Argus

The members of Argus, based in Franklin, PA, trace their beginnings to assorted now-defunct doom outfits plus one crossover thrash unit that had entered a temporary lull, yet the resulting music remains metal of the most straightforward, time-honored variety within a genre fractured into countless substyles. Emerging in 2005, the band laid down its initial demo in 2007 and navigated limited roster shifts before locking in the core of vocalist Butch Balich, formerly of Penance, drummer Kevin Latchaw, late of Abdulla, guitarists Erik Johnson and Jason Mucio, and bassist Andy Ramage, with the latter two having belonged to the amusingly named Oh Shit They're Going to Kill Us. That configuration then secured a contract with Shadow Kingdom Records, yielding the self-titled debut album in 2009.