NEW RELEASE "WETIKO" COMING OUT OCT. 6, 2023 !!!
LP and CD available thru zyx.de
digital purchases:
https://scrollkeeper.bandcamp.com/

 

Scrollkeeper are a Traditional Heavy Metal band from Houston, Texas that specialize in high energy, anthemic original material that is reminiscent of Metal's halcyon days. For more info, check out extended bio.

Scrollkeeper are a Traditional Heavy Metal band from Houston, Texas that specializes in high energy, anthemic original material that is reminiscent of Metal's halcyon days.

After a revolving door of guitarists, Simon Marfleet (drums) and Justin McKittrick (vocals) asked Alexander K. to join on guitar in November of 2016. Soon after William Sullivan (bass) and John Morris (guitar) joined the band.

 

Out of these rehearsals eventually emerged the bulk of songs on the band's current set list.

During rehearsals for their debut show, Scrollkeeper recorded a 2 song EP titled “Fortune Favors the Bold”  which was tracked live in their Downtown Houston rehearsal studio and mixed and mastered at Nocturnal Sound Studios (Houston, TX).

 

The band’s debut show was as support act for Delain and Hammerfall in June 2017. Since then, Scrollkeeper has shared the stage with Manilla Road, Dirkschneider, Angra, Cloven Hoof and kept a busy show schedule.

 

The song “Surrender” was selected for the “Doomed and Stoned in Texas” compilation, featuring doom legends Solitude Aeturnus, deadhorse and other Texas stoner/doom bands with proceeds going towards hurricane relief.

 

The band finished an EP "Path to Glory" in 2018, recorded at Sound Arts Studios and Nocturnal Sound Studios (Houston, TX), engineered by Brian Baker and the band's guitarist, Alexander K. The EP was mixed and mastered by Ricardo Camargo @ Tidalwav Studios, Queens, New York. For the artwork, the band chose German illustrator Helge C. Balzer.

 

"Path to Glory" is available for sale on Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and other media and streaming platforms. Houston residents can also buy a physical copy in CD format at Cactus Music, Sound Exchange, Vinal Edge (Houston), Music Millenium (Portland, OR), Waterloo Records and End of an Ear Records(Austin, TX), Radio Active Records (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Hog Wild Records (San Antonio, TX), Amoeba Records (Los Angeles, CA). “Path to Glory” is also sold in select US cities and in the EU through German label Underground Power Records.

 

For 2019 Scrollkeeper supported British heavy metal veterans Saxon, Canadian thrash legends Voivod, Enforcer, Warbringer and B.T.R. on their tour stops in Houston, TX. John Morris and William Sullivan exited the band, and after several months of auditions the band decided to continue with one guitarist. Soon thereafter, in January 2020, Andrew Sutton (Descent Into Madness, MercenaryX) joined on bass guitar.

 

The bands' first full length album, titled "Auto da Fe", came out on June 19, 2020. It is available on Bandcamp, iTunes, Deezer, Spotify, Amazon Music and other music platforms.


"Auto da Fe" was picked up by True Metal Records (Brazil) and Underground Power Records Distro (Germany) and is available for sale in both markets. "Devil's Calculus", a song from the LP, is featured on German label GoldenCore Records /ZYX Music "Damn, This Stuff is Heavy" vol.2.

 

In November 2021 Scrollkeeper parted ways with Simon Marfleet. After filling in on short notice as a session drummer on the band's show with Texas thrash legends D.R.I., the band invited Krystal Salinas to join the Scrollkeeper ranks as their new drummer.

 

In January 2022, Spotify added "Auto Da Fe" to their "Best new thrash metal music Playlist" for 2022.

 

Scrollkeeper is putting finishing touches to an EP titled "Wetiko" to come out October 6th, 2023 on Golden Core / ZYX Music (Germany).

The band is currently busy playing shows across Texas.
 

Justin McKittrick (vocals)

I’m the rare individual who actually grew up in a household that was metal friendly. My father introduced me to all the classic heavy metal artists that I love today: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, etc. and to the emerging thrash bands of the time. My mom was into hair bands (that may have rubbed off a bit too). I began singing in local Houston bands while in high school. Most of the early bands that I was involved with during that time and up through my 20’s were of the thrash and death metal variety: Insidious, Nuclear Funeral, Obliquity, What Lies Beneath, etc. Though I enjoyed the intensity and aggression of the extreme metal scene, I began to feel constrained artistically by the vocal style within the genre. Thus, in 2008 I founded Saxon King as an outlet for my more melodic and experimental musical ambitions. That spirit of creative growth as an artist remains with me today as I wield the mic for Scrollkeeper.

 

Favorite bands: 70’s Judas Priest, Voivod, Overkill, Queensryche

 

Favorite drinks: Scotch, Dunkel Beer

 

Equipment: Shure Microphones and Yamaha PA’s

Alexander Kamburov (lead guitar, backing vocals)

Started playing air guitar in 1982 after getting a fifth generation cassette copy of Kiss "Alive!".
Quickly graduated to more "legit" metal bands, AC/DC, Accept, Twisted Sister and W.A.S.P. thanks to my older cousins and tape trading with classmates. Somewhere around 1984 I started pestering my parents for an electric guitar, they eventually relented and to my dismay bought me an acoustic.   
After hearing the horrendous racket from a "cover" of Slayer's "Black Magic" on an out of tune acoustic guitar, my dad, an accomplished accordion player, decided that "it was long overdue to get the kid some lessons". That resulted in me getting signed up to study guitar, music theory and composition with a well known National Opera French horn/guitar/mandolin player, Ivan Maslev. He provided an interesting curriculum and concentrated heavily on theory, which is what I wanted to pursue as I was interested in songwriting.


At about that same time I met some like-minded kids and we dabbled in punk, then we formed the Hellhammer-inspired Barbarian, which eventually transformed into prog thrash outfit Dissident. Dissident had surprisingly quick success on the hungry for metal local Bulgarian scene, culminating with sold out festival Metal Fest at the Circus (1989). Due to economic and other circumstances I moved to the US and have been residing in Houston, TX since the early 90s. I've been in numerous bands/projects since, most notably founding and running prog. thrash band Descent Into Madness for over 13 years, starting in 2001. Around that time I also got on the other side of the glass as a recording engineer and still do occasional freelance recording/production as time permits.

 

Favorite bands: 80s thrash, mainly the German scene. Sodom, Coroner, Sepultura, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Testament, Carcass, W.A.S.P., Scorpions. 70's classic and hard rock bands, early Black Sabbath, Nazareth, Uriah Heap, Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Jeff Beck, Uli Roth, Deep Purple.

 

Bands/projects: Barbarian (BG), Dissident (BG), Final Xit, Lost Angels, Descent Into Madness, C.O.Y.A., Egregore, Scrollkeeper

Favorite drinks: Hendricks martini; On the non-alcoholic side: espresso, the darker and more potent, the better :)

 

Equipment: I am not particularly locked in on anything, at the moment I like to torture Mesa Boogie amps, LTD guitars on stage. My all time favorite axe is a Music Man Steve Morse. Currently endorsing Gravity Picks and Italia leather straps.

Andrew Sutton (bass)

I began playing string instruments in 5th grade joining orchestra and choosing the cello after being told the bass was too big and cumbersome.  I briefly in 8th grade switched to bass, then made the switch permanent in high school.  Within two weeks of making the switch, I also bought a bass guitar and joined my first band. 

 

Senior year, I played my first “show” which one was song for the choir talent show.  In that time, I was listening to and learning songs from Anthrax, Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers and others but never jamming with anyone else on them. 

 

Moving on to college, I was on a full music scholarship for Double Bass.  The second semester, I was “highly encouraged” to join the jazz band and that was when my bass guitar playing really came alive. 

 

I also joined my first real band, called Black Lily.  That band stayed a fixture in my life for 5 years.  There was a brief hard rock cover band as well called Legacy. 

 

My interests in Metal weren’t all that strong then, but that changed when a friend played a band called Therion.  This lead to many other bands outside of symphonic metal.  It was during this phase that I ended up offering to play upright bass for Deanna Haughey’s solo music.  She invited me to jam with Descent into Madness where I met Alex. 

 

Since then, I’ve played in a punk band (BS Factor), Surf Rock band (Dark Surf) and was the founding bass player for Mercenary X that later became JudasX.  On top of that, I still play classical and jazz gigs on both upright bass and bass guitar and see so many parallels between both styles and the progression of metal from its founding. 

 

Favorite bands: Therion, Primus, Opeth, Anthrax, Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, Tyr, Amon Amarth, Old Obituary, Red Hot Chili Peppers, In Living Color, A.C. 

 

Bands/projects: Black Lilly, Legacy, Descent Into Madness, BS Factor, Dark Surf, Mercenary X, Brother’s Rogue, Scrollkeeper

 

Favorite drinks: Coldcock Whiskey (formerly endorsed by them), Single Malt Scotch, Ranger Creek whiskey and beers. Dark German and English style beers.  Coffee and espresso. 

 

Equipment: Ibanez multi-scale 5 string bass, custom hand built 5 string fretless.  I currently use BBE B-Max pre-amp and an overpowered PA power amp to drive a custom 2x15 cab for live shows. 

Krystal "Deth" Salinas (drums)

I started singing when I was 5, with my Dad. He would write lyrics and I would sing his songs.

That eventually led to me having a smurf drum set that I would play as a 7 years old, which lead to me

stealing his guitar so I could learn how to play at 12 years old. He bought me my own guitar and later

that week I asked for a drum set, he was pissed. I said wait though I want to play both. I still do to this

day.

 

I was in marching band, playing Saxophone and did so in college, but always played metal.

I think the heaviest thing I heard growing up in the country suburbs of Houston was probably NIN’s

"Closer". I heard that in 7th grade, and I was like "ok....I like this, what is happening?" That was the end of

listening to pop music for me. My cousin introduced me to some heavier bands and then that led me

to my path. It just takes one heavy band to make you think "ok, I am missing out".

 

I started my first band in High School. I was the singer and guitarist in the 3 piece metal band Deep 6. I

was very successful in that band, and I am still writing and recording, just not touring with it anymore.

We opened for a lot of really great bands, and did a few tours. Had some amazing sponsors

and it went really great, and I am very happy with the success of that band.

 

I got my nickname while I was Djing at KPFT 90.1 with Bill Bates (RIP) and Herman Garcia on the

Sweet nightmares show. I also was at several Clear Channel stations, even rock 101 KLOL, KTRU and

was the band liaison and commentator for Drink of Ages.

 

I do session work, collaborations with a few tribute bands and cover bands....working musician.

Vocals, guitar, drums, bass, saxophone.....very minimal keys.

 

Favorite Bands: Candiria, Opeth Meshuggah, Necrophagist, Alice in Chains, Deftones, Bjork,

Radiohead, Archspire, Arch Enemy, Portishead, Cephalic Carnage, The Red Chord, Gojira, Cattle

Decapitation, Job for a Cowboy, M.I.A. (stuff that makes me groove and is out of the box)

 

Bands / Projects: Deep 6, As If

 

Favorite Drinks: Monster Energy, Michelob Ultra, Pacifico Beer, Buffalo Bayou and Brash beers, coke

zero, NO MORE JAGER – I was sponsored by them years ago, if I smell that. I YAK!

 

Equipment: As a drummer there’s too much to list. DW PDP Yamaha Drums, Zildjian A, K and Hybrid

custom Cymbals, Paiste Alpha China, Pearl, Gibraltar and PDP hardware. Promark and Salyers

Percussion Sticks, Evans and Aquarian Heads.

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