We Came As Romans: Christian by Association and Handy With Hammers

It doesn't matter if the name of your band is Nun Rape or Corpse Kicking Jesus Haters ... when you tour with Christian bands, people start to think you're a Christian band, too. This has happened to We Came As Romans, who hail from Michigan and dropped a new album, called 'To Plant a Seed,' on Nov. 3. But, despite touring with the likes of Oh, Sleeper and the Chariot, they're not a Christian band.

"We have Christian dudes in our band and we have non-Christian dudes in our band, and as a whole, we're not a Christian band," guitarist Joshua Moore tells Noisecreep. "We definitely get it, but we also get it a lot because our music, as a whole, has a positive message to it, and there aren't a whole lot of bands with a positive message who aren't Christian bands. Typically, its just Christian bands who promote a positive message. Just because we have a message, and its not about killing each other, we get the Christian band tag."

So, rest assured, you're metal cred won't diminish (at least not too much) if you decide to check out We Came As Romans. The band employs electronica elements, clean and growled vocals, actual orchestration, with brutal guitar riffs and punishing drum work. Think Jesse Leach-era Killswitch Engage meets Horse the Band meets Nightwish. You guys get that a lot?

"We've heard just about everything ... what this part reminds someone of, what that part sounds like," says Moore. "If you had said the Killswitch thing to our bassist [Andrew Glass], he would have known a lot better what you're talking about. I personally have never listened to Killswitch."

That's right, folks. Never listened to Killswitch before. Moore admits that, for a while there, he was more into ska music than the heavy stuff. "A lot of the dudes in my band will listen to the most hardcore stuff ever, but I was always in actual bands in high school and middle school," he says. "I played trombone, so that follows me wherever I go...the influence of brass and orchestra on our music, its all over the place. I love playing trombone. It's a lot of fun. I was in marching band a few years. The music was great, and its sort of sculpted the music of my band right now, as it is. It was worth it."

We Came As Romans will be on the road for much of the coming year. Later this month, they'll hit the road with I See Stars, Of Mice & Men and Broadway. That tour kicks off Nov. 25 in Clemens, Mich., and runs through Dec. 19 in Grand Rapids, Mich. But don't feel bad for the guys. They'll be riding in style on tour, in their own tricked out van.

According to Moore, frontman David Stephens and Glass installed bunk beds in the back of the band's van, so that they can sleep on the road. "I was not there for the construction of the bunk beds," he admits, "I was there for the completion and the sleeping aspect of the bunk beds."