For the past decade plus, Jacksonville four-piece metal band Appalachian Death Trap have been a prominent presence on the local and regional music scene. And like their peers across the board, their chances in the metal lottery are as uncertain and as good as any.
The band has shared bills with bands including High on Fire and Crowbar, and have self-releaseda full-length, an EP and a smattering of singles. Their latest offering, “Between the Stars,” is a taut encapsulation of the band’s development. The quartet—Brad Alcorn and Erik Heran on guitars and vocals; bassist-vocalist Gary Vernon and drummer Sean Morrison—color inside the lines of what is considered to be modern metal, yet don’t paint themselves into a corner with rote convention. “Between the Stars” delivers enough original flourishes to keep it from being consumed in the shuffle of a modern metal playlist.