Debut single from my new band Seeking Sirens. Available on all major digital platforms 5/21/21. Find the music video on YouTube.

Seeking Sirens - Surface

This is an advanced release of Reflection, written by Josh Gilbert of As I Lay Dying / Wovenwar. It is part of my first collaborrative record " Harder Truths" coming out on most digital platforms 11/26/2021.
Lyrics:

I can’t help but count up the damage. Sabotage denied, but I know you planned it.
Another scheme to hurt your friends and help yourself:
So sure it would work, but you were wrong.

Plainly seen, and countered easily.
Yet still today, I find you digging your own grave.

Speak ill of me at your peril. There’s no one left to stay these hands.

You’ve made a monster that you can’t kill.

For too long I denied all that I’ve been through from coloring my heart.
What was gold’s turning black as my fury burns. There’s no evading the dark.

Don’t raise more demons than you can ever hope to lay to rest.

It’s plainly seen, I had to be the fiend. I’ll bear the blame and the tarnish on my name.
But don’t get it twisted man, I’ll give you reason now to take it there.

For too long I denied all that I’ve been through from coloring my heart.
What was gold’s turning black as my fury burns. There’s no evading the dark.
I regret how my nature changed: On some nights, vexed, I lie awake.
In the end I will see this a settled score. There’s no evading the dark.

Trust when I say I’ll keep on growing despite you, bitch; and there’s not a damn thing that you can do.

There’s someone different in my mirror, with some parts I care not to see.
I’ll face him down. In truth, I need him around to settle the score I seek.

For too long I denied all that I’ve been through from coloring my heart.
What was gold’s turning black as my fury burns. There’s no evading the dark.

Trust when I say I’ll keep on growing despite you.

Reflection

This is the advanced single release of "So Resolved" off of my new collaboration record "Harder Truths" that's arriving on most digital platforms November 26th 2021. The guitars and overall composition was written and produced by the incredible creative mind of Doc Coyle from Bad Wolves / God Forbid. The lyrics and vocals were written and produced by yours truly, with Josh Previte of From Under Concrete Kings recording bass and Freddy Velasco on drums.

So Resolved

Single off of the City of Homes EP "What Life Remains" released in May of 2016. Drums performed by TJ Mclear, engineered by Jon Kita & Mitch Cox @ Conclave Studios, New York, New York. Bass performed by Matt Deis, engineered by Jon Kita & Mitch Cox @ Conclave Studios, New York, New York. Guitars Performed by Tyler Stroetzel & Jon Kita, engineered by Jon Kita & Mitch Cox @ Conclave Studios, New York, New York and Joel Stroetzel @ The Cave: Easthampton, MA. Lyrics & Vocals written and performed by yours truly, recorded with Chris Daniele @ Disappearing Mountain: Eathampton, MA & Joel Stroetzel @ The Cave: Easthampton, MA This album was mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris @ Planet Z Recordings. Logo & album artwork created by Mike D'Antonio @ Darkicon Design.

City Of Homes - Closure

Special track off of the "Four Years Later" full length album by Fear The United, released in January of 2016. Vocals performed by Billy Resendes & Yours truly, lyrics written by yours truly. I was deeply honored to play a small part in this album. It is available on iTunes & the like.

Four Years Later

Fear The United - Shipwrecked

This track is part of a collection of studio project tracks written by my colleague Peter Varrica, in collaboration with lyrical content and vocal performances by yours truly. This was tracked in 2014 during the aftermath of our respective projects, To Die This Night & Patterns of Myra, and mixed by Peter Varrica. Unfortunately, due to timing constraints, this project never grew past its infancy, I am however still very proud of what we put together, and would love to see more work done on the project if time and resources would permit it.

Chasm

Disarray

Graveyard Candor

This is a cover of Killswitch Engage's My Curse off of their album As Daylight Dies, with me performing all of the vocals. I recorded this in an endeavor to put in a bid to replace Howard Jones when he left KSE in January 2012. The recording session was done with my friends, Dan Peterson, & Mike Patricelli, both of whom I worked with in To Die This Night.

(Cover) Killswitch Engage - My Curse

This is a vocal cover of Failed Creation by Divine Heresy. I recorded the all of the vocals on this track while in the studio working on other projects. Vocally, I did a few things a little differently than Tommy Vext, partly to illustrate more of my talents and partly for the fun of putting my personal spin on it. I don't typically do many covers, and this came out pretty decent, all things considered. Chenqui!

(Cover) Divine Heresy - Failed Creation

This an acoustic rendition of Endless Dark by HIM. It was one of the last things I was working on in City of Homes before it went dark that was never finished. It's fairly rough, and was awkward to track because I never really listened to HIM to begin with, on top of singing unplugged/acoustic stuff being such a new thing for me. It was also challenging simply due to Ville Valo's strange voice and singing style.  I liked what I did with it enough to put it up here with the random stuff, though. Hope you like it.

(Cover) HIM - Endless Dark (Acoustic)

This is an instrumental track with my own lyrics and vocals added. The musical composition is by Kris Norris (Formerly of Darkest Hour and Scar The Martyr) off of his instrumental album "Gates of Janus" available for purchase @ https://krisnorris2.bandcamp.com/ 

While collaborating with him on another project, I checked out his instrumental record and this track (The Epitome of Nothing) in particular spoke to me. I wrote lyrics for it in my spare time and tracked all the vocals of this version while in the studio working on other projects. It was a lot of fun to do, and is interesting in the sense that it goes beyond the boundaries of what I typically work on musically. From a production standpoint, I was more concerned with doing stranger things vocally, and less so with making a "crowd pleaser". You'll find some instances where the vocals are purposefully dissonant, done this way solely because I thought it was cool and outside the box. It isn't perfect, and isn't supposed to be. The vocal takes aren't necessarily 100% either, as I tracked it during my leftover time while in the studio working on other things.

Anyway, it's an addition to the random recordings that I created this SoundCloud for in the first place, so enjoy! Lyrics below... Chenqui!

There is no fear within a hollow heart ---

Chorus: There’s no fear within a hollow heart, for there’s no way it could break again.
A spirit’s ruthless when torn apart, and there’s no rest as you lie awake.

The void, it speaks in riddles as I try to understand / 
what it all could mean if it’s not nothing or in my head.

-Chorus-

Bound in such darkness no light can guide your way. (It’s futile*)
You hear the voices but you know not what they say.

You know not what they say --- 
At this point you don’t care ---

Numb to all, you carry on. The wounds remain. You feel nothing.
Become the void, you have no choice. 
A heart empty / is truly free. In solitude, you will find your peace.  
Become the void, you have no choice.

Numb to all, you carry on. The wounds remain. You feel nothing.

- Chorus -

A heart that’s empty is truly free, and in this darkness you feel nothing.
So carry on with your hollow heart, and feel no fear for what can’t break again.

Feel no fear.

Numb to all, you carry on. The wounds remain. You feel nothing.

Fearless in The Void (The Epitome of Nothing)

This was one of the last pieces of "new" material that was being worked on in City of Homes before it went dark and is also the very last one to either be released or put up here due to being unfinished. The instrumental composition wound up being used on another record with a different vocalist.

My final lyrics and vocals had already been completed by early 2018 as I was often in the studio working on other projects and wanted to stay ahead of my workload. This was especially true with City of Homes stuff because it was my main project and focus at the time, and I didn't want to give anyone the impression that any of my other projects were being given priority over it. 

Seeing as this was essentially finished, it made sense to put my original version of the song up here so that those interested in hearing the original or simply wanting to hear more of my work can do so. 

The thought crossed my mind that by doing this I might ruffle a couple feathers, as the saying goes. Bearing in mind that most of my feathers were apathetically ripped from my posterior and made into a friggin' boa to wear flamboyantly at my personal expense, I cannot say I thought about it for very long.  I poured much of myself into this recording; both lyrically and emotionally, and feel like some of its lyrical and vocal content is some of my best work to date. It seemed wrong to me to let my work languish on a hard drive unheard. Lyrics below. Hope you enjoy it. Chenqui!

This shadow holds to my heart now, and no longer will it bleed 
over you or for anyone. I’m embittered by deceit.

Our anger grows over the cost; what we became, no light remains.
A lesson’s learned, and high’s the price to pay for our ignorance.

So it goes, that on each night when I lay my head to rest,
my rage confirms there’s no regret for this hollow in my chest. 

The scars still show over the loss; what we became, no light remains.
Now darkness bars the way into my heart, and without love I feel no pain. 

Forever: Sorrow grips its weight around my neck and the fissures in my heart of gold.

Soul; so weary of life and barren of hope,
yet still pressing on into the night.

Though this heart is gold, it is breaking anyway.
In this life, I’m growing cold. Know not love til’ it lets you go.

Know not love til’ it lets you go.

Fissure

Singer/screamer operating in Massachusetts & Rhode Island. I enjoy nearly every style of heavy music. Available for studio sessions, studio project collaborations and touring. Have mics; will travel.

Joseph Izayea

Popular tracks