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Indie in content, metal by index, Amplexus inhabits a musical space unchallenged by genre, and inspired by a unique exploration in storytelling.  Assembling in Kent, Ohio, in the fall of 2005, the six-piece take a fresh path into the untold and limitless story of the imagination through a post-hardcore blend. Alongside aggressive, hardcore tendencies, they reveal prominent harmonies and impassioned hooks; the songs off their debut full length album, Deus ex Machina are determined to take hold of the listener and take them to another state.Lyrically inspired by the works of director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish) and

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Albums by Amplexus

Cover Artist / Album Category Rating User Rating Buy
Amplexus - Deus Ex Machina Amplexus
Deus Ex Machina
(Indie 2007) 		Metal5/59.21/10Buy Deus Ex Machina at Amazon
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Biography
Indie in content, metal by index, Amplexus inhabits a musical space unchallenged by genre, and inspired by a unique exploration in storytelling.  Assembling in Kent, Ohio, in the fall of 2005, the six-piece take a fresh path into the untold and limitless story of the imagination through a post-hardcore blend. Alongside aggressive, hardcore tendencies, they reveal prominent harmonies and impassioned hooks; the songs off their debut full length album, Deus ex Machina are determined to take hold of the listener and take them to another state.

Lyrically inspired by the works of director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish) and authors Hunter S. Thompson, Philip K. Dick (A Scanner Darkly), and Frank Miller (Sin City, 300), the album presents stories and landscapes over a variety of conceptual themes, from retellings of old tales, to the construction of original stories of archetypal characters. With influences spanning from contemporary bands such as The Receiving End of Sirens and Thrice to the scores of Danny Elfman, Amplexus strives to deliver a rare, modern reflection of stories; that shape and embody our minds and hearts.


Instrumentation 
Cory Kobrinski - Guitars, Vocals
Billy Liber - Guitars, Vocals
Chris McClelland - Drums
Mahlon Rhodes - Vocals
Curtis von Tacky - Keys, Programming
Chris Yannon - Bass, Vocals

Interview
Interview by Brian Rutherford

It's a matter of perception I suppose...being Indie that is. When I heard Amplexus for the first time, 'signed or unsigned' wasn't a contemplation. Based on the slick production and aggressive sound, I was certainly under the assumption their status was locked up by some market report reading conglomerate label subsidiary. Much to my surprise I was wrong, but is that what Amplexus, the Ohio based Metal band wants? Let's get to know the best unsigned act in America, Music Emissions 2007 Indie Of The Year elect, Amplexus.

Less than two weeks after being named our 1st annual Indie Of The Year, bassist and 1/6th of Amplexus, the soft-spoken Chris Yannon (Bass/Vocals) spoke with Music Emissions for a bit on an October Saturday . “I don't know, my main thing is being creative and having integrity. Those are the two main things we wanted to make sure we did”.

The “did” he is referring to is Deus Ex Machina [\'des \'eks \'makina] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina).

Though copies of Amplexus' first E.P. and a half are no where to be found, and doubtful to be recorded again, it might have something to do with past comparisons. “Before this CD came out, a lot of modern rock comparison's like Nickelback, but I dont know why.” It can\'t be all that easy trying to build on a name that refers to the sexual process between frogs. “Actually the name was made before a lot of us were in the band. We just kind of stuck with it because people knew us by that.. Its Latin for embrace...that's more the meaning than frogs getting it on.”

The whole band is a mixture of parts in the past, no one having the same seniority as the other, does anyone agree on one song off the album? “We all have different ones, I know we all like the last song Pygmalion Effect, but I think we all love each song in a different way”. Alright enough factual stuff, let's get to the good stuff. For, instance why on a list of artists ranging, from 311 to Circa Survive, does the literary god of yours truly (Hunter S. Thompson) pop up? “I\'m probably the biggest fan, I've read like five or six of his books. We kinda like the way he approaches his art form.”

Current affairs...

A week after Radiohead set the industry on fire by allowing fans to name their price for the new release Rainbows, Yannon sounded psyched but skeptical about the announcement “Thats insane, I think its awesome they're so big they could probably get away with it. It's a good idea, hopefully it makes people think they should have a little more integrity for bands who mean what they're doing”. What about their own barely just released (September '07) disc, how does that effect Amplexus and its budding record sales? “I mean thats kinda why we priced it at ten bucks plus shipping so it would be cheap enough”.

By the way, reference Music Emissions at Amplexus\' myspace and get $2 off their CD.

I had to ask, what\'s up with the artwork on Deus Ex Machina? “It's a tat artist, he has a shop based in Kent, OH. His name first name is Jason Wells, but he just goes by Wells (I think). Just an amazing artist, we went up and had a meeting with him one day. We collectively came up with the idea, big fish-little boat kind of thing. We roughly gave him that idea and he drew what we had in our minds. The colors are kind of inspired by the vividness of Circa Survives' past art work”.


As for The Music...

Track eight, "Handbook For The Recently Deceased", has a phenomenal hybrid of harmonies and passion, but what's up with the reference to Beetlejuice? “The whole song is about the movie. I think someone just threw the name out there. It's too blatant. Some people will catch it, some people wont, we didn't want to name it Beetlejuice, but we still wanted to kind of hint at it. We mainly just took the conflict of the movie, not just 'ooh I like this movie its cool'. Just how they\'re like trapped in the house, and fighting with themselves and death and it all kind of works out in the end”.

Live sh!t

After having shared the stage with artists like Five Bolt Main, Dope, Ill Nino, and God Forbid, if given the opportunity to play in front of any artist present or past, live or dead, Chris didn't hesitate on his answer. “Presently playing I'd like to play in front of Thrice. I'd like to say The Beatles or Hendrix but I don't think they'd like our music anyways”. What about other artists, particularly their Indie Of The Year rivals and fellow Ohioans, Fisticuff. “I heard of 'em before the contest, they're from right by us, which is kind of weird. They seem really nice... except that one guy went off on a rant, I got nothing but love for other indie bands”. Fisticuff, who lead the contest for nearly all the two months it was being held, fell just short in the last week. “It was cool to see the little surge (we had) at the end there... one of our fans really helped us. Trevor helped us keep it close, then once it started getting down to the wire, and we weren't pushing too hard with shows”.

I'll refrain from getting personally involved here. Most important, I got an answer to a question that had plucked at me since I first heard that slick production and aggressive sound. I said during word association; Record Label... "Yes Please...." Yannon said. To be honest, these guys deserve it, but so much more in the same breath. In this day and age, is "being signed" really as beneficial as it used to be? I guess its all about prospective...

Amplexus is:

Mahlon Rhodes-vocals
Cory Kobrinski-guitar/vocals
Chris Yannon- bass/vocals
Billy Liber-guitar/vocals
Andy Mares-drums (for two more weeks), and Derek (not pictured) (Drop To Zero)
Curtis Von Tacky- piano/keyboard/sequencing

*some pictures provided by the Amplexus fan base

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