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Last November, moments before he got his ass kicked, UFC superstar Randy Couture gave Rochester-based metal band Caustic its biggest plug ever. Right before he touched gloves with opponent Brock Lesnar for the main event at UFC 91, Couture marched to the ring as Caustic's song "Medicate" played — in front of an estimated 3.3 million viewers.
Caustic has spent the past nine years making a name for itself locally and in places like Syracuse, Auburn and Watertown. Yet having "Medicate" played during such a high-profile event has been the high point of a successful year-and-a-half. "Medicate" was also used as entrance music by WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) champion Mike Brown during his November fight against Urijah Faber, which wound up being the WEC's biggest pay-per-view event ever. On top of that, Caustic has opened shows locally for Disturbed, Sevendust and, most recently, Korn.
"Things really seem to be coming together," says guitarist Al Dettori of Auburn. "We've done bigger shows in terms of size, but name-wise and karma-wise, we're all huge fans of those bands, especially Korn."
Detorri and his bandmates — singer Matt Bagarozzo of Rochester, bassist "Donny D" Weissinger of Rochester, guitarist Brandon Wheeler of Utica, and drummer Nick Wisner of Watertown — hope the newfound exposure will help push the band to new heights, both musically and commercially.
The guys are currently working on material for a new album, the follow-up to 12 Step Suicide released last August. Early signs point to a more radio-friendly Caustic. The band has progressed from delivering a heavy, high-energy chugging sound to one that incorporates harmonies and is technically proficient.
And with that more marketable sound, the band hopes it won't have to pay for the release of its new album. Caustic still is at a point where the band members fund everything out of their own pockets, but Detorri says he'd like to land a distribution deal before the new album's release.
"That's gonna be the real tipping point, if we can land distribution," he says. "The music has really been progressing. We're each playing off of each other really well, which is a product of the chemistry we all have."
Caustic has landed opening slots on the East Coast portion of a tour by national shock-metal band Mushroom. Caustic will also have shows in Watertown, Auburn and Syracuse in June and July before heading back to Rochester in late August.
