Category Archives: Byzantine

Ex-Byzantine Drummer Matthew Wolfe Passes Away

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Ex-Byzantine drummer Matthew Wolfe has sadly passed away. His death was the result of his battle with addiction.

The band issued the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened to pass along word that our friend and ex-drummer Matthew Wolfe has passed away from a long battle with addiction. Matt was a phenomenal musician, songwriter and guitarist. Matt started playing drums only 8 months prior to joining Byzantine, quickly getting the band signed and performing on stages alongside some of his biggest idols in heavy metal. Matt loved the WV Mountaineers, the Green Bay Packers, loved animals and meeting new friends on the road. Matt’s biggest love was his son Ethan and Ethan’s two older sisters Kendall and CJ. Matt’s unwavering support of the local music scene and bands he shared the stage with will forever ensure Matt is remembered fondly. Matt Wolfe was 46 years old. WE LOVE YOU WOLFE!

Byzantine Announce 21st Anniversary Tour

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Byzantine will be celebrating their 21st anniversary on a summer U.S. tour. You can find the dates for that run below. Chris “OJ” Ojeda commented:

“Maintaining a band with 4 members for this long has been one of the most difficult, yet rewarding tasks I’ve taken on. We look forward to performing our longest headlining set to date for our fans.”

Tour Dates:

07/16 Charleston, WV – Sam’s Uptown
07/29 Pittsburgh, PA – Crafthouse
07/30 Harrison, OH – Blue Note
07/31 Huntington, WV – V Club
08/05 Jacksonville, NC – Hooligan’s
08/06 Greenville, SC – The Radio Room
08/07 Johnson City, TN – Capone’s
08/12 Chicago, IL – Reggies Music Joint
08/13 Hamtramck, MI – The Sanctuary
08/14 Akron, OH – Empire Concert Club
08/19 Philadelphia, PA – Milkboy
08/20 Providence, RI – Alchemy
08/21 Brooklyn, NY – The Arrogant Swine
08/22 Clifton, NJ – Dingbatz
08/26 Pipestem, WV – Metal In The Mountains

Byzantine Premiere “New Ways To Bear Witness” Music Video

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Byzantine have premiered a new video for their new song “New Ways To Bear Witness.“ This song is from the band’s new album “The Cicada Tree,” which will be released on July 28.

While filming the clip, Chris “OJ” Ojeda suffered a concussion. He said the following about that:

“So, we came up with an idea of having our old drummer do a cameo appearance in the music video. Matt Wolfe left the band right before we signed with Metal Blade and had occupied the drum seat for the last 12 years. We felt it was a perfect opportunity to let fans know that we still love Matt and he’s still welcome and important to our band. What’s the best way to have an ousted band member make a cameo? To hit me with a vehicle, of course!

We set up the scene and did about 5 or 6 takes of Wolfe hitting me with the vehicle and me rolling off the vehicle. I didn’t know until we wrapped shooting the next day that something was wrong and had a very hard time driving home. I contacted an ER doctor friend of mine who told me I needed to come see him ASAP. After a CT Scan and an EKG, he let me know I had a standard sports type concussion from repeatedly hitting my head during the video shoot. I got 3 days off work and a cool story out of it! Rock!”

Byzantine To Release New Album “The Cicada Tree” In June

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Byzantine have announced that their new album “The Cicada Tree” will officially be released on June 2. You can preorder the effort via PledgeMusic.

byzantinethecicada

Chris “OJ” Ojeda said the following:

“The last two Byzantine albums were released DIY and both were coupled with successful crowd-funding campaigns. Now that we have finally landed a home with Metal Blade, we feel that it is vital that we continue our close relationship with our fan-base by offering up pre-orders for ‘The Cicada Tree‘ through PledgeMusic. Our experience with PledgeMusic has been nothing short of fantastic. We hope you enjoy ‘The Cicada Tree‘ as much as we enjoyed making it for you!”