ScarForge

Khaos Faktory (also briefly known as ScarForge) is an industrial-metal band from North Fort Myers, Florida. Originally created as a solo side project by guitarist/programmer Fuckin' Mike in 2006, Khaos Faktory has since evolved into a full-fledged band with an ever-increasing fanbase, and has released several demo and promo EPs as well as two full-length albums, Sinthetic Alchemy and Sinthetic Alchemy 2.0. Khaos Faktory has been featured on the Sweat Soundtrack and the Skratch Compilation v.44. Current members include vocalist Dave Spencer, guitarist/programmer Fuckin' Mike, guitarist Brandon Casterline, and bassist/guitarist Shawn Klick.

History[]

Formation[]

Khaos Faktory was spawned in the summer of 2006 while Mike was working on 80-Proof Throwdown's debut album Trailer Park Rhapsody. Recording of that album had been on hiatus for a while, so Mike began recording new industrial-rock songs to alleviate boredom. The result of this was Khaos Faktory's first disc, the Open For Business EP, with Mike playing all the instruments and performing all the vocals and programming. 50 copies of the disc were pressed and given away for free, mostly at a small North Fort Myers record store named A.B.CD's. Response to the disc was mild and mixed; some liked it, others hated it. Open For Business has not been in print since then, and will never be re-released.

After self-releasing Trailer Park Rhapsody, 80-Proof Throwdown was shelved due to lead guitarist/vocalist "Beerkeg" Brandon Casterline's departure from the band to pursue his career in the United States Marine Corps, and Mike was unable to find a replacement for him. Late in 2007, Mike was joined by vocalist Dave Spencer, who had previously played in a short-lived metal outfit called 13 BC with Mike on rhythm guitars. For a brief time, lead guitarist Alex Rosado (also ex-13 BC) came onboard; however, he was excused from the band due to personal problems with Spencer. Next to join was Matt Pyro (ex-NotEmo) on bass, Das on guitars and synthesizers, Brian Friesen on lead guitars, and Joel Metz on drums.

Sinthetic Alchemy[]

With the lineup complete, the band began recording its debut LP Sinthetic Alchemy in January 2008 without Metz performing a real drum set; Mike and Das opted to use a drum machine instead due to Joel's drunken antics and short attention span. Pyro and Friesen only performed on one song each: "Stoked" and "Scratch", respectively. In March 2008, as the album started coming together, Khaos Faktory was signed to California-based indie label A Dark Philosophy Records (more commonly referred to as ADP Records), with "Knife" Sotelo as Executive Producer.

The disc was originally intended to be a six- or seven-song EP, however more songs were added due to pressure from ADP Records to put out a full-length release; this resulted in "Scratch" and "All Good Things Must End" being included on the final version. Two filler tracks created by Knife were added to bring the total number of tracks up to ten. The album took only three months to write and record with the exception of "Stoked", which had been recorded in November 2007, and "Cattle", which had originally been written in 2005 by Mike and Casterline while they were in 80-Proof Throwdown (although the new recording was made during the Sinthetic Alchemy sessions). The album was released on April 20, 2008. Only 1,000 copies of the official release disc have been printed. There was also a limited-edition release marketed through ADP subsidiary Neighborhood Records, of which 100 copies were produced, for a total amount of 1,100 copies of the album in existence.

Shortly before Sinthetic Alchemy was released, Metz was excused from Khaos Faktory due to multiple factors. Literally just a few days before the album debuted, Matt Pyro quit the band on his father's demand, and publicly stated that he wanted nothing further to do with the band, the album, or the record label the album was released on. He was immediately replaced by Das on bass.

About a month after the debut was released, Brian Friesen left the band on amicable terms to go to college. Khaos Faktory continued on with Spencer on vocals, Mike on guitars and programming, and Das on bass and synthesizers.

Sweat Soundtrack[]

Around this same time, Khaos Faktory was approached by underground filmmaker Ryan McClellan and asked to submit a song for his upcoming motion picture, entitled Sweat. Mike ended up collaborating with McClellan on the creation and promotion of the picture's soundtrack CD and submitted four songs in all, which included "Stoked" and "Cattle" from Sinthetic Alchemy, as well as two previously unreleased remixes, "Turboslut (Sausage Wallet Remix)" and "Cattle (Reverse Polarity Mix)".

The Sweat soundtrack CD was releasd on August 1, 2008 via McClellan's production company JaDEd EyeZ Entertainment, and was sold exclusively on the movie's official website (now defunct, as the film was cancelled), although the bands featured on the album were given CD's in limited quantities to sell by themselves.

2009 - 2010[]

In August 2008 David "Stoney" Mustonen signed on as lead guitarist, and in September 2008 Greg Tali (formerly of Fort Myers black-metal band Neither) joined as the new drummer. Dave Spencer moved to Indiana around the same time, and Stoney took over the vocal duties for three of the band's live performances. Shawn Klick (ex-A Season Of Violence) took over four-string duties in early 2009. Das left the band in early 2009 and formed a new ambient/comedy-industrial project called Da Manginas From China with a Laser Beam.

As of January 2009 Khaos Faktory has been released from their contracts from ADP Records.

Ryan McClennan helped manage Khaos Faktory during 2008-2009 and created Khaos Records. Khaos Faktory's second album Sinthetic Alchemy 2.0 was released on the Khaos Records, being the label's second LP release since its formation. 2.0 was released on February 9, 2009 to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Fuckin' Mike's best friend Richard Nesta. The disc featured a guest appearance by Neither's keyboardist Kat Rodriguez on the song "Struggle". Stoney provided the lead guitars on the new version of "Liberated" as well as the new cover of Sepultura's "Refuse Resist".

In June 2009 Stoney was fired from the band over his drug addictions and personal problems with certain other band members. He was replaced in November 2009 by 80-Proof Throwdown vocalist/guitarist Brandon Casterline, who now handles some of the lead guitars on ScarForge recordings. Casterline's recruitment began with Mike's proposal to re-engineer and re-record "Raising Hell", one of the standout tracks from 80-Proof Throwdown's lone full-length release Trailer Park Rhapsody.

On January 1, 2010 Khaos Faktory changed its name to ScarForge, however the band has reverted to its previous name since its 2011 reformation.

In 2010 ScarForge released a free 3-song CD generically titled ScarForge Promo CD 1.5, which features the new single "Obsidian", along with "Cattle" and "Konflikted" from Sinthetic Alchemy 2.0 and "KOCK Radio Episode 2" as a hidden bonus track. The latter was originally intended to appear on Sinthetic Alchemy 2.0 but never made it to press. A digital (and slightly different) version of the disc was released as a downloadable .zip file from the band's Myspace and Vampirefreaks profiles, and was dubbed Sampler EP 1.5.5 and made available for free. 1.5.5 differs from the promo disc as "Cattle" was replaced with an early version of "One-Man Armageddon", which appears as the first track instead of "Obsidian", but retains all of the tracks from the previous release. Sampler EP 1.5.5 can be downloaded at http://www.sendspace.com/file/i8dgdi

In April 2010 Shawn Sissons was named the new singer of ScarForge. Like Tali, Sissons is also a former (and founding) member of Neither, which is also based out of the Fort Myers area, however during the summer of 2010 Tali quietly left ScarForge to pursue other interests. The only song created in collaboration with Sissons was a demo titled "Neu Laden" and released exclusively at Vampirefreaks.com, which showcases some of Sisson's programming skills.

2011[]

ScarForge slowly dissolved during 2010 and was considered by the band members to have broken up, as only a handful of demos were recorded throughout the year and jam sessions had all but ceased by the summer. The remaining band members (Sissons, Mike and Klick) disbanded into other projects.

Then in early 2011 original vocalist Dave Spencer moved back to Florida from Indiana, and reunited with Mike and Klick. Khaos Faktory was reformed under its old name, and is currently in search of a new drummer as well as working on new material for an upcoming EP in 2011.

Influences[]

The music of ScarForge has been molded by a myriad of genres from the large number of contributing members and collaborators over the years. Both versions of the debut album were heavily influenced by thrash and death metal as well as industrial music of various types. The band's new material heads in a darker and heavier direction and fuses live drums with programmed rhythms, where the older releases incorporated synthetic percussion exclusively. The current members cite influences on their playing from bands as diverse as Deicide and Celldweller, Slayer and Skinny Puppy, or Circle of Dust and Amon Amarth. ScarForge collectively refers to its music as "industrial death metal", for lack of a more fitting term.

Band members[]

Current members[]

Dave Spencer: vocals (2007-2010, 2011-present)
Fuckin' Mike: guitars, vocals, synthesizers (2006-present)
Brandon Casterline: studio guitars (2009-present)
Shawn Klick: bass, guitars (2008-present)

Former members[]

Greg Tali: drums, vocals (2008-2010)
Shawn Sissons: vocals (2010)
Das: guitars, bass, synthesizers (2007-2009)
Alex Rosado: lead guitars (2007)
Brian Freisen: lead guitars (2008)
Matt Pyro: bass (2007-2008)
Joel Metz: drums (2008)
TJ Sanborn: lead guitars (2009)
David "Stoney" Mustonen: lead guitars, vocals (2008-2009)

Discography[]

Albums/EPs[]

(as Khaos Faktory)

Open For Business (EP, 2006, independently released)
Sinthetic Alchemy (LP, 2008, A Dark Philosophy Records)
Sinthetic Alchemy 2.0 (LP, 2009, Khaos Records/JaDEd EyeZ Entertainment)
Khaos Faktory Sampler CD 1.0 (promo EP, 2008, Khaos Records)

(as ScarForge)

ScarForge Promo CD 1.5 (promo EP, 2010, Khaos Records)
Sampler EP 1.5.5 (digital promo EP, 2010, independently released)

Compilations[]

Sweat Soundtrack (2008, JaDEd EyeZ Entertainment)
Skratch Compilation v.44 (2008, Skratch Magazine)