Shattered Sun Talk Oilfield Roots + South Texas Metal Scene on The Oath

Shattered Sun burst on the scene with the recent release of the debut album, Hope Within Hatred. Vocalist Marcos Leal gave me a shout for the May 9 version of The Oath to talk about the band's oilfield roots, the South Texas metal scene, touring with Thrash Metal royalty and a lot more.

The six-piece hails from Alice, Texas, a small town that relies heavily on the oil industry. Leal told me that growing up there usually means a lifetime spent working in the oilfield.

"Kinda the way it works down here man, is your life can be pretty much predetermined before you leave high school. You're brought up to go work in the oilfield, you work there for thirty, forty years and, you know, your life's pretty much set," he said. "We were the six guys who refused to do that."

What I really want to inspire kids and musicians from down here is that just because we're down here doesn't mean that people aren't looking

South Texas has proven to be a fertile breeding ground for metal bands these days. While conventional wisdom says that rural America isn't a place for a metal band to gain national attention, that's clearly not the case.

"What I really want to inspire kids and musicians from down here is that just because we're down here doesn't mean that people aren't looking," he said of the South Texas scene.

Things started to really happen for Shattered Sun when the band caught the attention of Breaking Bands, LLC, the management team ran by Megaforce Records founder Jonny Z and Testament vocalist Chuck Billy. Billy gave the band a major break when he took them out as openers for Testament and Exodus on the Dark Roots of Thrash II tour.

"Leading up to it was a lot of nerves," Leal said of the tour. "You're taking a small band who's used to playing to a hundred, two hundred people and sticking them in front of two thousand people."

Shattered Sun look to stay busy touring for the foreseeable future in support of Hope Within Hatred. Catch the guys on the Victory Records stage as a part of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival when the festival makes a stop in Dallas at Gexa Energy Pavilion Sunday, August 2.