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Heavy weights: Brooklyn metal band brings modern sound to genre

unbroken
The Unbroken is breaking new ground in heavy metal music.
Photo by Caroline Ourso

They’re breaking boundaries!

A Brooklyn band is breathing fresh air into the heavy metal genre, combining a Metallica-inspired sound with high-tech post-production. The Unbroken uses down-tuned instruments and slick technology to create “punchier” songs, said the band’s drummer. 

“Modern sound has a different tuning, newer sounds on the instruments as well as using today’s technology to create a fresher, cleaner ‘modern’ feel to the overall sound,” said Tamas Vajda.

The band — whose hit song “Suffering in Silence” has racked up more than 170,000 views on Youtube — got its start in 2017, when Vajda and lead singer Chester Oszustowicz decided  to combine forces.

“We’re old friends,” said Vajda. “We met through the metal circuit 15 years ago or so.” 

The pair recruited two more members of the scene and called the group, “The Broken Co.” — until a new band name came to Vajda in a vision, he said. 

“I had a dream which gave me a very positive sign,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong, it’s not broken therefore it’s Unbroken.”

The Unbroken plays “groove metal,” a subgenre that features raspy shouting, guitar riffs, and syncopated beats, Vajda said. The group has quickly gained a loyal following, but expanding its audience has been difficult in Brooklyn’s small heavy metal community.

“It’s pretty underground,” Vajda said. “I can’t say New York has as much of a metal scene as it used to.”

To expand its reach, the band created an online experience to accompany its debut album, “Human Crown.” Rather than buying the collection, fans can sign up to receive one song from the album each day, along with its music video and behind-the-scenes footage. According to Vajda, the band began the multimedia project to amp up its online presence and give listeners an original experience. 

“You’ve got to give them something new, something special,” he said. “That’s our specialty.”