Devoid was spawned deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills in the small town of Oregon House, Ca. Brought together in 1999 through the common bond of Heavy Metal music, and the yearning to express that devotion to crowds worldwide, the members of Devoid began to craft their own unique and original sound.

Fusing the technicality and speed of Thrash, the brutality of Death metal and the melodic vocals and hooking riffs of Power metal, Devoid unleashed their own breed of heavy music and arose to perform and display themselves for true, diehard metal fans everywhere. Devoid had humble beginnings, as the members appropriately rehearsed in a garage for the first year of the band's existence. Idolizing and emulating metal gods such as Megadeth, Pantera, Slayer, Testament, Exodus, Carcass, Sepultura, Anthrax and countless others, the boys in Devoid honed their skills in their mountain hideaway and plunged themselves whole-heartedly into their craft. They soon began building a solid base of local fans through lively house parties and jam sessions in their own town and in Chico.

"Marysville and Yuba City are close to where we're from, but there's nothing going on there," says lead/rhythm guitar player Doug Fletcher. We started playing up in Chico because it's got way more music happening. The heavy music scene is underground, but it's been growing a lot in the last year or so, and bands are starting to draw attention."

Labeled as Groove/Speed Metal, This explosive quartet began assaulting northern California venues in Chico and the Yuba City/Marysville area in early 2000. The band has worked hard to carve out a niche within the local hard music circuit through a down-to-earth connection with fans, a no-fluff attitude, and a belief in an uncompromising and music-oriented focus rather than an image-driven approach. "We're really into what we do, which is making the best possible music that we can and performing it for serious metal fans who aren't interested in trends," says vocalist/bassist Alex Sheldon. "A lot of bands these days seem to get caught up in creating this whole hyped-out image and forget about what really matters. You're not going to see dragons coming out of the fucking speakers or 15 dancers on the stage at a Devoid show. You're gonna see four guys going apeshit on stage playing their asses off and having a blast doing it."

The guitar duo of Joe Granados and Doug Fletcher assaults the listener from both sides of the stage and can transform their approach from melodic to pure shred at any time. With rhythm and lead duties shared by these two shredders, their style is influenced by the eighties brand of technical, thrash metal guitar. Fletcher and Granados crank out bone-crunching tones, razor-sharp riffs, ear-pleasing harmonies and delicate melodies to make their own unique mark on metal music. Their guitar work olidifies Devoid's already rock solid rhythm section.

Matt Chomistek and Alex Sheldon make up the powerful rhythm section of the band, with Sheldon fronting the group on lead vocals.

Chomistek's incredible skills on percussion never fail to draw attention at a live show or even a routine rehearsal. With amazing dexterity and endurance, Chomistek pummels his drum kit with dynamic double-bass techniques lightning fast tom rolls and machine-like blast beats. With a knack for finesse and an impeccable sense of time and rhythm, Chomistek provides the essential foundation for Devoid's heavy-handed sound. Rounding out the group is lead singer and bassist, Alex Sheldon. The quintessential rock bottom bass player, Sheldon combines his thunderous low-end with Chomistek's percussion to bring a serious groove to the band's sound. Applying technical finger playing, and slap bass techniques, he adds depth with his skilled manipulation of the five-string bass guitar. Sheldon serves as a strong voice for the band, composing lyrics and displaying a large spectrum of tones that range from higher, melody based singing to throaty, powerful growls and snarls.

The band has performed at "The Town Pump" in Yuba City, in Chico at "The Epicenter", the "Painfest" metal show, "Day on the Green" at C.S.U Chico and will be appearing at Stormy's for the NowhereXNowhere festival 2001 on April 7th.

With a newly finished demo project, an hour and a half set of music and plans for a full-length recording in the near future, the band is hungry for new venues in the northern California area, is on the hunt for a record label, and is an open-minded group of musicians that can perform with bands of varying styles.

Source : http://www.powerslave.com/bands/bandprofile.php?band_id=64&count=0&page=none