Metal band making noise across South Texas

WESLACO — Born out of the passion for creativity, individualism and music, this band with a distinctive name and sound is growing.

The band is the Hellborn Militia, a self-described heavy metal band from Weslaco. Pablo Ybarra, 40, is the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for the heavy metal band while Joe Jaramillo, 23, plays lead guitar. Rolie Chavez, also 23, is the drummer while Robb Ruth, 20, plays bass. The band performs at clubs and bars mostly in the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. In San Antonio, the band plays at JC's Nostalgias, an establishment familiar with the band. After drawing a large crowd the first time they played, the owner has repeatedly requested their return.

Hellborn Militia came together in 2004 when Ybarra and Jaramillo joined in an effort to write and play their own music. Just a year later, Chavez joined with percussion, giving the band its heavy metal character. Shortly thereafter, Ruth was introduced.

The band has a variety of influences, each player having their own. From Metallica to Beethoven, from Radiohead to Cannibal Corpse, everyone incorporates a piece of themselves into their sound.

"We're all individuals, Hellborn Militia is a group of individuals," Jaramillo said. "We put our individualism into the music. And because we like so many genres, that's what makes the music so catchy."

"Dominate", one of the band's top hits on their MySpace webpage, is a song written out of personal struggle. Evolved out of a simple melody, the song, which has been played close to 3,000 times, is a song of personal hope and striving to be the best.

Nephew of the lead singer, band manager Albert Ybarra has been with Hellborn Militia since its beginning. Although he did not receive a degree from South Texas College where he was studying business, Albert Ybarra feels accomplished for being able to work with a band he feels has a lot of potential.

"To get the recognition from areas other than here locally, like from Corpus or San Antonio, to us it means the world," Ybarra said. "We're basically more of a hit out there than down here (in the Valley) because of the fact that the metal scene is bigger out there."

In 2007, the band created Raw Cut Records LLC, a company in charge of promoting local bands and bookings for shows and events. That same year, the band released a self-titled demo.

The band, however, hasn't been without their share of struggles. With a band name such as their own, businesses sometimes hesitate to allow them to perform, once even throwing them out while still in the parking lot.

Still, the band persists and this year has a long list of performances, whether at a club or for a cause.

On July 18, the band will perform at Cooks Cars Kardashians featuring members of the popular family, which hosts the television show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" at the Edinburg Racetrack. The event will have a cook off, car show and battle of the bands, proceeds benefiting the Pride Foundation.

In late August, the band heads to Port Lavaca to participate in the charity Ride for Dime, an organization commemorating Darrel "Dimebag" Abbott, founding member of the heavy metal band Pantera. Ride for Dime gives to the charities that were of interest to Abbott: Little Kids Rock, Covenant House, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Outside of the band, Joe Jaramillo is a senior at the University of Texas- Pan American. With a part-time night job, the business management major, Jaramillo will graduate in December 2009. Chavez will also graduate at the end of the fall semester from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a degree in pre-pharmacy. Ruth works at a meat market in Pharr. Pablo Ybarra entered the U.S. Army in May 1989. After an injury, he was honorably discharged in April 1992. Since his disability, he has dedicated himself to music.

Albert Ybarra describes the band as unified, almost like brothers. Whether in good spirits or in a time of difficulty, the friends are there for support on and off the stage.

"Our relationship is brotherly-like," Albert Ybarra said. "We're like blood. Anywhere we go, we hang out with each other. That alone is what makes us stronger together."

The band will continue to perform locally for as long as they can. To them, they are living something some garage bands can only dream of. No matter what challenges may come, the Hellborn Militia hope to be rocking the Valley for years to come.

 "In the end, when we do a show and see people, it is worth it," Ybarra said. "All in all we're just gonna keep going at it. And no matter what anyone tells us, we have the heart for it."