By Armando Sultan –

Rumbling of the drum beat, the feedback of an electric guitar reverberating through your chest, screaming and yelling penetrating your ear drums as you notice a small little stage with a banner reading Visions of the Vanished.

“The performance had a lot of energy…” Roberto Miranda says about the first round’s performance, “we were tight and we feed off of each others energy.”

Through hard work and a little bit of luck, Visions of the Vanished was chosen to play in Round 2 of the Bamboozle Battle of the Bands.

“The Break Contest,” is the place where these bands gather to do battle. Chill, a quaint stage in Montclair, is scene the of war where the weapons of choice happen to be guitars, drums, and a microphone.

Bamboozle has hosted bands like Incubus, Foo Fighters, and Bon Jovi. As a band to play next to these superstars is equivalent to tossing the football around with Calvin Johnson. In order for a small time band to be given a chance to play, they must compete with each other for the limited spots.

Visions of the Vanished have this chance to expose themselves to these prestigious bands and thrust them into a world they’ve only dreamed of.

“It’s an opportunity amongst opportunities,” Roberto Miranda said about Bamboozle, “…you see your favorite bands there, it is almost unrealistic. Not to mention, exposing yourself to complete strangers that can be ultimate fans.”

Darren Torres is responsible for the singing and the rawness of emotion through screams. Roberto Miranda and Ernesto Grassi switch of between lead and rhythm, moving and shredding to melodic metal riffs. Alejandro Meno groves and emanates energy on the bass. The carpet to all these harsh melodies falls into the hands of Ryan Welsh on the drums.

The first round performance began with “Voices,” a song that Roberto Miranda says “resembles the cycle through everyday life.” A fluid transition sets up “Forever Yours,” which highlights dynamic relationship between of the guitarist. “One Step Closer” and “Time to Love, Time to Hate” closed off the show on a strong note.

“It has no chorus, and I think it’s rare to have a good song with no chorus,” Roberto enthusiastically comments about the song “Built for Ashes.” The song that the band is excited to introduce in the second round.

The bands influence span from Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, to the more melodic Parkway Drive and AFI. Hearing “Voices” and “Forever Yours” you can get a sense where these influences really came into play.

The second round of the Bamboozle Battle of the Bands is on March 11th in Chill, located on 312 Bloomfield Avenue. The band needs your support to both attend and give them a listen. You can contact the band and listen to their music through facebook.com/visionsofthevanished. You can also support the band by voting for them on reverbration.com/visionsofthevanished.