I'll give you two guesses as to what kind of sticker this is, as a hint it is one more of the common uses for stickers. Have your guess ready? I'm sure this won't come as a surprise but the sticker belongs to a local band. Now can you guess the musical genre this band is in. With a name of Habitual Sins, the use of Personal Demons, and an image invoking a classic Roman or Greek style, it isn't a far leap to assume that this group is a Metal band. Habitual Sins is a Metal band from here in Pittsburgh and this sticker is actually an ad for their first album Personal Demons. It seems like this group has had an interesting start though, looking at their description on their Facebook page. The lead singer Matthew Bizilia actually got his start with the group Icarus Witch, another local Pittsburgh band. After achieving some recognition for his unique voice and gaining some success with the band, he amicably left the group in 2010 to partner with two guitarists that he had worked with in the past. Habitual Sins started to release singles from the album at the end of 2016 and then the full album went out early 2017.
I have to admit that I was caught off guard when I was listening to the first track "Ravens" from Personal Demons. With a slow orchestral build and raven wings beating in the background, it is certainly out to capture your attention early on. As the song goes on, it begins to take on a more familiar feel that you would expect with a Metal band. Which isn't terribly surprising, considering their biggest influences are the 80's bands like Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Metallica. Now I'm not a good judge of this, as you know, so I don't doubt that their sound harkens back to a more traditional Metal style. Personally I was reminded of the band Sonata Arctica, one of my brother's favorite groups. Both have an interesting mix of a classic orchestra sound and the driving guitar you'd expect. While Habitual Sins doesn't have the full album available on their site to listen to, I was intrigued by the snippets they had and the titles. Clearly they draw a lot of inspiration from the supernatural, Gothic and religious traditions. You have the Djinn (otherwise know as genies) from Islamic traditions, the Inquisition from Catholicism, Hades from Greek mythology, and many other elements that can be seen throughout these traditions. You can tell from the snippets they have, that all of the songs on this album fit together and maintain a consistent style throughout. It also doesn't feel like they are out to overpower their listeners with their music, looking to invite them into their sound and style. From the name, to the album, to the music itself you know what you're getting into when you look at them and I'm sure this lends a lot to this group's appeal.
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Maggie Ondrey
An amateur photographer and writer capturing a small portion of the city. Archives
August 2017
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