New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "ALBORN RULES!" is a common war cry heard at any Midwestern Alborn show. The band's fanbase is strong, travels relentlessly and grows with every performance.
Formed in 2016, Northern Illinois based alternative metal band Alborn consists of Justin Taylor (guitar/vocals), Alex Raser (drums/vocals), Zame Lewis (bass) and Nate Guske (guitar). Their sound has been compared to
Deftones or a heavier version of Alice in Chains, but make no mistake, Alborn has created something unique, hard and melodic.
As a startup, Alborn existed only as a cover band under the name of Alborn Theory, but that's not who they wanted to be. "I was working 70+ hours a week and my band was playing 4 hour shows ALL the time," says Justin. The band shortened the name to Alborn and got to work creating the band they always envisioned. The hard labor paid off and resulted in them winning multiple
Battle of the Bands competitions. For one of those, the grand prize was a studio session with Jose Urquiza of the band 3 Years Hollow and The
Attic Recording Studios. As part of that session, another opportunity surfaced.
Morgan Rose of
Sevendust heard the demos and expressed interest in producing them.
As a result, in late 2018, Alborn tracked 10 original songs with
Morgan and Jose. "I was brought in to do some producing with Alborn and what grabbed my attention immediately was that they refused to conform to a formula. They wanted to be themselves from the start. It's rare to find a band so young not wanting to follow an easy trend. I was impressed right out of the gate," says
Morgan Rose.
After tracking those 10 songs, Alborn started playing every live show they could and the fanbase just kept growing. In late 2019 and early 2020, Alborn started making moves. The band played a weekend of shows with
Sevendust including a Champaign, IL, sellout. They then followed that up with sold out shows with
Buckcherry and Adelitas Way. The momentum was building and so was the chatter. So much so, Imagen Records was interested in signing them. Meetings with radio executives were scheduled in New York and then... Covid 19 put the plans on hold.
In August 2020, the band inked a distribution deal with Imagen Records (ADA, Warner Music) and released their debut EP, Impairative on August 28th, 2020. The EP contains 5 songs: 4 originals and one killer cover of Alice In Chains' "We Die Young."
Come October, Alborn followed Impairative by releasing their single "
Full Circle" and it landed on
Sirius XM Octane,
Music Choice and the coveted "Rock Hard" Spotify editorial playlist. The band is poised to follow up this success with their next single, "Cause To Create" in January 2021 and there are many more singles to follow.
For now, the world is still dealing with a pandemic. But it too will pass. Which means, it's a matter of time before touring starts again and you hear "ALBORN RULES!" at a live show near you.
Upcoming Shows:
March 20th: Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, Davenport, IA
June 5: Farmer City Heritage Days with
Saliva & Tantric, Farmer City, IL
ALBORN is:
Justin Taylor: Lead Vocals & Guitar
Nate Guske: Guitar & Vocals
Alex Raser:
Drums & Screams
Zame Lewis: Bass
