With lineup back in place, Spineshank shines

Sarkisyan is the guitarist for metal outfit Spineshank and after a nine-year absence from making new music, the band is back in full force.

“It’s taken us a long time to get here,” he says during a recent interview from New Jersey. “We’ve worked hard and never really given up on what we’ve wanted to do.”

Spineshank formed in 1996 and found success on the metal circuit – even being nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004.

Despite the band’s success, they also were dealing with inner turmoil among the members.

In 2004, lead singer Jonny Santos left the band due to creative differences and the band replaced him in 2005 with Brandon Espinoza.

Four years later, Santos decided to join the band, which was a welcome addition.

“We never wanted the band to break up and we kept touring without Jonny,” he says. “But when he came back, the band was stronger than before. I think we needed the break in order for us to get stronger.”

So the band – which includes Santos, Sarkisyan, Tommy Decker and Robert Garcia – spent the last three years working on material – which became “Anger Denial Acceptance.”

Sarkisyan says the band decided that going into this album, they were ready to kick it up a notch.

“There is not point in making music if we didn’t push ourselves and raise the bar,” he explains. “So when we got into the studio, we decided to keep the recordings as raw as they could be and not polish the music too much. We’re very happy because we’ve made a definitive Spineshank album.”

With all the of the musical layers, Sarkisyan says it’s an album that needs more than one listen.

“Fans will have to take time to bond with the album,” he says. “It’s very complex and we put in a lot of hard work to make sure that the songs would stand on their own.”

Having the album out has also made for better shows.

“With the fans having access to the songs, it’s easier for us to reach the audience,” he says. “They aren’t coming into the shows blind and that always makes for a better show.”

As far as touring goes, Spineshank will be on the road for the next year or so.

“It’s where we love to be,” he explains. “We all are on the same page and we’re really proud and fortunate to have what we have. It’s a great thing that we have again and we’re going to keep it going.”

Sarkisyan says the band just released the video for its single, “Nothing Left For Me.”

“We’re proud of this because we got the chance to work with a director that we’ve been pursuing for 10 years,” he says. “It was perfect timing and everything just came together. It’s just nice to be back.”

Spineshank will also perform at Top Deck in Farmington at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1.

Spineshank
With Caustic Lye, The Ground Beneath, Shattered Sun and Burst Into Flames
WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31
WHERE: Hooligan’s, 9800 Montgomery NE
HOW MUCH: $12 available at www.holdmyticket.com