Catharsis: Local metal band Godbone writes songs to let the darkness out
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POCATELLO — Their riffs are fierce. Their screams are guttural. Their lyrics are explicit. But at the end of the day, members of the Pocatello/Idaho Falls metal band Godbone say they’re just a bunch of goofballs playing the music they love.
“It just so happens people around us kind of like what we like,” said band member Sam Page. “And it’s been just a fun rollercoaster that hasn’t hit the down or the up or whatever. It’s all in the ‘we’ phase right now, and that’s how we want to keep it going.”
“Like Sam said, we just wanted to make music we liked, and that our friends liked as well,” said Mark Hamilton, another band member. “Because in this genre of music, you’re not trying to appeal to the masses. You’re just trying to hit that niche of what you like.”
The band is made up of Cal Burch on vocals, Page on bass, Hamilton on guitar and backup vocals, Tyson Chavis on guitar, and Dan Ditto on drums.
When they’re not playing in Godbone, most members have other jobs. Burch is a welder. Hamilton sells hot tubs. Chavis works with social media. Ditto designs cabinets. And Page — his day job is just playing bass.
You can listen to Godbone on Spotify or follow them on Instagram and Facebook. The band also has a show coming up at the Heart Events Center in Idaho Falls on Dec. 19 with No No Square, Electric Rat, Blood Cannery and Adrenochrome. Tickets are $10 online and $12 at the door.
Beginnings
Hamilton said the band started in 2022, in the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, with himself, Ditto, Burch and another friend, Cade Walker, who has since moved away. Burch originally played bass, and Page joined on to play guitar. Once Walker moved away, the band asked Burch to sing and Page to play bass. Then they asked Chavis, who was part of another local band, Grave Way, to join and play guitar.
Hamilton said the name Godbone can turn a few heads, but it was actually a reference to a TV series, “See,” starring Jason Momoa.
“The name Godbone, when people first hear it — my sister, in fact, she says ‘I just feel bad saying it — it sounds sacrilegious,’” Hamilton said. “It wasn’t meant to be sacrilegious. Essentially, the premise of the story is its 3,000 years into the future, where nobody can see, nobody has eyesight. So they call the sun Godflame. They call the metal structures and ruins Godbone.
“I just thought that was kind of a cool concept name. It sounded cool, rolls off the tongue easy.”
The band grows
Hamilton said he believes the band has changed sonically since it started.
“Guitar tone, drums, bass, everything — you could hear it where we’ve evolved, and we actually cared more to critique it, deeper and deeper to get a more quality sound,” Hamilton said. “And it was the same dang guy recording it both times. I think we just got better musically.”
He said this is clear in one particular song, “White Noise Reasoning,” which appears on the band’s first EP from 2023, “Possessed to Live,” and the band’s latest EP, “Torn To Shreds.”
“I think Cal absolutely upped the entire intensity of Godbone’s music,” Chavis said. “There’s just so much emotion and just so much thought and work put into the vocals. And I just think this EP is a big step above the first one.”
“I feel like we didn’t really know the direction we were going with the first EP,” Ditto said. “It just came together. It was kind of weird how it happened. But it just happened, and we found our style and our voice, and it just clicked.”
Hamilton said with the addition of Chavis on guitar, who helps write some of the riffs, the band’s sound has gotten darker, which was more of the energy they wanted. Ditto said the music has pushed him in his drumming skills.
“Mark writes a lot of the riffs, most of the riffs, but I love to write stuff on drums where I have a hard time playing,” Ditto said. “It makes me try even harder, you know? But it’s making me a lot better for sure.”
What they write about
Hamilton said he and Burch collaborated on many of Godbone’s lyrics.
“Some of the lyrics are kind of dark, depressive themes that don’t really have a great outcome, but it’s a great outlet for me to get those feelings out,” Hamilton said.
“That’s catharsis,” Page said.
Page said the band’s lyrics also frequently speak out against certain “dregs” of society, such as drunk drivers, sexual predators and the pharmaceutical industry. He said the songs are written by blue-collar Americans and speak to the problems blue-collar Americans face.
The band’s most popular song on Spotify, entitled “Torn to Shreds,” is about social media and its negative effects. Hamilton said he collaborated with Walker on the song, and its subject is the individuals who run social media platforms.
“That song is a lot about the fact that they don’t care about you and me,” Hamilton said. “They just want to see the clicks go up, and they don’t care what it does to your mental health. That song is a lot about turning that stuff off for a bit, taking a break — just getting away from it. Hang out with your friends. Go out in nature. Go fly fishing.”
Another song, “Choose Your Fate,” written by Burch, reflected his experiences after leaving prison.
“Coming out of that, I didn’t make excuses,” Burch said. “I put my feet down, and I got to work and made myself where I am today. And that’s just about you choosing your fate. Don’t let other people decide that.”
Facing stereotypes
Being metal isn’t always easy. Godbone members said there are certain stereotypes associated with playing metal, or what some might consider “devil music.”
Burch said anytime screaming is involved with music, to appreciate it, you must read the lyrics. He said they’re relatable. And Hamilton said the hardcore scene is all about camaraderie.
Page said he owes his sobriety to the hardcore scene, and if you’re looking for help, they’re a supportive bunch. He challenges anyone to come to a metal concert and see all the smiles.
Ditto said Chavis might be the happiest guitar player alive.
“It’s hard not to be happy when you’re in a room full of pretty much all your friends in quite possibly the least judgmental place in southeast Idaho,” Chavis said. “I think pretty much anyone that identifies as whatever is going to be able to make friends in the hardcore scene and can come to a show anytime and just be themselves.”
“There’s a lot of stereotypes that go along with this type of music,” Hamilton said. “But I mean, we’re just goofballs. We’re just goofballs at the end of the day.”