Metal music is a genre ripe with imitators, fads, throwbacks and retreads. Sifting through the
noise is a task among endless cacophony, but St. John’s, NL based prog-metal quartet The
Combine offer a reprieve, a break from convention. Taylor Roberts, Mike Mercer, Matt Ball,
and Chris Reid form a group that draws influence from past and present greats of the genre. Acts
like Mastodon and Opeth can be compared to them, but make no mistake, The Combine is a
band that defies imitation, unleashing a sonic footprint entirely all their own.

With thick, slicing, and at times sinister riffs, swift and sweeping grooves, and the all pomp and
pageantry you’d expect, The Combine’s sophomore studio album Void and Vessel meets and
surpasses the benchmark set by their landmark debut, Witness. The band has shape-shifted from
tireless ghosts of pubs and music halls to an anomaly and rarity of the modern-artist age, one
whose live performances meet spectacle and required-viewing status.

Stints performing alongside the likes o