Pa. high school metal band reaches the next stage at Musikfest

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- "Usually, the football kids hate the theater kids and the theater kids hate the football kids," said Quintin Seifert. "But now, we're all here. And, like, what could the chances possibly be that so many different groups of people come just for music?"

Seifert is the front man for the metal band, "Devixe" (pronounced 'device'), which was formed in late 2019 by his friends, Bryce Monsell and Liam Myerow. Together with Connor Capizzi and Dom Hancs, the Philadelphia-area high school students specialize in a form of heavy metal music known as "djent." The teens are split between three local high schools: Plymouth Whitemarsh, Abington Senior High, and Interboro.

The friends share a similar taste in music that sent them on a collision course to meet each other. Monsell and Myerow met in a middle school guitar club and later met Hancs, a welder and guitar player, through School of Rock. Myerow fatefully met Seifert, a theater student, in a mosh pit at a Slipknot concert.

Capizzi came into the mix through the school orchestra, but he doesn't just play the bass. He also plays on the football field.

"We literally do everything different," said Capizzi. "I'm kind of seeing now how it's all coming together."

From their humble roots playing for family and friends at small shows, Devixe has dreams of going on tour. And they took their goals to the next stage this weekend with a live performance at Musikfest.

Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a 10-day-long festival celebrating arts, music, and food. Fans of the nearly 40-year-old event have a chance to enjoy their favorite performers while discovering new ones like Devixe.

"There's going to be people that aren't there to see us, seeing us, and that's really exciting," said Liam Myerow.

The band is looking forward to releasing a new extended play (EP) next month while riding the coattails of two recently-posted demos. They are also looking forward to performing live at Reverb in Reading, Pennsylvania, on September 9th, 2022, alongside Tommy Vext.

"We're a bunch of kids who wanted to make music and now, we're here," said Seifert. "It feels like a dream, honestly. None of it feels real. But it's real, and we're here, so might as well kill it while we can."

To learn more about Devixe, visit their website.

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