Local band kicking off tour

They pushed and shoved and got in one another's faces and now they're having tea together.

The dudes in Molotov Cocktail stand out even while sitting down at Tea Express in Chinatown on a recent Tuesday afternoon, checkered with piercings, arms and necks bright with tattoos.

They're more illustrated than a stack of comic books.

Today, their mood is as bright as their tunes are dark, especially for a band that has been through a lot together in the past two years. The socially aware Vegas deathcore quintet has weathered lineup and label changes, grueling road work and plenty of flared tempers.

Molotov long has been one of the more promising acts of their ilk from these parts and seemed to get a major break by signing with the indie powerhouse Metal Blade Records, home to Cannibal Corpse and As I Lay Dying, among many others, for the release of their 2009 disc, "The Harbinger."

But the band never got the support they expected from the label and eventually parted ways.

"There was no promotion, no tours, no endorsements," says singer Nick Arthur, a tall, rangy fella in a stocking cap. "They didn't do anything for us. Everybody was just really down because nothing was really happening."

And so Molotov asked to leave Metal Blade, eventually hooking up with the Blackheart Group, home to fellow Vegas metallers Destruction of a Rose, and others. With their new label behind them, the group is working to capitalize on the momentum they generated in the past year by touring with the likes of Abacab and scene heavy hitters Suicide Silence, in addition to their own headlining run.

The band has spent the past three months writing a new record, which they plan to begin recording in April at The Machine Shop in New Jersey.

"After touring quite a bit off 'The Harbinger,' I kind of had the feel of what I wanted to do live, what works and what doesn't in terms of writing a song," guitarist/founding member Robbie Pina says of Molotov's new material. "It's just more mature, more technical, more progressive and way more melodic."

The band (rounded out by bassist Shane Slade, drummer Jacob Durrett and guitarist Richie Gomez) plans on releasing the disc in September. Prior to that, they're embarking on a monthlong tour that kicks off this week, with a local show at Vamp'd at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

For a group that considered breaking up in the not-so distant past, they seem stoked to even be speaking of a future.

"There's tons of plans," Pina says. "The formula that's working right now, it's never worked this well."

"We're all really pushing," Slade adds, "together."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.