Sentinal comes out of the ashes of Machine Gun Kelly

Sentinel vocalist Kris Johnson and guitarist Ryan Nelson started the five-piece metal outfit after their old band, Charleston metal mainstay Machine Gun Kelly, disbanded a few years back.

The two are joined by lead guitarist Gage Ballenger, a former member of Gates of Attica and At Days Break. The rhythm section consists of Lee Christenson on bass and Mark Appelt on drums, both of which are the creative force behind another local rock group, Hooded Eagle. Christenson also played previously with the Augusta-based hard-core-metal band, 88mph. The moniker for the band, Sentinel, is derived from many places, but most notably, the classic comic book series "X-Men."

These metal heads have been playing shows around the Charleston area since November at such venues as The Music Farm, The Oasis and Jimbo's Rock Lounge. They recorded a three-song demo this past winter at Ocean Industries on James Island. Jamey Rogers and Eric Rickert recorded their demo, with mixing credits falling to Rickert as well. The songs are available for a free listen on their website. Their next show is Friday at The Oasis.

Charleston Scene caught up with members of Sentinel to get the rundown on their sound, their shows and the resurgence of a metal circuit in the Lowcountry.

Q: Tell me about Sentinel's first show.

Nelson: The first show was in November of 2009. It was kind of a festival thing. We kind of snuck in, and we only had a 20-minute set at the time with one cover in there. We wanted the opportunity to see how people would react. We played for a few minutes, and people really liked it.

Q: What songs do you cover?

Nelson: We play an old Zao song. It was something that a few of us had in common. It's off of the album, "Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest." We wanted to play that song solely to see the reaction of the people who do know it, the two or three faces that light up when we play it. Also, we do a Nirvana song, "Stay Away" from "Nevermind." For some reason, we all agreed on that one.

Q: I hope that's not the only thing that the band agrees on.

Nelson: Another thing the five of us have agreed on is that asking for money as a band isn't cool. If you want to spend money on us and support us, you know how to do that. It's very, very easy to figure that out. Boldly saying, "There are demos for sale in the back. Please buy them because they're poor." We're just so tired of hearing that.

Q: What do you think of the metal scene in Charleston?

Ballenger: I think that there were a couple of years where it seemed like metal bands dropped off for a while. Touring bands were playing all over the place and hard-core bands were playing all over the place. There are a lot of good metal bands from around here that don't get a lot of attention at all, probably because of a lack of promotion.

Q: You've all collectively been in a lot of different metal bands. What sets this one apart from the others?

Johnson: My lyrics are less angry and more comical, from my perspective. I do have some classic one-liners in some of it. I cover a broad array of subject matter, and I have some more serious songs as well. I think the music is really different altogether.

Nelson: Everything about the instruments gets more technical. Everything is more of a challenge for each of us to play. Our previous bands never really had a designated lead guitarist, and we have one now. Gage handles the leads really well.