Second Death is a metal band that started in 2016 after the break-up of Valdosta-based metal band, Beware The Never Ending.
Currently, the band’s lineup consists of vocalist Josh Claxton, bassist Clark Gargan, guitarist Jeremy Brown and drummer
The band released their first full-length album Casket in 2017 and have steadily released singles from 2018 to 2020. Due to the uncertain nature of the pandemic, Second Death and its members needed to take time to find their footing.
“When COVID hit, we were actually all living in Valdosta, but COVID made it to where Gio moved back to Jacksonville, Jeremy moved back to Philadelphia and me and Josh stayed here. Then during that time, three quarters of the band lost their employment,” said bassist Clark Gargan.
COVID however did not stop the band from continuing to make music. The band actually recorded a full-length album last year called Born With It, which Gargan said should be releasing in the next couple of months.
The band started touring again earlier this year, and are looking forward to having a fresh set of material to work with.
“That’s [the album] been something we’ve been sitting on for a while, but we should have it finally done so we can have more material to start touring on,” said Gargan. Right now, the last material we put out was in March or April of 2020…. I really want to have a full amount of support coming out for new music.”
Gargan points out that guitarist Jeremey Brown has had a large part in steering the direction of the new record. Brown’s song writing process has been what Gargan describes as a breath of fresh air compared to their past work.
“I based my own songwriting off of other bands I listen to like Stray From The Path and Meshuggah. Honestly, you can hear some similarities, The Acacia Strain was definitely an influence on this record, but you know, I just had to change it up a lot. [I] Incorporate a bunch of polyrhythms and add a bunch of odd time breakdowns, and things like that I love…that everyone else seems to really enjoy as well,” explained Brown.
Playing alongside heavy hitters Lorna Shore and Impending Doom, Second Death is set to play at AURA Fest on June 11, with the festival being the largest show they’ve played since the pandemic-induced lockdowns.
According to Gargan, Second Death performs well in atmospheres like A.U.R.A Fest, because they are able to reach audiences that may not otherwise have come for anyone else besides the festival’s headliners.
“The band always has a really good way of slipping through and actually reaching a lot of those people. One of the things I really kind of enjoy is getting to honestly take advantage of the bigger draw than the other bands have and trying to use that to, you know, honestly gain an audience that we didn’t want we might have had before,” said Gargan.
After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the annual AURA Fest (All Underground Rock All-day) returns to the Georgia Ships of the Sea Museum on June 11. The festival is open to all ages, and is a day-long showcase of local, regional and national metal and hardcore bands. This year 11 bands will be performing, including local and regional favorites such as The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir, Depressor and Second Death. AURA Fest will also see larger headliners like Impending Doom and Lorna Shore tear up the stage at Saturday’s fest
The event starts at 12:30 p.m. and will have food trucks, beverages and other activities for festival goers to enjoy. Alex Arango sat down with three bands to get the lowdown on this year’s fest and what audiences can look forward to. More information about the festival and tickets can be found at aurafestsavannah.com
