Biography

Hailing from Chicago, Black Sites are an alternative metal outfit known for their melody-laden songs, crushing guitar riffs, and groove aesthetics. Formed by Mark Sugar (formerly of metalcore band Trials) in the summer of 2015, the idea for the project came about after he decided to challenge himself with new approaches to songwriting, ultimately aiming to revisit the sounds and styles of the bands that spoke to him during his youth; namely acts such as Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Black Sabbath, and Motörhead. Sugar was inspired to trust his instincts and abandon the melodic death metal style of his past project in favor of pursuing more progressive sound traits after having seen his friend Chris Avgerin (drummer of Nequient and Autonomy) perform. Avgerin had been incorporating techniques typically used by classic drummers such as John Bonham and Bill Ward into his playing style, which in turn acted as a catalyst for Sugar to consider a different sound for his new project. The two musicians got together and began writing, recording, and demoing ideas together, eventually working with recording engineer Quentin Poynter to bring the ideas to a more cohesive result. Additionally, Sugar’s ex-Trials bandmate/guitarist Ryan Bruchert and Without Waves/Immortal Bird bassist John Picillo joined in the proceedings and Black Sites was born. After some time, the foursome had a ten-track album on their hands, comprising acoustic, progressive, and piano-led interludes, huge, downtuned, palm-muted riffs, bombastic drums, and mighty, soaring vocal melodies. The record, titled In Monochrome, was released in early 2017. ~ Rob Wacey, Rovi