Brandon Saller
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Brandon Kyle Saller (born June 24, 1983) is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the vocalist, keyboardist and former drummer of the
metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
band
Atreyu Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band's current line-up consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKn ...
, of which he is also a founding member. He is the band's primary songwriter, along with guitarist Dan Jacobs, as well as its clean vocalist. Following Atreyu's hiatus in 2011, Saller focused on his side project Hell or Highwater, where he is the lead vocalist. In 2011, the group released their debut album, ''Begin Again'', in 2011. The band released an EP, ''The Other Side'', in August 2013. Saller returned to Atreyu in 2014 and has remained a full-time member of the group since. He became the lead vocalist of the band after original singer
Alex Varkatzas Alex Varkatzas (born January 17, 1982) is an American musician, best known as the former lead vocalist of metalcore band Atreyu from its inception in 1998 until his departure from the band in 2020. In 2011, during the band's hiatus, Varkatzas also ...
announced his departure.


Atreyu

At 13, Saller was invited by his older brother Ryan to join a band started by some of his friends, Dan Jacobs and
Alex Varkatzas Alex Varkatzas (born January 17, 1982) is an American musician, best known as the former lead vocalist of metalcore band Atreyu from its inception in 1998 until his departure from the band in 2020. In 2011, during the band's hiatus, Varkatzas also ...
. The three of them formed a
street punk Street punk (sometimes alternatively spelled streetpunk) is an urban working class-based subgenre of punk rock, which emerged as a rebellion against the perceived artistic pretensions of the first wave of British punk. The earliest street pun ...
band called Retribution, which by 1998, had adapted a heavier sound and changed names to Atreyu after the
main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of
The Neverending Story ''The Neverending Story'' () is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. It was later adapted into a film series and a television series. Plot T ...
. The band signed to
Victory Records Victory Records is a Chicago-based record label founded by Tony Brummel. It operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several record labels. It has featured many prominent artists including Thu ...
in 2001 and released 3 albums under the label, ''
Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses ''Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses'' is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Atreyu. It was released on June 4, 2002, under Victory Records. The album featured re-worked versions of the songs "Living Each Day Like You're Already De ...
'' in 2002, ''The Curse'' in 2004, and '' A Death-Grip on Yesterday'' in 2006. The band later joined major label
Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...
and released 2007's ''
Lead Sails Paper Anchor ''Lead Sails Paper Anchor'' is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Atreyu. It is the band's first release with Hollywood Records, and the album had a significantly different sound to it than their previous albums, moving away from ...
'' and 2009's ''
Congregation of the Damned ''Congregation of the Damned'' is the fifth studio album by American metalcore band Atreyu. It was released through Hollywood Records and Roadrunner Records on October 27, 2009. The album debuted at No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 26, ...
''. After over 10 years of worldwide success, the band embarked on hiatus, but returned in 2014. They released their sixth studio album, ''Long Live'' in 2015.


Vocal duties

Saller did not sing on the band's 1998 EP, '' Visions'', as he only played drums for the band at that time. Between ''Visions'' and ''
Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty ''Fractures in the Facade of Your Porcelain Beauty'' is the second EP by American metalcore band Atreyu. It was originally released on November 20, 2001, and released again on January 29, 2002, under the independent label Tribunal Records. The ...
'', Saller learned to sing while playing drums and became the band's clean vocalist. On ''
Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses ''Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses'' is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Atreyu. It was released on June 4, 2002, under Victory Records. The album featured re-worked versions of the songs "Living Each Day Like You're Already De ...
'', his vocals were largely confined to choruses, however, as Atreyu's career went on, Saller's vocals would get more and more frequent, and they would become a major part of Atreyu's sound. After vocalist
Alex Varkatzas Alex Varkatzas (born January 17, 1982) is an American musician, best known as the former lead vocalist of metalcore band Atreyu from its inception in 1998 until his departure from the band in 2020. In 2011, during the band's hiatus, Varkatzas also ...
was kicked out of the band in 2020, Saller began performing as the band's primary vocalist alongside Porter McKnight.


Hell or Highwater

Formerly the Black Cloud Collective, Hell or Highwater resulted out of Saller's solo material and eventually became a full band. He is solely the band's vocalist. The band released their debut album, Begin Again, independently on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
in 2011. After touring for over a year, the band recouped and released an EP, entitled The Other Side in August 2013. May 19, 2017, the band released their 2nd LP "Vista". Available on iTunes.


Equipment


Early days

In the early days of Atreyu, Saller used Spaun Custom Drums and
Zildjian The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the com ...
cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
. He would later endorse
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
cymbals in late 2004. Drums 22x20 Kick 12x8 Rack Tom 16x16 Floor Tom 13x7 Snare Drum Cymbals 14" A New Beat Hi Hats 18" A Custom Projection Crash 19" A Custom Projection Crash 20" A Custom Projection Ride 18" China Boy High Brandon also used a set of 14" A Custom Mastersound Hi Hats, an 18" oriental China Trash, a 6" Zil Bel, and two 19" Z Custom crashes throughout the early days of Atreyu. With Istanbul, Saller used the Alchemy series. He used a set of 15" hi hats, two 20" crashes, a 20" ride, and a 20" china.


2006 to 2010

In 2006, Saller endorsed Truth Custom Drums and Zildjian cymbals, of which he had an iconic black acrylic drum kit that featured three bass drums. Drums 22x20 Bass Drum (3x) 10x7 Rack Tom (added on in 2009) 12x8 Rack Tom (added on in 2007) 13x9 Rack Tom 16x16 Floor Tom 18x16 Floor Tom 14x8 Snare Drum Cymbals 15" A New Beat Hi Hats 19" A Custom Medium Crash 20" A Custom Medium Crash 19" K Custom Hybrid Crash 20" A Custom Projection Ride 12" A Custom Splash 20" China Boy High


2014–present

When Atreyu reformed in 2014, Truth created a new drum kit for Saller for use on the Aftershock and Knotfest festivals, as well as to record Atreyu's 2015 album, Long Live 24x16 Kick Drums (3x) 10x7 Rack Tom 12x8 Rack Tom 13x9 Rack Tom 16x16 Floor Tom 18x16 Floor Tom 14x8 Brandon Saller Signature Snare Saller also uses
Remo Drumheads Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware, and various percussion instruments. ...
, DW hardware, DW 9000 pedals, and
Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...
drumsticks.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saller, Brandon 1983 births Living people American male singers American rock drummers American rock singers Songwriters from California Musicians from Orange County, California Hollywood Records artists Atreyu (band) members 21st-century American singers 21st-century American drummers Metalcore singers American male drummers Drummers from California