Born Through Brutality: An interview with Darrin Yardley of Kayotik

How far back was it when you first discovered 'metal'? Who was/were the band(s), and what was that experience like?

I first discovered metal when I was like 9 or 10. Thanks to my brother! We were listening to AC/DC and Ozzy, Sabbath. We would watch Friday night videos and see Maiden and Priest, Motley Crue etc...I knew from then I wanted to play music. And Kiss was a big favorite. 

What was the "scene" like growing up in the Meriden/Wallingford area?

It's hard to say what the scene was like, when I moved to CT from MI, I was only 11. I didn't get into playing in bands till High School. At that time, I was doing talents shows and just jamming at home. 

Tell me a little about Distorted Aggression. When did you guys form and what were your influences/intentions back in those days?

Distorted Aggression was started in 1990/1991. I went to school with the bass player. We were jamming a little with some other dudes from school. One day, Dan was at a music shop and ran into Bryan Reilly. They started talking and it turned out that Bryan and Dave were trying to get something going. So they hooked up and asked me to jam with them to see if they could get something going. I was not really interested at the time as I wanted to play really heavy stuff, but I had trouble getting the right people together, so I decided to join up with them after all. Dan had been introduced to Tommy, before all this, so we had already messed around with him and knew he could sing and write, so it was easy to piece everything together. 

Kayotik

How often did you guys play shows then and what's the farthest out you've played?

We tried to play out as much as possible, and we did! It seemed like we were always playing somewhere! We never got out of CT though. We did a demo with that line up, but we were not very organized and we did very little with it. 

What led to the band's breakup?

Eventully, Tommy and Dan decided that they wanted to do something else. We picked up new members. Jeff Curtis on bass and Tony Rish on vocals. We did another demo, some more shows, but we just ran it's course and kind of spilt company. 

Tell me about Necromantik. How did you and Chris Lancia of Sonik Plague come together?

I hooked up with Chris while we were in a band called Bledgend. Chris and I left that band and started Necromantik. We had good intentions but we were never able to get things rolling. We only played out a handful of times unfortunatly. We also parted company, but I'm still in contact with those guys. Our music was a cross between Carcass and Napalm Death.  

What were the bands musical intentions?

My intentions at that time were to get into a professional gig, but that never happened. 
I understand that you were involved with Ron of Tyrant Trooper/Bonded Through Hate. Could you tell me a little about this?

Ron!!! I was a roadie for Tyrant Trooper back in the day. But I had met Ron during the Distorted Aggression days. We had been jamming on and off for a while, after TT broke up and Necro was done, we formed Slumlord. That was first real taste of constant playing with a heavy band. We played all over CT. We also played in NY and RI. At this time I also plyed in a metal band called Stikpin. We also played all over CT, NY, MA and RI.

10) Name three albums that you absolutely cannot live without:

Powerslave, Master of Puppets, Leprosy...it's really hard to choose only 3 

Who were among the biggest let downs for you in terms of bands "selling out", etc?

Metallica is by far the worst. I can't even listen to anything after And Justice!! 

How would you rate the metal scene in CT as opposed to that of the 80's/early 90's?

I think the scene is improving, but it's still saturated with bands that sound the same. These dudes need to worry more about being original than how many tats they have or how cool they look.  

I understand that you are currently involved in a few different projects, one of which includes your Brother. Could you tell me a bit about each of these?

Kayotik! This band is my first real grind band!! My brother plays guitar and does some vocals to. We really like to play fast and faster! No breakdowns, just straight up Terrorizer style grooves. Tearing it up everywhere we go...We are workin on getting our EP "Born through Brutallity" out real soon. 

Continuum! This band is a bit of history lesson for some CT metal heads. It features Bryan Reilly from D.A. and Lost Soul. It also features Tony Mica on bass, from Lost Soul. We also have Jay Neizgorski from Tyrant Trooper. And we have Brenda Fogg, from Pistol Wink and Fogg. We currently have a cd out now which can be found just about anywhere. It's called Rise and Fall. It's more of a progressive style metal with cool melodies. 

Continuum

I understand that John York, formerly of CT's Evilution, was involved in one of your current band. What was that situation like and what has since become of him?

John York was our bass player in Kayotik for a while. We eventually parted ways with him due to personal differences.  

I understand that you have long since become a Christian. How has this affected, if at all, your perception of the metal scene?

Being a Born Again Christian and playing Metal. I look at it this way. God has me where he wants me for some purpose. I have Faith in this and I trust Him in it. After I came to know Him, I found that there is a whole new scene of like minded people that love Metal and the Lord at the same time. This gave me confidence to push on with my drumming and aspire to be a better player, and a better human being. I was in a band called Tongues of Fire for a while. That was a Christian Metal band. I was also in a band with that lead singer called Dis Aria. Though they were not a Christian band, the words were very spiritual. 

Alright Darrin, thanks a bunch for your time, Brother. Any final words?

Thanks for the interview bro...I feel honered to take the time to talk to you. Later.....

Check out Kayotik here and Continuum here