When one thinks of flawed, they probably conjure images and sounds of careless, haphazard musicians composing sloppy, uninspired music. They almost certainly don’t think of colorful, crushing percussion supported by stellar, razor-sharp riffs and epic, engaging song-structure—until they hear Flawed By Design, North Carolina’s latest, most furious and faith-filled metal act. Attacking the listener with a one-two punch of relentless, abrasive instrumentation and lyrical tales of salvation and Spirit, these Carolinian Crushers are anything but the dictionary’s definition of flawed.

Formed in 2012 by the musical and philosophical musings of guitarist Tony Greer and percussionist Shane Atkinson, Flawed By Design was finalized by the addition of bassist Davie Huffman. Even after Huffman’s entrance to the group and the subsequent release of a four track EP, Flawed By Design struggled incessantly to find a frontman who truly fit the band—that is, until the band was united with vocalist Dillon Reynolds in early 2013. Together with Greer’s gruesome, gritty fretwork, Atkinson’s furious, yet ambient and track-defining drumming and Huffman’s deep, rollicking and roaring bass guitar, Reynolds’ vocals filled out the band’s roster with gruff shouts and crooning clean vocals. While the band’s thrash-and-death metal influences might evoke images of anger, hatred and malice, Flawed By Design’s message is anything but. Telling tales of redemption, religious salvation and compassion, the quartet are a unique band who use their penchant for punishing riffs and punchy percussion to reach out to fans of heavy music in order to spread their love for Christ. What’s more with their addition to Rottweiler Records in early August of 2014 and their debut album produced under the expertise of Jamie King (For Today, Between the Buried and Me, MyChildren MyBride, Onward to Olympus), Flawed By Design’s message will have no trouble at all in reaching the masses.