Byzantine is an American heavy metal band from Charleston, West Virginia, that was formed in 2000. As of March 2016, the band consists of front-man and co-founder Chris "OJ" Ojeda (rhythm guitar and vocals), Brian Henderson (guitar), Matt Bowles (drums) and Ryan Postlethwait (bass guitar). The band has released three studio albums on Prosthetic Records along with two independent albums. Byzantine is known for its unique sound and modern, "forward thinking" musical style which explores different musical territories and song structures. The band split on January 26, 2008, one day after the release of their third album, due to various circumstances, but reunited in 2010. On March 31, 2016, Metal Blade Records announced that they had signed the band to a worldwide deal and that they would be releasing a new album on July 28, 2017. History Byzantine was formed in the spring of 2000 by bassist Chris "Cid" Adams, lead guitarist Tony Rohrbough, drummer Jeremy Freeman, and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Chris "OJ" Ojeda after their former bands, New Family and Temper, disbanded. Byzantine wrote four songs, then seven more songs were written, and 2000-2001 Demos was recorded and self-released in 2001. Soon after, Byzantine became a part of the local West Virginian heavy metal scene. Subsequently, the band recruited local musician Matt Wolfe as a drummer. Ten songs featuring Wolfe were recorded in 2003 at Broadmoor Studios in Huntington, West Virginia and were released as The Broadmoor Demo, arousing the interest of Lamb of God's drummer Chris Adler. Byzantine then had a short East Coast tour with Lamb of God. This tour helped them obtain new fans and a deal with Prosthetic Records. Soon after Byzantine released their debut album The Fundamental Component in February 2004, which introduced the band's trademark sound. Subsequently, Byzantine toured with Lamb of God and Shadows Fall as well as playing the main stage of New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in 2004 (and later in 2006). Chris "Cid" Adams was soon fired, and Byzantine returned to the studio to record their second album in 2005: ...And They Shall Take Up Serpents, with Tony Rohrbough taking over bass duties in the studio. The album received high praise both abroad and domestically. A 2007 fan-oriented DVD titled Salvation, featuring exclusive material, scenes, in-studio clips, interviews, the uncut version of the "Jeremiad" music video and the performance of the never-before released "Cradle Song", increased the band's popularity.