Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Genocya

Here comes one of our last monthly feature posts of October 2012, and it's our latest Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As always, this series looks at a metal/hard rock band that, though not from the Soo area, does or did feature at least one Saultite in their lineup, and for just the seventh time in this series, the band is question involves a Sault Michigan-area native! They deserve a closer look from local metalheads though, so read on below for this month's profile, and if anything's missing or incorrect, please tell me! (UPDATED: November 26th, 2014)
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Genocya (Lansing, Michigan)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Dane "Zuul" Brown (vocals)
Brad "van Satan" van Staveren (guitar)
Matt "Yukon" Cunningham (guitar)
Jim "Big Brown Bear" Albrecht (bass)
Tim "Speedbag" Sever (drums)

Randy Belden (vocals)
Jeff Keech (vocals)
Rick Leusby (guitar)
Kris Smith (guitar)
Dave Peterman (guitar)
Jake Bryan (drums)
Erik "Hamms Of Doom" Stroude (drums)

Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/genocya
Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/genocyametal
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/genocya
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/user/jimocya
Official BandCamp page: http://genocya.bandcamp.com

Local Info: The only Saultite in any of Genocya's lineups (that I know of) is guitarist Matt "Yukon" Cunningham. Public information on Matt's local past isn't in high supply, but from what little I know, he is originally from Sault Michigan, still has family in the area, and comes back home enough to drop off Genocya CDs at Grooves Music. He moved to Lansing at some point prior to 2008, where he currently lives and works, and of course, plays in Genocya!

Band Bio: Genocya were formed in 2002 by founding members Rick Leusby, Kris Smith, and Tim Sever, who soon formed a full band and recorded a pair of demos through 2004 with different lineups. The band's lineup has shuffled frequently during their run, with only bassist Jim Albrecht surviving through every full Genocya incarnation. In the mid-2000s, Genocya began a steady stream of concerts in the Lower Peninsula and Northern Ohio, opening for bands like Anthrax, Overkill, and Deicide in the process, until a mainly-inactive period throughout 2008 due to work schedules. Around late 2008, Matt Cunningham was enlisted on guitar to replace the departed Dave Peterman, and after the band enlisted singer Dane Brown the following year, their general current incarnation was formed. They've been hard at work ever since, including releasing their first proper full length album "Ever Descent" in 2011, and slowly expanding beyond the region for concerts, so keep an eye out for more big news and events from Genocya to come!

Genocya's blackened death metal sound has helped them get a rising profile in the Michigan metal scene in the past decade, and I can see why! Their early demos and their "Ever Descent" CD are full of a brutal mix of genres and styles, and their lineups show solid chemistry! If only the production was a bit better, their studio material often sounds muffled. The vocals needed to grow a bit on me for the most part, but their singers are more than capable for their material, though I think I prefer Jeff Keech's Death-inspired vocals the most. Tim Sever's drumming is brutal and very fast, and Jim Albrecht's bass playing is really good as well, while the guitar work of Matt & their other guitarists tends to be heavy and melodic equally when need be! As it currently sits, Genocya have a great thing going in extreme metal, and with some better production and fine tuning, their rise will be sure to continue, so definitely check them out!

Media of Genocya is fairly easy to find online and in town, especially as their full length album has been on sale at Grooves Music in Sault Michigan! Online, you can buy "Ever Descent" digitally through BandCamp & iTunes, and though their original demos are now out of print, they are floating around somewhat, so if you can find them, downloading wouldn't hurt! As for videos, there's a decent amount on YouTube, including their entire last CD, but be careful, as videos from an Italian metal band with the same name are on YouTube as well. The best place to see videos is the band's official YouTube channel, which features a number of recent live videos, including this 2010 clip of Genocya playing their song "Regretful Lust", so check it out below and more at the above links!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month, the series as you generally know it will take a short break so we can update and correct our past entries, as we've done over the past two Novembers. There's a lot to address, change, and mention, so look out for that post on or around November 26th, and our regular profiles will return in December, and I have bands in mind already for then. Stay tuned for more news shortly, including our review of TOMORROW'S 7th annual Halloween Party! Thanks everyone!