Official Bio: Heavy. Aggressive. Melodic. Angry. Honest.

Those random words and phrases came from the mouths of the members of Goaded, a West Coast-based metal band that took its identity and name from the definition of a single word.

Early promotional images from the band featured a dictionary definition for the word goaded. Perhaps it was a quick and easy way to let fans know what the name means, but whatever the reason, the definition fits the music put out by Tracy G., Larry “Bones” Dennison, Jason Witte and Ray Luzier.

“Any driven impulse; To drive into action” - the third and fourth definitions of “goaded,” are particularly suited to the music and lyrical outlook of the band’s namesake. The music of Goaded itself is that “driven impulse” with Witte’s aggressive but hopeful lyrical bent meant to engage and inspire listeners as his band mates lay down a kick ass slab of metal.

Formed in early 2007 by metal guitar legend Tracy G. and his longtime bass player and friend, Larry “Bones” Dennison, they quickly landed a gifted but relatively unknown vocalist and songwriter from Arizona named Jason Witte. Tracy discovered Witte’s lyrical and singing talents after hearing Witte’s Bleed Your Faith album.

“I heard Jason’s voice and read his lyrics, and knew instantly he’d be right for the band,” Tracy says. “He’s melodic with a lot of anger, but he’s not singing harmonies all the time or screaming all the time. Jason brought to the band a good vocal mixture of metal elements and hard rock.”

Following a decade on the road and in the studio playing with one of the legends of heavy metal, Tracy G. made the decision to form a band for a fresh start and a new musical direction while playing their own songs. Tracy G. is one of those industry insider and true-fan names that people know without it being a household name. He could easily cash in on his musical past and ride the coattails of his legendary former employer, but he won’t, only conceding that his roots in metal run as deep as his newfound love, excitement and passion for Goaded.

“Goaded is just such an honest project with a lot of feel to it,” Tracy says. “There’s not a lot of brainwork involved; we’re just a natural from-the-heart band. We have a really strong singer combined with a great positive musical project.”

For Tracy G. and the other band members, much of the positive direction of Goaded comes from the spin Jason Witte puts on most of his lyrical output. Metal has traditionally been the domain of rage and anger, hate and negativity, and much worse, but Jason strives for more than the tired old clichés found in most metal lyrics.

“I like to always maintain some kind of positive vibe despite the angry sound of the lyrics and singing,” Jason says. He doesn’t necessarily want to come across as Mr. Positive, but he does strive for a certain level of humanity and optimism.

“I just want to communicate with the listener, ” Jason says, “and to share my lyrical viewpoint and relate what’s going on in my head. Getting the art out there is first for me, and it works out that it helps us make fans and friends. People identify with and remember the words.”

After several years playing bass along side Tracy G. and years of recording and performing with some of the biggest names in rock and metal, Larry “Bones” Dennison agrees with Tracy G. about Goaded’s new beginnings.

“It is amazing to play songs I wrote with Goaded in front of thousands of people… Goaded is kind of our little baby, and gave birth to this huge, wonderful thing.”

While Tracy G. and Bones like to let their musical pasts stay respectfully in the past (and with their vocalist joining Goaded as his first major band), Goaded’s drummer can’t help but take part in the name-game as the new drummer for Korn, arguably the biggest metal band in the world right now.

Before recording with Goaded on To Die is Gain and becoming Korn’s new drummer, Luzier grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania. His parents welcomed his musical talents at an early age, even though it involved banging away on drums. They bought Ray his first real drum kit at age seven. By his teens, Ray was drumming in school marching and symphonic bands until he discovered that it was much cooler to play drums in a rock band.

Bones had a similar musical epiphany in his teens. He spent his youth blowing on a trombone−not exactly the most rock & roll of instruments, and he knew it.

“I realized it was nowhere near cool and wouldn’t get me girls, so I switched over to bass,” he says, relating that he moved from St. Louis to California at 21 years old “with nothing but $40 and a Bible.”

“It was really Iron Maiden’s bassist that inspired me to play the bass,” he says. “I was in ninth grade and went to a Maiden show, and we were hanging out by the band bus after the show.”

None other than Steve Harris noticed the young metal head and called him up on the tour bus. Steve handed him his bass, a gesture that would inspire Bones to make the move from trombone to bass playing. Years later as a member of Dio, he did a tour with Iron Maiden. Even after all that time, Steve remembered the young impressionable kid he’d invited on the tour bus. Bones says the two became friends and laughed often about their random meeting.

In the dozen tracks on To Die is Gain, their Spooky G Records debut, Goaded runs the gamut from full-on, in-your-face New Metal to grungy, blues-heavy rock riffs delivered by three musicians with musical pasts steeped in recording and touring with the legends of metal. Tracy G. calls the music, “Old school mixed with New Metal with a twist” brought to life vocally by a dedicated, unique singer.

The slamming opening track “Numb” unleashes a barrage of drums and wall-of-metal guitar attack as it flows seamlessly into the second track. “Watch The Empire Fall” features Luzier’s bass and cymbal-driven drumming and is a perfect example of Witte’s positive spin on most of his lyrical themes: “This is the place, get out of the way, be strong and you will not fail,” he sings. Witte’s life-affirming yet angry lyrics show the unnamed, faceless “Empire” as a lyrical metaphor for any negative obstacle that stands in the way of living your life.

“Trapped Alive” is Tracy G.’s favorite song to “crank up loud” and has another classic heavy metal-sounding title but with a much deeper meaning than the gory sounding title.
“In Greed You Trust” keeps the metal landslide careening along as it crashes into “Bury Me,” a song that opens with a soulful, Middle Eastern-sounding guitar and drum intro that explodes as Witte’s voice and Dennison’s powerful bass lines propel the band into a tale of past regrets, acceptance and “starting a new life ’cause you know there’s so much more.”

“To Die is Gain” is perhaps one of the more mellow tracks on the album’s dozen songs, with the poignant lyrical directive to “let go of your pain and you will find a way.”
“The End Of Lies” serves up a cool, alien-guitar-meets-tribal-drum-groove, while “As You Bleed” slows things down a bit with its heavy pounding and Witte’s vocal prowess as he implores the listener to “look inside and find your way… the path lays before your feet… open up your eyes and question why”

“Those You Use” and “Dead Inside” set the listener up for the album to end on the heaviest of metal notes, but instead leads into the haunting and beautiful “Your Strength,” a song that strikes strong emotional chords with everyone in the band, but none more so than Jason Witte.

Jason’s mother lost her fight against cancer in October 2007, the very day the band was doing the final mixing for “Your Strength.”

“My mom was a huge supporter of me and the band. She really lifted me up in this project and was always by my side,” Jason says, still mourning the loss of his friend and confidant. “That song was my tribute to her, and she loved it−she got to hear it before she died. It’s the most passionately written song I’ve ever done. Larry wrote the piano for it, and Tracy put guitars to it, and I just had to do something special with it, and it ended up as the tribute to my mother. It’s such a powerful song. Our family played it at her funeral. That song moves people and makes a connection, which is the whole purpose of music.”

“Anybody can put someone they love in that song,” says Bones. “The whole album rocks, but that song’s closest to my heart. It’s not one of the heavy songs, but a good song is a good song.”

The closing track “Broken Man” stands out as a perfect way to end one of the best metal debut albums of this decade with its bluesy, metal grinding dirge and deep-down vocals.

“We laid the music down quick, but it came out perfect… like it was meant to be,” says Bones. “Goaded is in-your-face metal right from the gut. It was a perfect match from Heaven, and like we’ve known each other for years.”

“Honestly, Goaded as a band… there’s not much new under the sun and it’s not like we’re reinventing the wheel or that Goaded is the newest, weirdest thing you’re ever gonna hear,” says Tracy G., “but what makes it special is that we come from different backgrounds and influences−we’re influenced by the past, living in the present and eyeing the future. I want people that listen to music and go to shows for relaxation and release−I want to help them escape in their mind. We’re not trying to show off by being all stupid and fancy. We’re just singing and playing what we feel, and I hope they feel that honesty and that release. Without sounding corny, I think our music can be almost like a religious experience. Music can take the listener somewhere. It transcends barriers and touches people on a real level.”

Real Metal

Heavy Metal

Melodic Metal

Good Metal

Honest Metal

Old school-metal-meets-New Metal

Call it what you want…

It’s alive and growling in the four members of Goaded