Students at Walter Johnson possess incredible skills and abilities, especially relating to music. Unfortunately, not nearly all of these talents are displayed. From band and orchestra musicians, to incredible singers, to unique musical groups, the WJ student body is full of artistic and musical creativity that does not get enough attention.
Recently, a band by the name of “Submerge The Oppressor” showed up on the scene. “Submerge The Oppressor” is a hard-rocking, heavy alternative band made up of WJ students. They have been playing and writing music together since the band was formed in late August. Initially, the band’s frontman and vocalist Hal Fischer connected with fellow junior Nolan LaCount.
“I was sitting next to him in English class and we were talking about what kind of music we liked on the first day. He was like ‘I’m really into death metal’ and I was like ‘That’s really interesting,’ so we kind of hit it off on that and I found out he plays guitar,” Fischer said.
Now, LaCount is the lead guitarist for the band, backed by another guitarist, junior Zaine Rehman. After joining up with LaCount, Fischer noticed each of the other current members playing music with other bands on Instagram and realized that they might want to get in on what he and LaCount were up to.
“Submerge The Oppressor” isn’t looking to fit into a certain genre or category of music. Instead, they are simply making and playing music that they genuinely enjoy.
As Fischer says, “We aren’t really a death metal band. Our sound is probably more like a mix of aggressive punk with some metal elements. We all kind of unite over doing our own thing. We aren’t really thinking about what genre we are trying to be, we are just kind of doing what feels right.”
Fischer writes most of the songs with help from the entire band. According to the group, the small ideas and suggestions that each member offers are what really bring the songs together. And though they haven’t had an official live performance yet, they have put in many hours practicing together and creating new music, something they all enjoy.
“Even when we’re just practicing by ourselves, we’re getting into it. There’s a certain mindset and energy that we put into our music. It has to be 100% of ourselves,” Fischer said. For drummer Idan Tzioni, this aspect of playing with the band is especially important.
“I generally just feel like I don’t have to hold back too much. I can do what’s best for the song and play what I want to play at the same time, which is pretty rare for a drummer,” Tzioni said.
“There’s a feeling sometimes when you’re playing with other people that is just right. It’s the greatest feeling in the world.” junior bassist Grady Boisture mentioned.
“Submerge The Oppressor” writes most of the music they play and they do very little covers of other music. For them, collaboration is key. The satisfaction of playing songs together as a band is something that all of the members appreciate.
“It’s way more impactful and meaningful than just doing something on your own. When you’re playing in a band and playing through a song where everyone has their own part and is really into it, there’s an energy that’s much stronger than if you just recorded all the instruments by yourself,” Rehman said.
As much as the group loves to jam out together, their current objective is becoming more known and finding opportunities to perform.
“Right now we’re focused on getting to a level of popularity where we could play shows somewhat consistently, like once or twice a month. After that we would probably start focusing on recording our music and finding a record label and all that,” Fischer said.
The band already has one performance set up in late December as part of an event organized by Teenage Riot, a charity that organizes events that are made up of many small performances from local bands. The band will perform outside of Bethesda Boards for about thirty-five minutes. Not only will this event be a chance for “Submerge The Oppressor,” but also an opportunity to express their values.
“I think Teenage Riot would be a good way to set the ethics of our band since it is a volunteer organization and all the money that they make from their shows goes to a charity. Being able to be a part of that as a band and showing that music can actually help people in ways that you wouldn’t think sets a good image for us, which is where we want to move with our music,” Fischer said.
The band has various messages that they try to promote as well through their music. The name itself, “Submerge The Oppressor,” has a meaning of its own.
As Fischer explained, “Initially we were brainstorming names and I just sort of came up with it. I didn’t have a meaning behind it but then we wrote a song that has really political, aggravated lyrics and at that moment we decided that is the direction we want to go with this music and to have an underlying political message.”
That message being people should fight oppression and avoid being influenced or controlled.
As for the future of the band, all they want to do (besides ruling the world as Tzioni mentioned) is to keep pumping out songs and having fun.
“We just want to keep playing music and keep doing shows. Maybe make a little money during a show, who knows,” Boisture said.
“If we make money during a show, I’ve achieved my life purpose. That might be our peak,” Rehman added.
Of course, making money is not the ultimate goal for “Submerge The Oppressor,” and right now the group is still getting their name out there. But if WJ students keep their ears open and stay willing to listen to different kinds of music, the band believes that many people could get as much out of their music as they do.
