Detroit has spawned some oddities in its musical history but none as sonically brutal yet lyrically positive as Metalcore sextet We Came as Romans.
Launching as This Emergency in 2004, shifts in personnel and philosophy inspired the name change the following year. WCAR’s lineup remained malleable until founding members Joshua Moore (lead guitarist/lyricist) and David Stephens (scream vocalist) added vocalist Kyle Pavone, guitarist Lou Cotton, bassist Andy Glass and drummer Eric Choi between 2006 and 2008. Between extensive road stints, WCAR released two acclaimed EPs in 2008, which led to a contract with Equal Vision Records and the band’s 2009 full-length debut, To Plant a Seed.
After major touring opportunities with Megadeth, Silverstein and A Day to Remember in 2010 and 2011 (including every stop on last year’s Warped Tour), WCAR finished its sophomore album, last fall’s darker and more direct Understanding What We’ve Grown to Be, which notched the group’s best sales figures to date (Top 20 on Billboard’s Top 200 and Overall Digital Album charts, Top 10 on the Indie and Current Rock charts and Top 5 on the Hard Music chart). The band drove sales with a trio of conceptual videos for the songs “Mis/Understanding,” “Just Keep Breathing” and the title track, which together tell the story of a lost soul who confronts emotions and experiences from his past to navigate the present.
The band continues to affirm its secular status, but it hardly matters either way; We Came as Romans makes heavy music with a heavy message for anyone with an ear and a heart for it.
WE CAME AS ROMANS plays Friday, March 9 at Madison Theater with guests Emmure, BlessTheFall, Color Morale and Woe is Me. Buy tickets, check out performance times and get venue details here.
