Anagnorisis is a Greek word for self-realization. It is also the name of a local death metal band, in which Zak Denham, music technology junior, plays the lead guitar.
Denham got his start playing music early on and has carried that interest on through his life.
“I started playing music from a young age,” Denham said. “My parents noticed I had a good ear.”
Having a good ear certainly is a great skill for a musical career, but Denham said it has created some trouble for reading music in the classical pieces and classes taught here at IU Southeast. Partly because reading music is not a natural instinct of his, Denham said he was drawn to rock music because of its simplicity.
“I started playing in bands through Mom’s Music school program,” Denham said. “That was a life-changing experience.”
Mom’s Music is a music store and academy located in Louisville and in Jeffersonville. Denham started playing through the academy program at 14. By the time he was 16, he was teaching private lessons. A year later, he was teaching at Mom’s Music and stuck with that job until he age 20.
Denham has been attending at IU Southeast off and on for five years.
“I started, I went two years, I took two years off for touring and I just started back this year,”
Denham said.
In 2005, Denham joined the band Anagnorisis, which had been started in 2003 by Austin Lunn who eventually left to start his own project called Panopticon.
Two years later, the band had signed with SHIVEN records to release their premiere album “Overton Trees.”
The band recorded their album at Mana Studios in Tampa, Fla., which is one of the major aggressive metal recording studios. Famous metal bands such as Hate Eternal and Goatwhore have also recorded at that studio.
In 2007, Denham and the rest of the band did their first tour in the Midwest, going to several venues in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Later that year, they went on another tour hitting some more southern states including Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The band tries to do as much as they can for themselves, which means that Denham has to be a jack-of-all-trades in the music business. Denham said he has learned a lot about self-promotion, computer work, music recording and networking because he cannot afford people to do that for him.
“I didn’t come from a very rich or very well-off family,” Denham said. “It was all about doing things for myself. I couldn’t count on my mom and dad to buy me a good guitar or even pay for a lot of music lessons.”
Denham is very self-motivated and has been glad for the opportunity to get some experience outside the classroom.
Denham’s outside experience has provided a new and helpful perspective for other students on campus. Tim Heartel, adjunct professor of music industry and technology, has had Denham in a few classes.
“Zak is the real deal,” Heartel said. “Zak is very advanced in his musical abilities, but he also has a very strong do-it-yourself approach on music
business.”
Heartel had Denham give a lecture on music marketing via social networking in one of his classes, saying that it is encouraging and helpful for students to hear about the music industry from a peer who is already involved.
While the two years off from college to tour with his band has pushed his graduation date back, Denham said he feels like the real world experience has really made up for it.
Denham said he believes real life experience is just as valuable as time spent in the classroom.
When Anagnorisis got an offer for a recording, Denham brought the offer to his professors.
“It’s not something like, overnight, I’ll be Nickelback,” Denham said, “but it’s real life experience.”
Denham said most people involved in music don’t respect metal as much as some of the other musical genres, such as classical.
“When you say you are involved in metal, you get stereotyped into this ignorant non-musician,” Denham said.
For Denham, his involvement in heavy metal has been quite different from the regular stereotype.
Denham was inspired to get involved in metal because of his political and religious beliefs.
“I’ve always been interested in leftist politics and I am very anti-religion,” said Denham. “Since I am such a little hoodlum, metal has been very fitting.”
Denham wanted to make it clear that Anagnorisis is not your typical metal band.
“We really developed a really aggressive and progressive style,” Denham said. “We are all straight-edge, but we are not a straight-edge band, meaning we don’t speak about it in our lyrics.”
Almost all the members of Anagnorisis are vegans or vegetarians, as well as atheists. Denham is a vegetarian but enjoys a bit of cheese and milk.
Because of their less fantasy-based, more straight-edge style, Anagnorisis has gained a reputation in the metal community.
“We are the straight-edge, black metal, atheist vegan band to some people,” Denham said.
Denham’s friend Corey Banet, music technology junior, has known him since seventh grade.
“Zak’s always been really outspoken about his beliefs,” Banet said. “I guess that goes along with some of the metal stuff.”
While Banet is a part of the pop/rock band Aquaventure, he is not as into the heavy-metal style but said he respects it for its technicality and complexity, as well as the theatrics of the genre.
Banet said he respects Denham’s style and also his extensive knowledge of music.
“He’s always someone you can go to for a lot of info on computers and music,” Banet said. “He has one of the most extensive collections of music.”
Anagnorisis has received some attention worldwide. They have been featured in several metal magazines. Articles have been written about them in English, Portuguese and Russian.
The band released their three-song EP “Alpha and Omega” on many file-sharing Web sites, as well as on Myspace and Last.fm.
“That’s just as valid as a record sitting in the store,” Denham said.
Denham and the other members of Anagnorisis are currently searching for a vocalist and a drummer.
In the meantime, they are writing music.
By MICHELE HOP
Staff Writer
mhop@ius.edu