The New Face of Metalcore is an Old One

(This article was originally published in the July 2024 issue of Record Plug magazine.)

Melodic leads, crashing rhythms, and Blast beats pounding like machine gun fire. This is the sound of Atlanta-based metalcore outfit Sunmancer. Founded by Kyle Mazlik and Jeremy Harlon, who were brought together by a mutual friend, after Jeremy heard some riffs Kyle recorded on his own. Kyle’s brother Justin came in to add vocals. Later, Dan Nelson was added on bass and Ramon Rellum on drums rounded out the line up. If any of these names sound familiar, it’s because they have old roots in the hardcore, metalcore, and heavy metal scene. Justin and Kyle Mazlik were the founding members of 2000s era metalcore band Broadcast the Nightmare. The group disbanded in 2009/2010.  Bassist Dan Nelson was the main songwriter/guitarist for the Atlanta metalcore band On Paradise Boulevard from 2006-2011.

Ramon Rellum was heavily active in the Dutch music scene in his homeland of the Netherlands before moving to the United States. Jeremy Harlon is one-third of the prog metal band Faith in Ruin, which also includes Patrick Snyder on drums. Snyder (according to the band) is the unofficial sixth member. He has mixed, mastered, and helped produce all Sunmancer’s music. 

Their debut EP, Nothing Ever happens is an epic sprint of rapid-fire drums and brutal guitars with well-placed breakdowns and melodic leads and chorus’ that feel like a short breath before diving back into the EP’s punishing riffs. The title is rather ironic because, anything, but nothing has been happening for this quintet. The EP was released in November 2023. Then, in May 2024 they followed that up with their new single Chasm Darkly. They just came off the road touring with metalcore heavyweights August Burns Red (ABR) and death metal band Fuming Mouth. All the while writing and recording new material. 

I got a chance to sit with members Justin & Kyle Mazlik, and Jeremy Harlon on a Skype call. When first jumping on the call, I asked, “how are you guys doing?” Their immediate response was “trying to iron out a new song that we're working on and get back in the swing of things after our little run with August Burns Red and Fuming Mouth.” They expressed nothing but gratitude and elation for the opportunity. “We've been homies with the ABR guys for years, so it was cool that they ...let us come out with them for a couple of days.” says Justin. “We went in thinking we weren’t going to do much at all,” adds Kyle. But the fans showed up. People knew who they were before they hit the stage. Singing along, cheering, and accepting them with open arms. “We're a pretty new band but having people into us and selling what we did...we came home with a lot more than what we thought we would so that was really cool.” says Kyle. 

Sunmancer isn’t done with shows yet. On July 20th they have a show at the Drunken Unicorn. It’s a show that will be a family affair of sorts. Not only will the band’s families and friends be in attendance,but all the bands playing have been friends for years with each other. Some have jammed together at different points in time. This show came about via the guitarist from Attest (Daniel Jordan) reaching out to Sunmancer’s bassist Dan about wanting to "get something going,” according to Justin. The guys from Apostle know the guys in Attest, and Justin and Ramon know Matt Karoglou, the drummer from Turn Cold. Justin is also longtime friends with Kevin Bolen, the guitarist from Initium. So, having friends and family both on and off the stage, it’s that sense of community that they hope to bring to this show. “it's cool that we're all going to be able to share the stage together, you know, in different bands. Yeah, it sounds like a big sort of like a reunion of sorts.” 

Sunmancer has come a long way since their Broadcast the Nightmare days. A key ingredient in how they approach their music. With wisdom that only comes from age. Being able to appreciate the gifts that along the way. “We got blessed because we do have people still in the industry that we're close with that we can talk to and just get advice. Or, just like...throw a bone towards us and give us a big tour, like our first, five shows ever.” says Justin referring to the show they played with ABR. “We're really lucky that we have these connections. It's not something that we did all by ourselves, so we would be remiss to say that.” adds Kyle. When it comes to recorded music, the guys have been calculated in navigating their path with Sunmancer. “We prepped for a long period of time, and it was frustrating. We were ready to get this stuff out and we were just sitting on it for a long period of time because we just didn't have everything in order yet, but now we do. We're still Trickling out other stuff.” During their BTN days the most social media a band had a to think about was MySpace, but now that milieu has grown exponentially. “We had MySpace back in 2008 and 2009 but it wasn't like it is now. It's like, everything is just so content media based and you just gotta always push on social media and you just gotta keep putting new stuff out because if you don't, then your numbers are going to start plummeting or flat.” “And we got new goodies coming out soon.” says Justin. 

Justin and Jeremy primarily handle the band’s social media. “Just don't let it stop. So hopefully every couple of months you're going to see us releasing something until we feel like, okay, it's time to stop. And, put together something even bigger.” says Jeremy “Yeah, you have to be real intentional with it. Like the landscape is so much different.” adds Kyle. And so far, whatever they’re doing is working. Their debut EP (as of this writing) each song has a collective 20,923 streams on Spotify. Their new single Chasm Darkly has 5,928 streams. Not to mention their music videos on YouTube have a minimum of 2,000 views each. Directed by Justin West, you could argue Justin is the seventh member of Sunmancer. He has directed two out their three music videos. He also went on the road with the band and documented their live sets. 

There is no looking back for Sunmancer, only forward. Using lessons from previous experiences, the art of mindfulness, and a steep social media learning curve. Sunmancer sees success on their terms. Kyle Mazlik sums it up best. “As long as we're intentional about what we want to do. That we all agree on it. I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm really happy with where we are.” 

Make sure to check out Sunmaner’s latest single Chasm Darkly and their EP Nothing Ever Happens on Spotify. Follow them on all the usual socials. Then, check them out live at the Drunken Unicorn July 20th with Apostle, Turn Cold, Initium, & Attest. 

Socials 

IG: @sunmaner 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sunmancer 

Facebook: sunmancerband 

Bandcamp: https://sunmancer.bandcamp.com/ 

TikTok: @sunmancer 

Twitter: sunmancerband 

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