The Birmingham-based quintet I Am Terrified is a study in contrasts, always zigging when you thought you saw a zag coming. After six years of constant performing and forceful sonic development, the blazing metal core band serves up this self-titled 6-track EP from Mono vs Stereo as compelling documentation of their unique, spirit-driven journey.

Alabama continues its remarkable trend of turning out hard-driving players with serious southern grit. Founding IAT members Jeremy Folse (guitarist), Patrick Schefano (vocalist), and Joel Bailey (drums) knew each other from local schools and churches. Main songwriter Schefano, in fact, comes from a small, musically austere Southern Baptist Church that featured one woman on a tiny upright and a small choir. But all three members mined their church hymnals for spiritual perspective and sonic structure, the fruit of those excavations showing up years later in the innovative, experimental music of I Am Terrified. ?Hymnals are a huge inspiration to our band,? shares guitarist Folse, ?which you?ll hear in our lyrics, as that was what most of us grew up on.? Actually, I Am Terrified has traveled a great sonic distance from those early southern Baptist roots, but you will enjoy the stirring fire-and-brimstone component in their pounding hardcore sound. The band, performing for several years as Fixed Til Tuesday, was influenced early on by the tastes of emo-loving girlfriends who followed Finch and other screamers. Their worshipdriven message fit into a fresh rock format tapped right into the heart of Southern audiences, and the band quickly moved from performing for small groups of fans to selling out much larger area venues. Says Folse, ?Without even trying, just having fun playing and worshipping, we were drawing out 800 to 1,000 kids. After a year or two, we couldn?t even play our favorite smaller venues because of capacity issues. It was a huge blessing, and it led us to see how far the Lord would take us.?

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