114 Kassandra

114 Kassandra is an Experimental/Post-Hardcore band from Chino Hills, California. The band consists of three members that all met in high school, Chad Rivas (Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard, Bass, Drums, Lyrics) Mason Powell (Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard, Bass, Drums, Lyrics), and Michael Barrera (Drums, Percussion, Keyboards). They are known for having an excessive amount of instruments and orchestration in their music, but because there are only three members they must enlist the help of a computer in their live performances to backtrack the instruments they cannot physically play themselves. The band officially started in July 2011 under the name "Heca, firimar!" which means "Stand Aside, Mortals!" in Elvish. However, after too many people not being able to pronounce or understand the name correctly, they changed their name to 114 Kassandra in March of 2013 just before the release of their much anticipated self-recorded EP Life Rains the Hardest on Those Who Shine the Brightest, which was released on April 1st 2013. Earlier on February 27th of the same year, all of the old demos which had been created under the name “Heca, firimar!” were also organized as a digital release under the title Heca, firimar! Demos. The band gained some amount of recognition from these two releases, most of which came from the internet, but even so there was nothing but rave reviews from complete strangers all around the world. In the first two years since their conception, the positive reactions continued as they played many local shows. It even led to gaining the support of not one but two net-based independent record labels. In late February, the band “virtually signed” to Kitty on Fire Records and Torn Flesh Records. The name 114 Kassandra was taken from an asteroid named by astronomers after the prophetess Kassandra of Greek mythology. Kassandra was given the gift of foresight, but she was also cursed in that no one would ever believe her predictions. The band felt like the messages in this story correlated with the anti-monetary, anti-religion, pro scientific method content of their lyrics. They felt that their warnings to people to start caring about the state of the world would long continue to go unheard and ignored, ultimately leading to the collapse of society or even the complete extinction of the human species. Earlier lyrical content included vivid descriptions of Mason's spiraling decent into drug abuse, his eventual road to recovery, his struggle with discontentment, and ultimately newfound sense of acceptance. Chad had the lyrical spotlight on one of the earlier "Heca, firimar!" tracks which was later re-released on the Life Rains the Hardest on Those Who Shine the Brightest EP. That track was none other than "Boss Battle (Araceli, Phantom of Gypsies)", partially a parody in the way that it blatantly mimics the sounds of early 3D The Legend of Zelda video games. It discusses a serious issue many people struggle with on a daily basis. The song is about the bullying and torment he received from "Araceli," his supervisor at the Carl's Jr. restaurant he worked at for over two years. She physically assaulted him after he began to ignore her berattlement, and when Chad tried to seek the aid of the restaurant’s upper management along with "help" from human resources, the problem was only further exacerbated and almost led to the termination of his job. Thus spawned the resentful lyrics of this song in which managers are depicted as bosses in a Zelda video game. Due to such playful, nostalgic video game sounds and corky orchestral themes, some people began to attribute the term “nintendocore” to the band. Newer lyrical content is said to be heavily aimed at attacking the current political, social, and economic systems of the world and spreading knowledge and information about the possibility of a Resource Based Economy in hopes of securing a brighter future for humanity. This message will continue to be a high priority in the years to come. The band is due to release a new single with a music video and begin work on a new album which will display a more sophisticated artistic approach. Further information regarding release dates is currently unknown. Free will doesn't exist. http://www.thevenusproject.com http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com