Wrath and Rapture


When Wrath and Rapture formed around four years ago, the band members were literally just kids. Still in high school, the members had to put their education first and getting gigs second. Now that the members are older, they've turned their attention to music full-time and are ready to make the sacrifices necessary to get ahead in a very cutthroat business. While at least one member admits the process of gaining a record deal has taken a lot longer than expected, the future is bright.

Next month, Wrath and Rapture's self-titled debut will hit store shelves. While the band self-produced the album, the musicians leaned on fellow North Carolina resident Jamie King for engineering help.

"He helped a lot coming up with the guitar tones and drum tones," explains Wrath and Rapture guitarist Kenan Livermont. "He did an amazing job engineering the album."

But before the album got to King's hands, the band had to shop their demo and earn respect. Young and broke, the band recorded a rough demo and passed it around, eventually gaining the attention of Tragic Hero Records. The band will finally release its self-titled debut next month. But is Wrath and Rapture a Christian metal band?

"I'm pretty sure I thought of it," Livermont explains about his band's name. "We didn't take it from anywhere. It just kind of happened. We wanted something that would describe our sound. It popped out of thin air. We have a lot of heavy parts like 'the wrath' and we have a lot of instrumental interludes in the middle of the album -- soft, orchestral parts -- that have a lot more classical sounds, hence 'the rapture.'"

While Wrath and Rapture are still relatively unknown, the band members can't wait to tour. "I was a theater geek in high school, and I really like being on stage. It's where I feel most comfortable."

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