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Alison Bauer
Twitter | Noxii Arena
Since their 2017 album debut, the band has been perfecting their craft performing with Bury Your Dead at The Palladium, Whitechapel and Carnifex at Fete Music Hall in Providence, RI.
Noxii Arena draws influence from popular bands such The Acacia Strain, Veil of Maya, and August Burns Red.
Exclusive Interview with Andrew Shea | Vocalist | Noxii Arena
HRTV:THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY ANDREW! ACCORDING TO PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS WITH MOTIF MAGAZINE AND UNCIVIL REVOLT; THE BAND IDEA FOR NOXII ARENA ORIGINATED IN 2011 THROUGH (3) MEMBERS. THE TERM "NOXII" REFERS HISTORICALLY TO THE COLOSSEUM; WARRIORS FACED AGAINST LIONS, DEAD IN ARENA?
Andrew: Yes; Jon, Mike and Jared are the heart of the band, they all formed in 2011. They were researching ancient history trying to come up with the band name and they stumbled across the term, "Noxii." They read that the Noxii gladiators were common folk that were sentenced to combat in the arena to be judged for their crimes more or less. Matt formed in 2013; When I joined (January, 2016), I was given a couple of months to develop lyrics for the music.
HRTV: DESCRIBE THE INTEGRATION BETWEEN JOINING (JAN. 2016) AND PUBLISHING THE DEBUT ALBUM (SEPT. 2017)? WHICH PRODUCERS DID YOUR BAND COLLABORATE WITH?
Andrew: Most of the song titles, I didn't name; I did create the lyrics for all the songs. After the lyrics were formulated, we practiced as a full band to get everything tight; we played some shows and decided to publish an album. We tried to self-produce our album for a while but it didn't work out to our best interest; instead we sought Producer Julian Mazzola for our album; he helped us throughout the entire process. It was a great experience, I definitely recommend him to other artists out there.
Gif | "Bred For Annihilation" | DP: Kristian Van Opijnen
HRTV: HOW ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR FILMMAKERS PRIOR TO THE ALBUM RELEASE?
(TRACK 01) | "BRED FOR ANNIHILATION - LYRIC VIDEO" & (TRACK 07) | "THE PILLAGING - LIVE MUSIC VIDEO"?
Andrew: [The search] was through mutual friends and people throughout the music scene. Working with Julian, he also works with another producer Ian Van Opijnen who runs the Echo Room Studio out in Boston. Ian gave me his brother’s contact information: Kristian Van Opijnen.
(Track 01) "Bred for Annihilation" | Kristian is the one who formulated the lyric video. He hit the nail on the head with the visual lyric video; the video came out how we envisioned the entire thing to go. 
(Track 07) "The Pillaging" | We went through CT Studios for this, his name was Matt Lariviere. He was a friend, he did some photos for us at a show we did and then he gave his contact information for us at that show. We hit it off then; he did a live video for us when we were playing with White Chapel and he agreed to the terms and went from where; the video came out spectacular.
HRTV: WE DISCOVERED THAT SOME OF THE NOXII ARENA MERCH DISPLAYS:
A ZOMBIE THEME; DESCRIBE THE GLADIATOR / ZOMBIE SPIN-OFF?
Andrew: With the "Noxii" name, the theme of the gladiators and that time period, we sought that with our album cover being the Colosseum and the name representing ancient times and the Roman era; why don’t we have a gladiator-mix in our merch as well; that's how our theme was going.
The first track "Bred for Annihilation" is based on a zombie feel, we used that to tie in with our merch as well. We developed the merch so our fans; new fans would also like the merch. [Circa 2016; Upon joining] I was heavily watching The Walking Dead; my favorite zombie films like Evil Dead (2013) & Dawn of the Dead (2014), where I drew inspiration for the lyrics from.
HRTV: WE WOULD LIKE TO TOUCH BASE ON THE MEANING BEHIND A FEW SONG TITLES:
(TRACK 04) "ZIARI" AND (TRACK 02) "QUEEN CITY INN."
Andrew: So for (Track 04) "Ziari" [not a different language / or / vocabulary word]; it's a song dedicated to Jon, Mike and Jared's previous English school-teacher; representing [achieving] a better life. I didn't personally know her; in fact, I didn't know the meaning behind this title until after the lyrics were written for the entire song. It's weird how the name of the song and the written lyrics before I knew the background kind of match similar meanings.
[Cont'd]:
(TRACK 02) "Queen City Inn" | This song title came from when some of the band went to a show out in New Hampshire, to see After The Burial; they stayed at an inn called Queen City Inn and they named that song title throughout the experience of that inn; I guess they said it was pretty sketchy. The lyrics are based on a guy who wakes up in a bed and sees a person he once loved, next to him covered in blood. Trying to remember what happened; he kind of spirals down throughout the entire process of the song.
HRTV: MAY WE EXPECT ANOTHER MUSIC VIDEO FROM THE DEBUT ALBUM,?
Andrew: Yes seeing as all we've put out for the the album thus far has been a lyric video and a live video. We feel a standard music video is due. We want to give the fans a solid production for another favorite on the album so you'll have to watch out for what we're up to!
HRTV: YA'LL ARE PLAYING THE NEW ENGLAND METAL & HARDCORE FESTIVAL!
ADDITIONAL NEWS TO SHARE WITH FANS?
Andrew: 'Noxii Arena' (09.01.17) was the very first album we put out; we're in a current process of writing our second album right now as well. As far as upcoming shows:
"""[Cont'd]:
1. Friday, March 30th | Tattoo & Music Festival with Hatebreed | Providence, RI: "Big event for us and our community; a lot of people attending & a lot of unique tattoo artists. The fact that Hatebreed is running the entire show; they've done a lot for metal and inspired so many people. We're really pumped."
2. Sat, April 21st | New England Metal & Hardcore Festival | Worcester, MA:
"We're playing the Saturday date; Been attending this festival for 6 or 7 years; [at the time] I was 15 or 16 years old. It's been an ultimate dream to play this festival; we're beyond excited!" HRTV Archives: NEW ENGLAND METAL & HARDCORE (2018) FESTIVAL; 20TH ANNIVERSARY 
HRTV: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, VEIL OF MAYA, AUGUST BURNS RED, ACACIA STRAIN.
HOW IS NOXII ARENA INSPIRED FROM THE LIVE PERFORMANCES OF THOSE BANDS?
Andrew: When we were younger, those were some of our favorite [live performances] so they always made some of the biggest impressions on us. We just want to be able to leave that kind of impression on our young fans whether it's playing the songs on point or keeping the crowd involved, feeding off of their energy.
'Noxii Arena' (09.01.17) | Album Review
Highly recommended! After my first stream of 'Noxii Arena' , my first appreciation post goes out to the mastering of each instrument on each of these tracks; the collaboration with Producer Julian Mazzola renders an epic work of art.
You know how some albums require a few episodes of streaming until you're consciously enjoying it? In my opinion, the first stream of 'Noxii Arena' made an immediate impression; feeling as the genre and lyrics were genuine and thus quickly adaptable into playlist favorites. The guttural depths and interval changes on their singles "Bred For Annihilation" and "The Pillaging" stand out for recognition. Additionally, throughout the interview, the history of the band's debut anchored around seeking the platform for an altruistic voice; this band is ferociously talented yet equally humble! May Noxii Arena tour from Rhode Island to play Chicago, LA and NY next? |
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