
hear these stories about how people connect so well with some songs that help
them through dark times — that’s my biggest dream. I want people to be able to
hear my music, and connect to it. To be able to play my music in front of people
and give them energy and give them hope — that’s what I want the most, and I’m
sure every single one of the guys in the band feels the same way. We’ll do
anything we gotta do to make our dream come true.”
To that end, Chism made sure the overall content of Nothing fired on many
cylinders. “I wanted the album to start out very dark,” he admits. “And the first
interlude sets that mood — the storm is here, and it’s a dark presence. It has all
those crazy emotions. When we get to the end with ‘Vitality,’ to feel the power of
the message Judge put in the lyrics — that’s the song we spent months writing.
Having that as our closer, where the storm has settled down at the end — that
closed the album down really well, and it gives people a real taste of who we are.
Closing with that song is really a beautiful way of wrapping up that journey. I
always wanted us to be careful with how we did that. I wanted us to fill it out, but
also be able to be clean but have a dirty sound too. We just had to set this thing
up right. I wanted us to be smart.”
Smart man, smart band. And without a doubt, based on the myriad of satisfying
sonic evidence found all throughout this most evocative debut album, Broken
Testimony handily demonstrate that you can get something from nothing.
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