Devoted Fusion, a progressive/hard rock band from New York, is forging a path to success by setting the pace with their most recent single, "King of Equality."
What does it take to lead? Some say that to learn to be a leader, one must follow. For small up-and-coming band Devoted Fusion, the NY-bred band has dedicated themselves to not only interlacing different musical textures to a richly dissonant experience that sets them apart from other bands in the scene but to prove that the mint progressive-metal and hard rock band is as dedicated to creating such multifaceted visions. Such dedication is proven within their long-lasting friendships since the first grade, which would ultimately be met with the creation of the band. They always say the best musical experiences come from musicians who truly know each other inside and out.
We are all leaders of the things that we love to do. Even though we all can’t be leaders in everything in the world, it is still meaningful to be a leader of something you love. People will support you one way or another with what you are capable of accomplishing.
For Devoted Fusion, such close-knit ties would lead to the development of their first album, Hill Valley 88, which created quite the buzz upon release, earning them a review in Powerplay Magazine and opening for Grammy-nominated band Salivia, and another touring metal band, Okilly Dokilly, in 2019. This forward momentum has led to the creation of their new single, "King Of Equality." Their latest release from this band details their commitment to leading the way in their passion, building upon the unique qualities that made Hill Valley 88 special, taking them to new heights. Although it's still early to predict what's next for the band, "King Of Equality" points to a promising and intriguing future ahead for them.
What started Devoted Fusion? What was the idea behind the band when you were putting it into fruition?
Devoted Fusion: Devoted Fusion started in 2016 with myself, former drummer Steve, and former bassist Vinny. We named the band as a group to dedicate ourselves to a couple of things: 1) the “fusion” of different types of rock and metal to create a nice progressive metal and hard rock sound for the band, and 2) to prove that we stayed “devoted” to the name. It’s also fun to point out that Vinny, Steve, and I have all been friends since 1st grade or younger, and our friendship remains strong even with a new group in this band! Vinny and Steve are still huge supporters of our new music with the current lineup that we have now!
What inspires your sound? Looking back on Hill Valley 88, there are a lot of hard-rock, melodic, and classic elements that seep into the inner core of your instrumental energies.
Devoted Fusion: The instrumentals have been a huge strength to our sound through all of the years that we have been active. The vocals used to be weak to begin with, but I (Sean, lead guitar, and vocals), have found solutions to making the vocal progress much better and cleaner. Improvements have been made to keep us playing with quality in our sound. The inspirations in our music mainly come from bands like Dream Theater, Opeth, Tool, Symphony X, Chevelle, and many more similar to them!
You were featured in Powerplay Magazine in the UK for your last album. Additionally, you opened for the Grammy-nominated band Saliva and another touring metal band called Okilly Dokilly in 2019. Furthermore, you were nominated for Best Long Island Non-Cover Band in 2022 and 2023. That's pretty awesome! For an up-and-coming band such as yourselves, those are some great accomplishments.
Devoted Fusion: And it feels great to have those accomplishments indeed! I think the most surprising one for us was the opening for Saliva in January of 2019. Financially, we did the best with that gig, and it was played at a venue called Revolution Bar & Music Hall in Amityville, NY. This used to be our pride and joy venue for us to play until it unfortunately closed due to COVID-19 in 2020. Another fun fact about us opening for Saliva: we actually were supposed to open for a different band in September of 2018. We were initially given the slot to open for RED, but unfortunately, this gig got canceled 3 weeks before the show happened, and we had to refund all tickets that we had sold (we still don’t know the reasoning behind it). So, to make up our ground, we were given the Saliva show to open for. (Wow! This one actually wasn’t canceled! What are the odds of that?!) and we did exactly what we had hoped for! We played in front of an exciting crowd, and we opened for a very popular band!
How was the process for your single, King of Equality, different from making your album, Hill Valley 88? While it keeps in stride with the aggressive energies you introduced on that album, it's clear that there are different energies at play here.
Devoted Fusion: The energies are meaningful here in our single, “King of Equality (Re-Recorded)” (this song was re-recorded in 2022-2023). We recorded both the “Hill Valley 88” album and this single at Westfall Studios in New York, and the engineers in this studio did a superior job with the recording, mixing, mastering, and editing of our work. The “King of Equality” recording was definitely a response to some things that I may have spotted in the mix of the previous album. But regardless, all of the work that we did here with Westfall Studios was put into perspective with quality.
Lyrically, can we talk about the themes surrounding your new single, "King of Equality? What inspired you to write this song?
Devoted Fusion: “King of Equality (Re-Recorded)” is intended to discuss leadership. We are all leaders of the things that we love to do. Even though we all can’t be leaders in everything in the world, it is still meaningful to be a leader of something you love. People will support you one way or another with what you are capable of accomplishing. For example, the chorus of the lyrics starts with “Here we are again, united, we stand as one. Whispered vowels to the crowd won’t help us anymore." It’s meant to express power in our leadership, and the crowd will stand by your side as long as you are confident in what you can accomplish.
Is this track a part of something bigger? Are you guys looking to release anything more like an EP or album somewhere along the line?
Devoted Fusion: This “King of Equality” single is meant to be by itself. However, this initially was from our very first EP called “A Ride Earthbound” in 2016. The rerecorded single was released in 2023, and it was intended to improve the quality of the mix, which successfully worked in our favor.
What is next for you guys?
Devoted Fusion: This year in 2024, Devoted Fusion picked up a new drummer, Brett, who has shown true talent in his drumming with his 14 years of past drumming experience. He played three local New York shows with us this year. He has not recorded anything with us yet, but we plan on making that change happen shortly in 2025. Our current bassist, Jack, has been with us since 2018 and was involved with both the “Hill Valley 88” album and the “King of Equality (Re-Recorded) single”. He will plan on helping us each step of the way as well. There is new music that I have fully written, and we are just doing what we can to plug the pieces together with the group. So, when we are ready with what we have, announcements will definitely be made!
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