A man ventures through space to save his oppressed people from a powerful villain, despite himself being a deranged murderer. Sounds like the plot of a movie, right? While it does sound like it could be the plot of a cinematic masterpiece, this is actually the storyline of the debut rock opera album of a little-known metalcore band called Set To Stun.
Over a decade ago in Los Angeles, a trio came together to make music. Vocalist and guitarist Damien Wong, bassist and backing vocalist Taylor Wong (Damien’s brother), and drummer Marcus Molina started creating music together. There isn’t much press about their earlier years, but as early as 2010 the trio released their debut album “Colors.”
When listening to “Colors” you can hear the band’s experimental style of drawing in subtle aspects of the different subgenres of rock and metal. The album’s songs were loosely strung together to form a bit of an intense story.
A few years later, the band signed on to Tragic Hero Records which helped produce their first major label album “Set To Stun and The Desperado Undead” in 2015. Using elements of the songs from “Colors,” the band managed to create a tighter narrative. In this refined version, the story follows a mentally unstable man named Amadeus who has violent thoughts of murder. It is unclear whether or not he acts upon his homicidal tendencies or if he simply has visions in his madness. However, Amadeus must step forward to be the hero the galaxy needs against a powerful and oppressive government.
After the release of “Set To Stun and The Desperado Undead,” the band gained more momentum with a strong fanbase as they started touring within the U.S. and Europe. Despite not being a “mainstream” band, the trio now had monthly listeners on applications such as Spotify.
Two years after the success of their first album, Set To Stun returned to the studio to release the single “Walk Tall II,” providing a more intense and cynical look into the world of Amadeus. Afterward, the band continued touring until disappearing back into the recording studios, supposedly beginning to work on their next album.
Now the seven-year long wait is almost over. Last year the trio released the single “Enter Lust” as a preview of their sophomore album “Valkerie One.” When listening to “Enter Lust,” you begin to realize the more evil feel that Set To Stun is approaching, as confirmed by the band members. Their next album will be a subplot from the previous story of Amadeus The Desperado from the narrative of a villain.
In August of this year, the band released “IV: Death of a Dreamcatcher” a seven-minute-long single giving us a better perspective of the new subplot in their intergalactic story. Listening through the song, you get a similar cynical and somewhat murderous view that Amadeus had in the last album. Perhaps this song is to offer a sympathetic side to a tragic villain, or even another disturbed antihero.
With their new album set to release Oct. 27, whatever the next part of Set To Stun’s story may be, it will be a promising listen for metalcore fans and a good band to introduce to those starting to listen to metal and other intense genres.
