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Blending metal genres

Kelownasa国际传媒檚 ArkenFire is performing at Armstrong Metal Fest, July 14 and 15
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Contributed From left to right: guitarist Ian McCall, bassist Milan Bertucci, lead-vocalist Jacob LeBlanc, guitarist Randy Peterson and drummer Netto Figueiredo of ArkenFire are performing at the Armstrong Metal Fest, July 14 and 15.

With the blending of two metal genres, traditional and power, one Kelowna band will be bringing its flare to the Metal Fest stage.

This will be the second time ArkenFire performs at the Armstrong Metal Fest, being held July 14 and 15 this year.

The metal band is composed of lead-vocalist Jacob LeBlanc, guitarists Randy Peterson and Ian McCall, bassist Milan Bertucci and drummer Netto Figueiredo. They recently released their first EP, Celestial Beasts, on May 12.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 feeling pretty good about it, it was a long-time coming for sure,sa国际传媒 said Figueiredo, 32. sa国际传媒淲e started the project around 2011, 2012, so it has been a long journey to find the right people to work with the band. When we did, we took our time to make sure the composition was well done and we were happy with the songs.sa国际传媒

LeBlanc, 29, typically writes lyrics last when the band creates a song, creating a short story to accompany the music, which is how Celestial Beasts got its name.

sa国际传媒淲e may in the future look at writing in a different format, but so far itsa国际传媒檚 all been in the same flow,sa国际传媒 he said.

Last year, LeBlanc was sick for the festival so hesa国际传媒檚 hoping this year hesa国际传媒檒l make up for it.

For Figueiredo, attending the festival as part of a band and a concert-goer was nice, so he could get both perspectives.

For the summer, the band members plan on performing one show per month and writing new music.

If all goes well, theysa国际传媒檙e hoping to release a new full-length album in the winter, said LeBlanc.

ArkenFire was created in 2015, after what began as a power-metal project for Peterson and Figueiredo.

More along the lines of Iron Maiden, sa国际传媒渙ur style with the elements that we play itsa国际传媒檚 not the most common things to hear in the Okanagan,sa国际传媒 said Figueiredo.

They play the music they enjoy, rolling with the music thatsa国际传媒檚 fun and interesting for the band members, said LeBlanc.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e not trying to sound like any influences we have,sa国际传媒 said Figueiredo.

For ArkenFire, they branch away from the guttural growls found in the metal genre, instead focusing on melodic elements, range and composition.

LeBlanc described power metal as sa国际传媒渨himsical.sa国际传媒

sa国际传媒淪ure, some people will say itsa国际传媒檚 cheesy, but it has that very fast, fun feel that we like to play,sa国际传媒 he said.

Figueiredo takes influences from German bands, like from 1980s power-metal band Halloween he said changed the genre by putting classical music into metal.

Living in Kelowna, the members have full-time jobs and jam on the weekends.

sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 the reality for the Okanagan metal scene,sa国际传媒 said LeBlanc.

Figueiredo, originally from Brazil, has other projects on the side and teaches drum lessons.

For more information on the festival lineup visit .

Check out the bandsa国际传媒檚 performance at the Hassen Memorial Arena in Armstrong.





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