Burning the Affliction is a 5 piece band hailing from Cleveland, OH who prides itself on writing aggressive songs that are dynamic and uniquely structured. Their sound can best be described as a happy medium of bands like Killswitch Engage & Bullet for My Valentine with bands like Spineshank and Shenoah. "We like to have really precise rhythmic parts, but also raw and in-your-face madness that people can really get into," explains guitarist Mike Sebestyen. "Our goal is to hit the scene and give people something they can feel that theyre a part of."
The members that comprise Burning the Affliction are seasoned veterans of the Cleveland music scene and are familiar faces to many local music fans. "I had a whole slew of riffs that were fast paced and heavy that I knew I could never get away with in my other band," Mike says. "I needed another outlet for my heavier side." TJ and Mike began writing music together on the side in their spare time.
Meanwhile, Eric was also feeling the need to expand his musical horizons and he and his long-time best friend Curt Braden began jamming some stuff as well. "Curt and I have always been a fan of catchy, well-produced rock music that still had tons of balls to it," he explains. "Ever since our high school band broke up we had been writing songs with Curt singing and playing guitar as well as bass. We decided one day that we wanted to take this project to the next level and bring in a couple more musicians." They ran over several names of vocalists and decided that TJ was the perfect vocalist for the band. "I was a huge fan of TJs vocals. His voice has such power behind it and he has one of the most intense screams I have ever heard. I knew we would compliment each other well," says Curt.
Eric and TJ talked about the idea of a new project and decided to combine the two side projects into one band, and thus Burning the Affliction. "We all knew each other, and were good friends. Our first time jamming together, everything just clicked and the songs just came out very naturally, with all of us contributing equally to the arrangement." TJ recalls.
As the songs progressed, the band realized the need for a second guitarist. After going over various names of people they knew, someone had suggested they contact Mark Brown. "I had seen Mark play NUMEROUS times and was a huge fan of his. His stage presence is amazing, and his playing is equally amazing!" Eric says. "I knew that he had the kind of professionalism and musicianship that we needed."
After a few phone calls and jam sessions, Mark became the second guitarist for Burning the Affliction.
The band is currently recording their first full length album which they hope to have out in early 2009.
