Time for the next edition of Metal Anarchy’s “new music showcase,” the feature where I introduce you to bands that readers of this site may find interesting. This time I have a Q&A with LYLVC.

METAL ANARCHY: Tell me a little about your band:

ALYSE ZAVALA: Our band LYLVC (pronounced “lilac”) is based out of Raleigh, NC. We have a dual-vocalist dynamic between a male rapper (Oscar Romero Lemus) and a female singer (myself- Alyse Zavala). During the COVID pandemic, I wanted to start a modern rock band that was like Linkin Park and Bring Me The Horizon had a baby, but with a female singer. I met Cameron Gillette, who is our mad genius behind all the LYLVC song instrumentals that inspire my lyrics and vocal melodies and Oscar’s raps. Cam plays rhythm guitar, keyboard, and creates all the synth/electronic elements in our songs. Seth “Sketti” Morgan is our lead guitarist, Ryan Powell is our drummer, and Kenneth “Kenny” Kaval is our Bassist. Our first music video for “Perfect Drug” blew up with over a million views, our second music video “Undertow” has over half a million views so far, and we just finished a Nation-wide tour with the band New Years Day. We’ve been writing so much new music since our tour and we plan to record at Howard Benson’s West Valley Recording Studios again THIS WEEK with our Producer Mike Plotnikoff who has recorded huge artists such as Three Days Grace, Halestorm, My Chemical Romance, and more. 2023 better be ready for us!

METAL ANARCHY: Who are your main influences?

CAM GILLETTE: I was always inspired by artists that could build sounds and often handled designing their own soundscapes and mixes into cohesive songs like Trent Reznor and Devin Townsend. Lately I’ve been gleaning from: Bring Me The Horizon, Carpenter Brut, and The Midnight.

OSCAR ROMERO: I always loved artists whose energy you could feel in their lyrics and performance. Living and breathing in the art is something I try to create in my own work: Rage Against The Machine, Linkin Park, Eminem, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar.

ALYSE ZAVALA: I grew up loving vocalists that sang with a lot of emotion or have pain in their lyrics: Chris Cornell, Etta James, Linkin Park, Oli Sykes. Eminem, Hayley Williams, etc. I love songs that either challenge me vocally for fun practice, or songs that have lyrics that force me to “feel” their pain and emotions.

METAL ANARCHY: What is your latest release and why should readers of this site check it out?

ALYSE ZAVALA: We finally released our full EP called “Perfect Drug”!! If you love the combination between rap and rock music, or love metal breakdowns, catchy choruses, powerful vocals, and emotional lyrics- this EP is for you! We like to get weird and create unique sounds to surprise you throughout each song.

METAL ANARCHY: What can people expect when they go to your live shows?

ALYSE ZAVALA: Energy, Energy, ENERGY!! Every single band member throws down and headbangs like it’ll be our last show. I sing crazy power notes in between dancing and getting the crowd involved. Oscar is a HYPE MAN that keeps the crowd engaged with nonstop movement. Cam climbs over everything while he plays wireless keyboards all over the stage or on top of light towers. Ryan has a wild drum performance that keeps his dreads flying everywhere. Kenny screams and headbangs in your face like the intimidating giant bear of a person he is. Sketti is constantly jumping and spinning in between guitar solos. Oscar and I play and push off of each other so much, that you can feel how strong the emotions, the power, the violence, and insane chemistry mindset between us will force you to feel everything we were feeling when we wrote our lyrics. We incorporate lights and video visuals into our show as well to enhance the suspense, tension, and release of each instrumental section.

METAL ANARCHY: Where do you see your band in five years?

ALYSE ZAVALA: Hopefully touring and sharing our music with the world. We want to make it to a place in our careers where we can create art without boundaries, and share it with as many people as we can. I want people to hear our music and feel like they aren’t alone in their personal struggles.