{"id":353767,"date":"2025-12-17T09:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T09:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/353767\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T09:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T09:07:08","slug":"catharsis-local-metal-band-godbone-writes-songs-to-let-the-darkness-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/353767\/","title":{"rendered":"Catharsis: Local metal band Godbone writes songs to let the darkness out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The band Godbone tells their story and shares their music in the video above. Courtesy photo: Tyson Chavis plays at the Misfitz venue in Pocatello.<\/p>\n

POCATELLO \u2014 Their riffs are fierce. Their screams are guttural. Their lyrics are explicit. But at the end of the day, members of the Pocatello\/Idaho Falls metal band Godbone say they\u2019re just a bunch of goofballs playing the music they love.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just so happens people around us kind of like what we like,\u201d said band member Sam Page. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been just a fun rollercoaster that hasn\u2019t hit the down or the up or whatever. It\u2019s all in the \u2018we\u2019 phase right now, and that\u2019s how we want to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Sam said, we just wanted to make music we liked, and that our friends liked as well,\u201d said Mark Hamilton, another band member. \u201cBecause in this genre of music, you\u2019re not trying to appeal to the masses. You\u2019re just trying to hit that niche of what you like.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band is made up of Cal Burch on vocals, Page on bass, Hamilton on guitar and backup vocals, Tyson Chavis on guitar, and Dan Ditto on drums.<\/p>\n

When they\u2019re not playing in Godbone, most members have other jobs. Burch is a welder. Hamilton sells hot tubs. Chavis works with social media. Ditto designs cabinets. And Page \u2014 his day job is just playing bass.<\/p>\n

You can listen to Godbone on Spotify<\/a> or follow them on Instagram<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. The band also has a show coming up at the Heart Events Center in Idaho Falls on Dec. 19 with No No Square<\/a>, Electric Rat, Blood Cannery and Adrenochrome. Tickets are $10 online and $12 at the door.<\/p>\n

Beginnings <\/p>\n

Hamilton said the band started in 2022, in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, with himself, Ditto, Burch and another friend, Cade Walker, who has since moved away. Burch originally played bass, and Page joined on to play guitar. Once Walker moved away, the band asked Burch to sing and Page to play bass. Then they asked Chavis, who was part of another local band, Grave Way, to join and play guitar.<\/p>\n

Hamilton said the name Godbone can turn a few heads, but it was actually a reference to a TV series, \u201cSee,\u201d starring Jason Momoa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name Godbone, when people first hear it \u2014 my sister, in fact, she says \u2018I just feel bad saying it \u2014 it sounds sacrilegious,\u2019\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t meant to be sacrilegious. Essentially, the premise of the story is its 3,000 years into the future, where nobody can see, nobody has eyesight. So they call the sun Godflame. They call the metal structures and ruins Godbone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought that was kind of a cool concept name. It sounded cool, rolls off the tongue easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band grows <\/p>\n

Hamilton said he believes the band has changed sonically since it started.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuitar tone, drums, bass, everything \u2014 you could hear it where we\u2019ve evolved, and we actually cared more to critique it, deeper and deeper to get a more quality sound,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cAnd it was the same dang guy recording it both times. I think we just got better musically.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said this is clear in one particular song, \u201cWhite Noise Reasoning,\u201d which appears on the band\u2019s first EP from 2023, \u201cPossessed to Live,\u201d and the band\u2019s latest EP, \u201cTorn To Shreds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Cal absolutely upped the entire intensity of Godbone\u2019s music,\u201d Chavis said. \u201cThere\u2019s just so much emotion and just so much thought and work put into the vocals. And I just think this EP is a big step above the first one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we didn\u2019t really know the direction we were going with the first EP,\u201d Ditto said. \u201cIt just came together. It was kind of weird how it happened. But it just happened, and we found our style and our voice, and it just clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton said with the addition of Chavis on guitar, who helps write some of the riffs, the band\u2019s sound has gotten darker, which was more of the energy they wanted. Ditto said the music has pushed him in his drumming skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark writes a lot of the riffs, most of the riffs, but I love to write stuff on drums where I have a hard time playing,\u201d Ditto said. \u201cIt makes me try even harder, you know? But it\u2019s making me a lot better for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

What they write about <\/p>\n

Hamilton said he and Burch collaborated on many of Godbone\u2019s lyrics.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the lyrics are kind of dark, depressive themes that don\u2019t really have a great outcome, but it\u2019s a great outlet for me to get those feelings out,\u201d Hamilton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s catharsis,\u201d Page said.<\/p>\n

\"Cal<\/a>Cal Burch performs at the Misfitz venue in Pocatello. | Courtesy photo <\/p>\n

Page said the band\u2019s lyrics also frequently speak out against certain \u201cdregs\u201d of society, such as drunk drivers, sexual predators and the pharmaceutical industry. He said the songs are written by blue-collar Americans and speak to the problems blue-collar Americans face.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s most popular song on Spotify, entitled \u201cTorn to Shreds,\u201d is about social media and its negative effects. Hamilton said he collaborated with Walker on the song, and its subject is the individuals who run social media platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat song is a lot about the fact that they don\u2019t care about you and me,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cThey just want to see the clicks go up, and they don\u2019t care what it does to your mental health. That song is a lot about turning that stuff off for a bit, taking a break \u2014 just getting away from it. Hang out with your friends. Go out in nature. Go fly fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another song, \u201cChoose Your Fate,\u201d written by Burch, reflected his experiences after leaving prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of that, I didn\u2019t make excuses,\u201d Burch said. \u201cI put my feet down, and I got to work and made myself where I am today. And that\u2019s just about you choosing your fate. Don\u2019t let other people decide that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facing stereotypes <\/p>\n

Being metal isn\u2019t always easy. Godbone members said there are certain stereotypes associated with playing metal, or what some might consider \u201cdevil music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burch said anytime screaming is involved with music, to appreciate it, you must read the lyrics. He said they\u2019re relatable. And Hamilton said the hardcore scene is all about camaraderie.<\/p>\n

Page said he owes his sobriety to the hardcore scene, and if you\u2019re looking for help, they\u2019re a supportive bunch. He challenges anyone to come to a metal concert and see all the smiles. <\/p>\n

Ditto said Chavis might be the happiest guitar player alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to be happy when you\u2019re in a room full of pretty much all your friends in quite possibly the least judgmental place in southeast Idaho,\u201d Chavis said. \u201cI think pretty much anyone that identifies as whatever is going to be able to make friends in the hardcore scene and can come to a show anytime and just be themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stereotypes that go along with this type of music,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cBut I mean, we\u2019re just goofballs. We\u2019re just goofballs at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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