Meet up and coming band, Delaney.

Meet up and coming band, Delaney.

by rick olivares

It was a dark and somewhat rainy night. Inside the 123 Block along Pioneer street, the sound that emanating matched the brooding time of the time.

It was the Finite Fest The Gathering. Fifteen metal bands that that rocked the still of the night.

Actually, make it 14.

The seventh band to take the stage had the most un-metal-like of names… Delaney. The name smacked of some American post-hardcore emo outfit like Finch, Chamberlain, Hoover, or Rainier Maria to name a few.

Their name was actually taken (the idea was from the band’s former vocalist) from actor Tom Hardy’s character of James Keziah Delaney in the British television drama series, Taboo.

Delaney -- guitarist and vocalist Kyle Cayton, bassist Arianne Gonzaga, drummer Mark Izon, and guitarist Kenndrick Marayag – were like a palette cleanser that night spewing infectious pop rock that had the metalheads still nodding in approval. And prior to their final song during their set, they segued into a four-minute metal improve piece. “To be in the spirit of the night,” offered Cayton.

Cayton and Gonzaga – who came in Goth attire – previously played for metal outfits. Why the change?

“I think we got older,” laughed the vivacious Gonzaga (yes, she is related to Toni and Ariel). “We listen to a lot of music. All the different sub-genres of rock. Not just metal. I think at some point, we wanted to go in a different direction.”

They aren’t the only ones to change course. The members of psychedelic post-rock foursome The Insektlife Cycle all paid their dues in the metal circuit before going into a different sound.

Delaney isn’t some cheesy sappy band even with the change in direction. They play a super-charged set. They’re superb musicians (some of them work as techs at Tower of Doom; hence, also the metal roots) and they’re engaging and have a sense of humor; something thoroughly lacking in many local bands. 

Thus far, Delaney has eight songs in Filipino and one in English in the bank. During the The Gathering, members in the audience sang along to the songs “Lakbay” and “North”. It’s actually incredible for a band that only began performing live in November of 2018. 

Yet since they, they have gigged rather relentlessly performing in places like Tomato Kick, Saguijo, Cabin 420, and The Minokaua.

“Even before banding together for Delaney, we all had our past crews and projects,” summed up Cayton. “we all chose a career in music and we enjoy it. We have no problems playing to small or big crowds. If people come to see us, we already happy that we can share our music.”

Delaney hopes to release their debut album within the next few months.