Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Williams.
Hi Kyle, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Shadow of the Talisman started as a college passion project between myself and our original bassist, Eli, It was clear we wanted a band that wasn’t afraid to push the boundaries of musicianship and local appeal, so we contacted some of our old friends for guitarists, Zack and Owen, rounded out the founding lineup with Mike on vocals, and started this incredible journey late 2022. Within the first year being a band, we started from playing open mic nights to opening for national acts at The Machine Shop and The Sanctuary, all while writing 8, vastly different songs for our debut album, “As Above, So Below.” S.o.t.T. quickly became a household name once we started promoting the album in 2024, because we were the band opening our shows with “Blackened” by Metallica, and closing with our 9-minute epic, “So Below” that featured dueling guitar solos, changing time signatures, and vocal hooks that left the crowd wanting more. We rode this wave for a while as we started to start work on our follow up, but drastic changes soon happened when Eli and Owen both decided to leave for personal reasons in May of 2025. The next few months consisted of acoustic shows between myself, Zack, and Mike as we were auditioning for new members to round out our lineup again. Thankfully in November that same year, Tom and Logan joined the band and a whole new energy was mixed into the dynamic. We hit the ground running with multiple shows in winter of 2026, and by the end of summer, we released a 3-song EP called “Natural Selection” which gut-punched our fans with our much more aggressive and raw sound. More national act openings and headliner shows continued again, and now we’ve adapted a new approach for our next album by slowly releasing EPs to tease the bigger picture we’re creating. We’re writing songs that are 100% us, we’re brining energy to shows that’s always unmatched, and we have some ambitious goals we’re looking to hit come 2027!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like most bands involved in the music industry, it has been far from a smooth road! But it’s one we embrace and as more impediments come our way, the more we learn and continue to grow as a band. Starting off, we were quite naive to many “money schemes” with pay-to-play shows and music promotion deals, but quickly learned these never delivered on what was promised. Since then, we’ve double-downed on on doing everything ourselves and keeping who we work with very tight knit to avoid money scams the industry is plagued with. There’s been many smaller hiccups involving communication, balancing band commitments with life, and ordeals every local band goes through, but the biggest struggle for us was definitely having a lineup change. You get into a groove when you’ve been working creatively with others, and when a portion of that is missing after 3 years of having it, it’s difficult to recover. But from that, we learned what does and doesn’t work amongst ourselves, and we’re more creative, more ambitious, and having way more fun now between the new songs in the works, the different approaches we’re taking to stand out in the industry, and the memories that being a band makes. We’ve embraced these past struggles, and thankfully it’s turned us into a band that knows what to avoid, who to work with, and how to overcome everyday challenges that comes with making genuine art for others to enjoy.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Myself and the rest of the guys in the band all agree that what we love most about being in a band is writing original material! Being able to start a song with just a riff or lyrical idea, and let 5 creative voices give their input until it reaches a final composition that others enjoy is purely incredible. Every song we’ve written has started differently, and every member has had equal say in the ideas that contribute to the final piece. Because of this, it’s allowed our work to naturally develop into music that sounds like nothing else in the industry today. Yes, we have our groove metal and metalcore influence in our songs, but we’ve reached a point where people put on one of our songs and it’s immediately recognizable as a S.o.t.T. song. We haven’t found a formula, we don’t follow typical structures, we allow our work to be it’s own thing and it creates a perfect catalog that fits any listener’s need. Someone’s hosting a bonfire, put on “Cursed” and it’ll be perfect for the mood. Someone had a rough day at work, put on “Covetous Swine” and let that anger out. Someone just wants straight, feel good metal, put on “So Below” and you’re set! We all love creating music, and we’re all proud that each one of our songs stands out in one way or another amongst everything else in the industry,
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
By far the most important lesson we’ve learned on this journey is to just have fun. Music is inherently creative, and when the fun is taking out of the creative process, it’s clearly heard in the end result. Yes, it can be stressful at times preparing for live shows or trying to meet release deadlines, but if we aren’t having fun during the process, there’s no reason to do it all all. I remind the guys of this all the time because moments like that can be a lot, and it gives us all a reset and reminds us of the real reason we’re doing this; to make music and memories along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shadowofthetalisman.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shadowofthetalisman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShadowoftheTalisman
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/@sott_band
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@shadowofthetalisman
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3uDB0B90UkE34CTYs4hJ73?si=uadNn08_SBCv4tgSCi6fdA
