“Originally treated as a side project under the moniker of Fiji Mermaid, Jared Brown (bass), PJ Sykes (guitar), and Jeff Roop (vocals, drum programmer, guitarist) got together in 1998 in their hometown of Lynchburg, VA. Eventually making the commitment to being a full-time gig, Angels VS Aliens would be placed musically amongst the likes of Superchunk, Mogwai, Sunny Day Real Estate, and the Smashing Pumpkins before their first self-released album entitled Eleven Shades of Crimson came out in March of 2000.”

“AVSA is a seamless marriage of man and sound: three people who wring from their equipment the most bipolar tones imaginable. Guitar that screams one moment and echoes gracefully the next. Some are intimidated by the fact that those who produce this diverse array of sounds do so willingly and with such a disregard for playing it “safe.” As the band’s name implies, such music seems to come from some otherworldly source far removed from the world of men. But this is no abstract rock and roll minstrel show where performers and audience have strictly defined roles and expectations: indeed, those who witness AVSA live are not expected to stand meekly before the torrent of sound. One must not forget that this is rock music, to be felt and enjoyed wholeheartedly, as is intended. And one must not lose sight of the very human side of this noise; namely, that it is the product of three dedicated individuals working their damndest to shape it and take it to the furthest level possible, in an attempt to render angels and aliens closer to our world, or take the listener to unexplored regions. How to accurately describe a band is always a difficult task - inevitably, one resorts to half-assed comparisons to other musical acts in order to convey to the uninitiated some sort of sound which they can easily pigeonhole. To those who need such a comparison to grasp the sound of AVSA, we say think not of bands, but of pure sounds instead: the roar of jet engines, panes of glass that shimmer and shatter, dense fields of radiating noise - all supplemented by a beat that you can rock to. But the best way to learn what AVSA sounds like is to skip the mere comparisons and cheap attempts at description and find out for yourself.”