Relic shows what it’s made of

By John Benson

A release party will be Saturday at The Cellar.

When talking to Relic member Dave “Davo” Billock about his band’s debut album, “Nothing Sacred,” you get the sense the singer-songwriter-guitarist has something to prove.

“This is our debut album,” said Billock, a 2002 Springfield High School graduate. “We funded it ourselves and hopefully this is the album that we’re going to be able to prove to the music industry that we mean business, we’re serious about our music and we want to take this to another level.”

Hmm, so what’s up with the chip on the shoulder?

“Obviously the only reason anybody ever plays music is because they love music,” Billock said. “And we do love music, and we love it so much, we’d love to make it our careers. The only way to do that is to basically do it on your own. So that’s what we’re hoping to do with this album release, is show record companies that we have the talent and the drive to make it.”

Formed two years ago, Relic falls into the same rock radio genre as national acts Breaking Benjamin, Seether and Chevelle. However, Billock said this Youngstown-based group differs from its peers with its focus on melody and also the addition of keyboards into its mix.

The latter specifically comes into play when the band performs live. Whereas some groups may downplay the keyboards when on stage, Billock said Relic is just the opposite. Take for instance new song “Breakthrough,” which he said is already a fan favorite.

“The song pretty much sums up the way we sound all at once,” Billock said. “It has some very heavy and aggressive guitar parts, and it has some really nice, smooth chorus riffs and vocalization with keys. It also has some nice heavy breakdown parts that accentuate the soft keyboard parts, but it’s not done to the extreme where it just sounds jagged. It sounds very smooth and orchestrated.”

Fans will get a chance to hear the majority of “Nothing Sacred” at the upcoming Relic CD release show, which takes place Satuday at The Cellar in Struthers. Billock can hardly hide his enthusiasm regarding both “Nothing Sacred” and Relic’s future.

“I’m very optimistic and very pleased with the way the album turned out,” Billock said. “As much time and energy – the sweat, tears and blood – we put into making it, I’m really proud of the way it came out, and I think once we’re able to get it out to the masses, they will appreciate it and they will enjoy it as well.”

Even though it’s a one-in-a-million shot to stardom, Billock said he has a good reason to feel optimistic.

“There are so many bands out there,” Billock said. “So to try to set us apart from that is very daunting and a difficult challenge, but it’s just going out there and doing what we do, doing what we love, which is playing music in front of people. We’ve seen our crowds grow from five people a show to upwards of several hundred per show no matter where we play and who we’re playing with.

“That shows a lot, that the fans around here are really getting behind us and are really getting into it. So if the fans in Youngstown and Northeast Ohio can get behind us in such a fashion they’ve been doing, there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to do it across the world.”