Hubbard's Red Tragedy wants metal that's not watered down

The group wants to see the area become a hot spot for metal.
By GUY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
ED TRAGEDY, A ROCK band from Hubbard, is on a mission for metal.
The band, which has made it to the finals of The Dome Concert Club's Battle of the Bands, is also starting to catch the ear of fans beyond the Mahoning Valley.
It was the opening act for Incaidia at the Agora in Cleveland on April 24. It also performed May 1 at Nyabinghi in Youngstown and opened for national artists Prong and Dog Fashion Disco on Tuesday at The Dome, which is in Girard.
Four of the five band members -- Ryan Keryan, Paul Longo, Seth Kensinger and Chris Vargo -- are recent Hubbard High grads, and lead singer Kylene Paris is still attending high school.
Unsatisfied
The band members aren't satisfied with the state of their genre.
"The metal that you hear on the radio or see on MTV is not metal. It is processed. It is simplistic. It is watered down," said Keryan.
"The metal that we love, you really have to search for. Bands such as In Flames, Soilwok, Dimmu Borgir, Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy and Hypocrisy are just a few examples of what we are inspired by. These bands seem to have endless amounts of ideas and creativity. We hope one day to surpass them and take what they have begun to a new level," he said.
Keryan said the band wants to help turn around the regional scene. "As far as the local metal scenes are going, Cleveland and Pittsburgh are failing to do their job," he said.
"The bands are failing to attract fans, and most of the fans are failing to come out.
"And for this reason, most of the venues are turning into dance clubs and office spaces. Our goal is to unite the area and turn it into a metal hot spot with our methods and ferocity."
Complex sound
Though young, Red Tragedy has a complex sound that is advanced beyond the members' years. The crunchy, machine-gun guitars of Keryan and Kensinger and Longo's big-time metal-style drumming drive their surprisingly melodic songs.
Paris offsets her calm but menacing vocals with an occasional call-and-response with what sounds like an anguished voice from hell.
The group writes all of its own songs, which are at once pure metal yet very accessible. You don't have to be a metalhead to like them.
Keryan said he and Kensinger share songwriting duties, with Paris writing most of the lyrics. "After the basics are done, Chris and Paul [the bass player] help iron out the finished song," he said.
History
Red Tragedy was formed last summer by Keryan and Paris and began playing out in October. Keryan calls Paris one of the band's biggest attractions of its live show.
"In addition to Kylene's ability to reach out to the crowd, we try a lot of different things to put on the best show possible," said Keryan.
He called the Agora "an amazing place to play because we have seen all of our idols play on that same stage. It was a great experience, and we hope to do it again soon."
After the Battle of the Bands, Red Tragedy plans to get to work on its first full-length album, "How to Bleed," and also plans to play large festivals in Pittsburgh, Keryan said. The band has already released a four-song untitled CD.