Formed in 2013, Titanskull has spent more than a decade developing a sound that refuses to sit neatly inside one corner of heavy metal. We sat down with the band and learned about their sound, musical influences, goals, and lessons learned.
Watch the full interview below:
The band features Bill on vocals, JC and Taylor on guitars, JT on bass and Chris on drums, with songwriting spread among several members. Their music pulls from traditional heavy metal and thrash while incorporating progressive and technical influences, modern guitar tones and the occasional unexpected inspiration.
Ask Titanskull to put a genre on it, though, and you’ll get several answers.
“Usually I just describe us as heavy metal,” JC explained, pointing to the band’s mixture of traditional metal, thrash and more modern sounds.
Other people have apparently gotten more creative.
They’ve been called power metal, epic metal and, perhaps most memorably, “sword core.”
From “Fartan Spartans” to Titanskull
While tossing around potential band names, the members entertained the joke name “Fartan Spartans.” Eventually, the conversation shifted toward Greek and Roman themes. Someone suggested “Skull Titan,” which was quickly flipped around.
Titanskull was born.
The name didn’t just stick. It helped shape the band’s identity, inspiring its imagery, mascot and even one of its earliest songs.
“It’s a made-up thing, so that helps,” the band joked while explaining that the name also immediately sounds like it belongs to a metal band.
Five Musicians, Tons of Influences
Titanskull’s sound makes more sense when you hear what its members actually listen to.
Their influences stretch from punk, Metallica, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath to death metal, progressive music, technical death metal, synthwave and even video game music.
Bill came from punk before moving into heavy metal, while JC remembers Metallica as the band that initially pulled him into heavy music. The members’ individual tastes have continued expanding in different directions over the years.
As the band explained, those different genres provide little “morsels of flavor” they can incorporate when they make sense for the song.
Writing for the Song, Not the Ego
Songwriting in Titanskull is collaborative, although that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone sits in a room and writes each song together from beginning to end.
Chris, JC and Taylor contribute compositions and riffs that can be passed around, rearranged and developed. Bill may leave an instrumental sitting for months until something finally clicks lyrically.
“If it doesn’t speak to me, if I don’t have a good idea for it, it’s better to just wait rather than try to produce something that’s not that great,” Bill explained.
That philosophy extends to the band’s larger creative process.
After years of working together, they’ve learned the importance of communication, compromise and knowing when to stand behind an idea.
Most importantly, they’re trying to make decisions “for the good of the song” rather than letting individual egos dictate the music.
The Bass Player Who Came Back
One of the band’s best stories belongs to JT.
An original member of Titanskull, JT eventually stepped away from music for several years to focus on life and school. When he finally reached a point where playing again seemed possible, he looked up his old band.
There was just one problem.
Titanskull already had a bass player.
Except, almost simultaneously, Taylor told the band he wanted to move from bass to guitar.
Just days later, JT posted on Instagram asking if anyone was looking for a bassist.
The timing couldn’t have been better.
“Come back, dude,” was essentially the band’s response.
It was an almost absurdly easy solution considering Titanskull had previously contacted hundreds of musicians while trying to fill positions, only to have very few actually show up to audition.
Now back in the lineup, JT jokingly calls himself the band’s “personality hire.”
The rest of Titanskull disagrees.
“I play bass and good vibes,” he added.
More Than Playing Music
More than a decade of making music has also taught Titanskull something aspiring musicians may not immediately realize:
Being in a band is a business.
Playing music is only part of the job.
The members have had to learn about recording, mixing, branding, networking and the countless logistics involved in operating independently.
They’ve also picked up some practical lessons from playing shows around the local scene: arrive prepared, set up quickly, get your equipment offstage when you’re finished and don’t show up expecting another musician to lend you expensive gear.
In other words, learn how to be a professional regardless of how big the show or venue may be.
That professionalism extends to supporting other musicians.
Titanskull emphasized the importance of building community within the scene, where relationships with other bands can make a major difference both onstage and off.
A Working-Class Band With Big Goals
After more than a decade, Titanskull isn’t treating the band like a casual side project.
For Bill, pursuing music has been a calling.
“I don’t know what else I was supposed to do with my life other than this,” he said.
He also isn’t shy about the band’s ambitions.
“I think we have the potential to be iconic at some point,” Bill said. “If not, then I’m satisfied in putting art out there for people to enjoy into the future.”
At the same time, Titanskull is realistic about what it takes to pursue those ambitions independently.
“This is a working-class band,” the members explained.
They’re balancing full-time jobs with writing, recording, releasing and promoting their music without major financial backing behind them.
What’s Next for Titanskull
Titanskull already has plenty more music waiting to be released.
The band’s next album, While It Burns, is planned for release in December, with the members saying the songs are largely completed and the project is entering its final stages.
Fans can also check out the band’s existing releases and newest single while they wait for the next chapter.
With more than a decade behind them, a lineup that found its way back together and a catalog that continues evolving, Titanskull isn’t particularly interested in fitting neatly into one metal subgenre. Heavy metal? Sure. Thrash? Sometimes.Progressive? A little. Sword core? Maybe they were onto something. 🤘
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Concert lovers turned creators. Highlighting creators, bands, stories, sounds, and places you need to know.
Disarray Magazine is an independent media platform established in 2009, spotlighting rap, R&B, punk, hardcore, alternative culture, live music, food, nightlife, and the chaos in between. Created by journalist Christy Buena, C² exists to document the bands, people, and moments shaping the scene.
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