A new band has hit Ukiah with a bang! Members from both Ukiah High and South Valley have come together to make thrash metal music under the name SPLYNTER.
SPLYNTER has four members: Wade Clark, the guitarist, Aiden Clary, the bassist, Ezra Cabral on drums, and TJ Feliz, the vocalist.
SPLYNTER first came together in 2023 but had some bumps in the road when trying to solidify its core members. Clark explained that Cabral, Feliz, and another Ukiah High student, Will, wanted to start a metal band. However, Will and the other members had a falling out along with another potential bassist. Eventually, Clark met Clary at South Valley, and after a small audition, Clark knew, “He was just the guy for the job.” For a time, SPLYNTER did not have a vocalist, but Feliz returned to the band, after an extended absence, to help out with vocals.
Finding a name for their band proved difficult until Cabral came up with the name SPLYNTER. Clark recalls, “The first bassist wanted Havoc [but] there was already another band [by that name]. Ezra threw out splinter, and we were like, well, let’s spell it with a Y.” Cabral came up with the name during marching season at the high school: “It was [during] marching band and I had split literally down the middle one of those thick marching sticks. . . like an inch to half an inch thick of wood, and I split it straight down the middle, and so that was just ringing my mind. So I was like, why not splinter?”
Last school year was when SPLYNTER started to write music. Their writing process has evolved over time. When they first started, they would have Clark come up with a riff, Cabral adding drums, and then adding bass to it later. Now, “if we have the time, we set [aside] an hour to half an hour during practice, to actually sit down and write new material, and with everyone together, it really just fits, like a big puzzle.” They all agreed that, “We’re at a point now where we’re just busting out songs like it’s nothing.”
Cabral is part of Ukiah High’s marching band and jazz ensemble, which helps when writing songs for SPLYNTER. He uses his concert band and music theory knowledge for the more technical aspects of songwriting.
SPLYNTER mainly makes thrash metal but isn’t limited to just one genre, as they enjoy branching into other kinds of metal.
Their songs aren’t without meaning either. Clark states,“‘Peace Through Genocide’ our first song, that’s just about war and people being killed for peace, and people just lying about it and spreading false propaganda and saying, ‘oh well, it’s okay while we’re over here and we celebrate, [while] people in other countries are dying.’”
All of the members take inspiration from a variety of artists and different music genres, and have all grown up surrounded by music.
Clark takes inspiration from bands like Metallica and Killswitch Engage: “It’s the hope in their words, every time he lets out his voice. It’s like you can just feel it in your soul.”
Cabral likes to incorporate his deathcore metal inspirations into SPLYNTER’s music, with bands like Angel Maker, Slaughter to Prevail, and To the Grave, just to name a few.
Feliz grew up with all kinds of musical influences, not just metal. He shares, “My sister is playing alternative rock. My brother’s playing rap. My dad is playing country, [and] my mom would play whatever’s on the radio, so, like mostly pop, and my other sisters started getting into more modern rap.” His family’s different genre preferences and history with music, having multiple singers, and his grandfather also being a part of a band in the past, inspire him. When Feliz started to make music, he felt, “a piece of me was just made visible, and I would start to even find myself.”
Being the more punk out of the members, Clary said he takes his inspiration from bands like Green Day and other 90’s alternative punk artists.
Earlier this year, SPLYNTER had their first gig at South Valley High School when they only had instrumentals and a very short 15-minute set. Cabral described it as, “Super nerve-wracking, because we only had 3 songs for a set…But we got out there, and we played.”
Over this past summer, another local band, Wevillism, contacted SPLYNTER. Cabral had known a majority of Wevillism’s members through personal relationships, and according to Cabral, “When they heard that I was in a metal band, they asked, ‘Do you want to play with us for a show?’ I was like ‘heck yeah!’” Since then, SPLYNTER has played several shows over the past 6 months.
You can find SPLYNTER on multiple social media sites and stream their most recent demo recordings on SoundCloud.
Josette Mealey
Josette Mealey is currently a junior attending Ukiah High School. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry and reading about the world around her. Originally from Decatur, Illinois, Josette has loved the unique feel of Ukiah since she was six years old. In recent years, she has been interested in local politics and has wanted to be an active member in her school and community. She wanted to take journalism so that she could get a deeper insight into the news articles she reads every day. Email her at josette_mealey27@uusd.net.