Specializing in a muscular, tech-heavy blend of metalcore and melodic hard rock that's drawn comparisons to bands like Between the Buried and Me, As I Lay Dying, For Today, and Killswitch Engage, Cody, Wyoming-based Christian metal quintet Righteous Vendetta formed in 2008 around the talents of vocalist Ryan Hayes, drummer Isaiah Perez, bass player Matt Neddermeyer, and guitarists Justin Olmstead and Carl Heiman. The group toured extensively and issued a pair of well-received, hard-hitting albums (The Dawning [2010] and Lawless [2011]) through Red Cord Records. By 2013's more hook-oriented The Fire Inside, the lineup had shifted to a unit built around Hayes, Olmstead, and Heiman, plus drummer Zack Goggins and bassist Riley Haynie. Fourth album Cursed followed in 2017 on Century Media. ~ James Christopher Monger