As heavy metal devotees may have noticed of late, rising progressive metal band ONI has been gearing up for something big. The band is pleased to reveal the news of their recent signing with Blacklight Media/Metal Blade Records. The label will unleash ONI‘s highly-anticipated progressive metal opus, “Ironshore“, on Black Friday, November 25th. Pre-orders will become available in early October.
Blacklight Media is a new label launched this past February by Chris Santos, executive chef and managing partner of the New York City restaurants VANDAL, The Stanton Social and Beauty & Essex, in partnership with Metal Blade Records CEO/founder Brian Slagel. Santos states: “One of the things that I think will make Blacklight Media a label to watch for years to come is the diversity of our roster. Oni is our first crushingly heavy signing that matches their heaviness with incredible progressive precision and classically brutal breakdowns. I’m very excited to have them as part of the Blacklight Media family!”
Vocalist Jake Oni adds: “We are excited to announce our signing with Blacklight Media/Metal Blade Records. It is an honor to be on the same roster as so many amazing bands. With the support of this legendary label at our side, the world is ours!”
Featuring the already-buzzing single “Eternal Recurrence” – an uncompromising anthem that upon release gave metal fans an early look at ONI‘s undeniable technical talent – “Ironshore” takes listeners on an absorbing ride that provides ample opportunity for head-banging, singing along and deep introspection. To hear “Eternal Recurrence“, stream the track or watch the official video below.
Formed in 2014, the initial vision for ONI was, “to be the band I never got to see“, explains Jake Oni. With their influences rooted in progressive metal, ONI‘s sound can be compared to the genre’s heavy hitters – The Human Abstract, Protest The Hero and Between The Buried And Me– yet they remain truly unique. With Jake Oni handling vocal duties, Martin Andres and Brandon White on guitar, Chase Bryant on bass and Joe Greulich on drums, they are also perhaps the first metal band to feature a Xylo-synth player, in the form of Johnny D, which adds an intriguing dynamic to the nine tracks found on “Ironshore“.
ONI has now set their sights on conquering the music world, one show at a time. After their upcoming performance at this year’s Knotfest (which will feature a special guest appearance by Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe during their 11:55am-12:25pm set on the Nuclear Blast stage), the band will join up with Max & Iggor Cavalera‘s Return To Roots tour and perform on select dates through October 21st. Following that tour, ONI will join the “I Worship Chaos” Tour line-up, beginning November 23rd and featuring headliners Children of Bodom and fellow special guests Abbath and Exmortus (the latter of which they will perform five off dates with prior).
ONI Tour Dates:
Sept. 22 – San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick (headlining show)
Sept. 25 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheatre (Knotfest)
ONI Tour Dates:
w/ Max & Iggor Cavalera Return To Roots
Sept. 30 – Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligans Music Hall
Oct. 1 – St Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Oct. 2 – Ft Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
Oct. 6 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
Oct. 7 – Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s Concert Theatre
Oct. 8 – Dayton, OH @ Oddbodys
Oct. 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Rex Theater
Oct. 10 – Ottawa, ON @ Maverick’s Bar
Oct. 11 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House/44 Fest
Oct. 12 – Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
Oct. 14 – Quebec City, QC @ Imperial de Quebec
Oct. 16 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
Oct. 17 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
Oct. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater
Oct. 21 – Tempe, AZ @ Club Red
ONI Tour Dates:
w/ Exmortus
Nov. 17 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Thunder Alley
Nov. 18 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
Nov. 19 – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
Nov. 20 – Indianapolis, IN @ 5th Quarter
Nov. 21 – Westland, MI @ The Token Lounge
ONI “I Worship Chaos Tour” Dates:
w/ Children Of Bodom, Abbath & Exmortus
Nov. 23 – Quebec City, QC @ L’Imperial Bell
Nov. 24 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
Nov. 25 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Nov. 26 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Nov. 28 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
Nov. 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave – Eagles Ballroom
Nov. 30 – Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights
Dec. 2 – Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
Dec. 3 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
Dec. 5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
Dec. 6 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Dec. 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Pressroom
Dec. 9 – Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Live!
Dec. 10 – San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theater
Dec. 11 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Heaven)
Dec. 14 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Dec. 16 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
Dec. 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
Dec. 18 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Dec. 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Stay tuned for more coming from ONI in anticipation of their upcoming album release this November.
