Rings of Saturn is a progressive, technical deathcore outfit from the Bay Area. Emerging in 2009, the band’s 2010 debut long-player, Embryonic Anomaly, introduced audiences to their labyrinthine meld of thrash and technical death metal with lyrics about alien life forms. The band was originally conceived as a studio project by high school friends Lucas Mann (guitars, bass, and keyboards), Peter Pawlak (vocals), and Brent Silletto (drums). Mann remains the lone original member. The band issued its first track, “Abducted,” as an internet-only single and gained attention across the globe. They followed it with the self-released full-length Embryonic Anomaly in May of 2010. The set was recorded with engineer Bob Swanson at Mayhemeness in Sacramento. It was picked up for distribution internationally and attracted the attention of the Unique Leader label, who signed them later in the year. In 2011 (the year they graduated from high school) the group added second guitarist Joel Omans and began to tour. Their new label re-released Embryonic Anomaly for the occasion. By the end of the year, both Pawlak and Silletto had left the band and were replaced by a series of bass players and drummers. Singer Ian Bearer came aboard in early 2012 in time to record the band’s sophomore effort, Dingir. It was also engineered and produced by Swanson. Originally scheduled for release in December of 2012, the leak of an unmixed version prompted Bearer to upload the finished version on his YouTube channel and Unique Leader to advance stream it on Total Deathcore. The set was issued in physical form in February of 2013. Despite the leak, the album reached the industry charts and earned international attention for the band on its subsequent tour. Lugal Ki En, Rings of Saturn’s third album, was announced in July of 2014. Produced by Brette Ciamarra, it was released in October on Unique Leader and preceded by the issue of the video single “Senseless Massacre.” The album appeared in October and entered at number three on the Billboard Heatseeker chart, hit various metal charts in the Top Five, and won a spot on the Top 200 list. The band toured relentlessly over the next year-and-a-half. In July 2016, Rings of Saturn announced that they had finished writing a new album and would be entering the studio. In early June of 2017, the band released the album Ultu Ulla, as well as a video for the single “Inadequate.” Mann explained the concept: “The album name Ultu Ulla means ‘Time Immemorial’ in Sumerian Cuneiform. Ultu Ulla is about aliens transcending space and time and uncovering an ancient incomprehensible entity that threatens the fabric of universal existence.” The cover artwork by Mark Cooper of Mind Rape Art was made up of a triptych painting that continues the story from Lugal Ki En. He commented that “the general idea was to create a scene where gods from beyond time and space are invading 3-D reality and taking over. They are chaotic beings that can take any form at will and manifest anything with their imaginations.” Ultu Ulla was released by Nuclear Blast in July, and became the group’s highest-charting release to date. 2019’s virtuosic Gidim continued to explore the group’s myriad sci-fi mythologies, and featured guest spots from Enterprise Earth vocalist Dan Watson, Buried Alive’s Charles Caswell, and Japanese shredder Yo Onityan.

Band names go a long way in helping paint a figurative picture in the listeners mind of what to expect before one ever hits “play.” When it comes to Extortionist, you think crime—you think gritty, raw, merciless and unsavory and maybe, just maybe, a little sprinkling of suaveness. When it comes to the Pacific Northwest’s resident moshslingers, those premonitions from their name are exactly what you get. As a band who have proven themselves exemplary at styles of heavy music ranging from downtempo deathcore to grunge- tinted metal, Extortionist are more than just a jack-of-all-trades; they’re masters. Utilizing bold, roaring guitars overtop crushing, steamrolling percussion and vocals that run the gamut from guttural to grating, pitched singing and topped off with—you guessed it—a now-infamous dodgeball-smack snare, Extortionist have proven that not only are they incredible at what they do, they’re a band that the heavy scene just can’t go without.

Emerging from the relatively understated pastures and prairies of Coeur d’Alene in early 2013, to say Extortionist have been on a journey since their inception would be an understatement. With The Black Sheep instantly earning them notoriety with its combination of feral grooves and eviscerating breakdowns, Extortionist proved themselves early on as prodigal masters of all things punishingly heavy. As the band grew and gained more experience on the road in light of the success of their debut EP, their style and dynamic grew as well. After nearly four years of touring and writing, Extortionist would unleash The Decline in 2017, a band that saw their breed of brutalizing deathcore hybridized with riff-heavy metalcore and more introspective lyrics that tackled suicidal ideation and substance abuse. The Decline was met with immense critical praise and continued to open up larger opportunities for the Northwestern act, ultimately earning them multiple co-headlining tours from coast to coast, and a spot on Stay Sick Records, alongside other up-and-coming heavyweights like SPITE and Bodysnatcher. Barely a year and a half after their signing, the band announced their sophomore full-length release, Sever the Cord, which saw them experimenting with the inclusion of grunge and alternative influences, adding even more depth and grit to their dynamic. Their sophomore album earned them not only critical acclaim, but nationwide tours alongside The Browning, Betraying the Martyrs, Lorna Shore and First Blood. Sever the Cord was followed shortly thereafter by an eponymous EP which saw them diving deeper into a more exploratory realm of metalcore, colliding ferocious riffs into moments of warm, nostalgic melody. While their self-titled release was widely heralded as the band’s strongest work to date, was declared their Swan Song, as in the weeks that followed towards the back-end of Summer 2019, Extortionist announced their dissolution.

That isn’t the end of Extortionist’s story, however. As 2019 gave way into 2020 and the chaotic months that followed, the heavy music community felt the band’s absence all too strongly. In the early months of 2021, Extortionist announced their return with a series of shows in Spokane, Washington alongside AVOID and Seconds Ago as well as a new single, “Once More in Torment.” Once more highlighting the seamless blend of raunchy aggression and groove-heavy catchiness that only Extortionist can provide, the band’s comeback track is a strong reminder of just how missed they were throughout their nearly two-year absence. Frontman and founding member Benjamin Hoagland states “This is the best place we’ve ever been in as a band…Extortionist lives, and we’re here to stay.” Indeed, with a full length record in the works and a ferocious return to live performance already underway, it would seem that Exortionist’s relative break was only a brief moment with which to collect themselves before reasserting their dominance over the contemporary metalcore scene.

Incorporating elements of death metal, classical music, black metal, and progressive metal creates an amalgamation that excites the imagination while crushing and elevating the listener. Engaging as it is menacing this alloy is dynamic and captivating