Audiotopsy is an American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

band from

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

, formed in 2015. Its current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Billy Keeton, lead guitarist James Vinson, bassist Perry Stern, and drummer Trevor Bodkins. The band previously included

Mudvayne Mudvayne is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Illinois, in 1996. Known for their sonic experimentation, face and body paint, masks and uniforms, the band has sold over five million records wor ...

members

Greg Tribbett Gregory Arnold Tribbett Jr. (born November 7, 1968) is an American guitarist who is one of the founding members, lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the metal band Mudvayne. He is also the former lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the met ...

and

Matthew McDonough Matthew McDonough (born March 12, 1969) is an American drummer best known as a member of the heavy metal band Mudvayne. He is the band's original drummer and has appeared and performed on every release by Mudvayne. He was also the original dr ...

History

Formation and ''Natural Causes'' (2015–2017)

The band formed in 2015 after

left

Hellyeah Hellyeah, stylized as HELLYEAH, was an American heavy metal supergroup formed in Dallas, Texas, in 2006. The band's last lineup consisted of lead vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Christian Brady and Tom Maxwell, bassist Kyle Sanders, and drum ...

along with bassist Bob "Zilla" Kahaka. The band's debut studio album, ''Natural Causes'', was released on October 2, 2015, via

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...

. It was self-produced and engineered by Tim Laud. The tracks "Headshot" and "The Calling" premiered on

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

and

Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

respectively.

''The Real Now'' and lineup change (2018–present)

In September 2017 the band announced recording had begun on a second studio album, set for release in 2018. The band's second album ''The Real Now'' was released on November 2, via

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (whe ...

. Two singles were released in promotion of the record, "What Am I" (September 7, 2018) and "War" (October 11, 2018). In 2021,

and

left Audiotopsy following to the reformation of

. They were both replaced by James Vinson on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Trevor Bodkins on drums.

Musical style

The band has been categorized in the media as

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

, and

post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...

. Tribbett refers to Audiotopsy as ' progressive

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

', though this tag has been disputed. In their review for ''Natural Causes'', Ghost Cult Magazine wrote "On paper the idea of Tribbett and McDonough working together again seems awesome, but the angular and off-kilter

rhythms are nowhere to be found here. The closest we get to those days is on 'Distorted' and 'Darken the Rainbow,' but even then it's more ''

Lost and Found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property, lost articles th ...

'' rather than '' L.D. 50''. And that's fine because this is a new band and they're capable of producing their own interesting moments."

Band members

Current * Billy Keeton – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2015–present) * Perry Stern – bass, backing vocals (2015–present) * James Vinson – lead guitar, backing vocals (2021–present) * Trevor Bodkins – drums (2021–present) Former *

– lead guitar, backing vocals (2015–2021) *

– drums (2015–2021)

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Natural Causes'' (2015) * ''The Real Now'' (2018)

References

External links

Audiotopsy
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2015 American heavy metal supergroups American alternative metal musical groups 2015 establishments in Illinois American musical quartets