The sound is deafening, but the emotions more so; there is nothing else but the music, the movement, the glory.

Subside is a new student band composed of sophomore, guitarist and lead vocalist Andres “Andy” Magglio; senior and bassist Alejandro Conterno; sophomore and drummer Nikhil Richtemeyer and sophomore and guitarist Zachary “Zach” Buck. The band mostly plays indie rock covers of groups like Backseat Lovers, Oasis and Spacey Jane, but they have recently ventured into writing original pieces as well. Subside plays at various venues across the area and will be playing at this year’s Relay for Life.

“When I’m playing it’s kind of like I can take whatever I’m frustrated about, or any negative feeling at all I can take and channel that into a positive form of energy,” Conterno said. “It’s just like taking something negative and putting a positive spin on it, and then sending it out.”

The members began playing their respective instruments at different times. Richtemeyer began playing piano and drums when he was six, whereas Buck began playing guitar a little over a year ago. Conterno began experimenting with trombone, drums and guitar when he was in the sixth grade, and Magglio picked up the guitar a little under a decade ago.

“I started playing guitar nine years ago, and I started singing when we didn’t have a singer,” Magglio said. “It’s basically you just wait for someone to step up and sing.”

As for the band’s formation, the members went down many different routes before coming together. First, Conterno and Magglio were in a band called Overboard, but when Richtemeyer and Buck pulled Magglio into their separate band, it wasn’t long before Conterno followed.

“It was just kind of Zach and I for a little while, and we were just messing around,” Richtemeyer said. “But we were missing a bassist, so we asked Andy, and he said yes, and then Alejandro came into our band.”

The final piece was to come up with a name for their blended band-family. The winner was “Subside,” but each member has a different reason why that name came out on top. Buck said the name was random, but Magglio had a deeper connection to the word.

“So basically, there’s this one girl that sounds like if Rihanna and a British person had a baby, and she made this song called ‘Subside,’ and I covered it,” Magglio said. “Subside is just like, I guess in the song, it’s more of just subsiding with your heart, and it’s like this really sappy love song. But I think it’s just like subsiding with our music, giving into it almost.”

Regardless of the name’s meaning, Subside offers an emotional and creative outlet for each member. Richtemeyer, who is also on the VHS Drumline, said that his instrument offers a way to channel any bad emotions into something constructive.

“I feel it’s kind of like a getaway from life,” Richtemeyer said. “Whenever I’m playing, especially drums, I feel like it’s kind of like stress relief. So, if I get angry, I go play.”

Music itself offers an outlet as well, according to the members, whether it’s an escape from the everyday or a possible career path.

“Music means a lot to me because that’s my path and that’s what I’m trying to do,” Magglio said. “I love to write about anything I’m feeling; you can just blurt it out. And it just means a lot because it’s a career path.”

Conterno also feels like music is a way to express himself in a “unique” form. He said he views music as a communication tool for feelings that can’t be expressed through just words.

“I feel like playing music and listening to music, there are certain things that you can only convey through music, and not with words or in any other way,” Conterno said. “It’s like a specific medium, and it’s just really cool.”

As for the band’s career path, each member hopes to get into the downtown music scene. At the moment, Subside mostly plays at house parties or at the Food Trucks on 620. However, with Conterno going to college this fall, he said he hopes the band can release an EP and increase their Spotify listener count before he leaves.

“I personally want to play a real gig at a real place and get paid for it, like somewhere downtown,” Conterno said. “That would be sick. And I would also like, sometime this summer, to try and release an EP with the band; that would be kind of cool.”

The next big show for Subside will be at Relay For Life, an annual event held this year from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday, Apr. 8. But they’d like to stress that they’re available to play at numerous different types of events.

“[Our audience] should know how passionate we are about the thing we do,” Richtemeyer said.

“We do bar mitzvahs, we do Quinceaneras,” Magglio said. “We can do anniversaries and birthday parties too.”

As a senior, Conterno said he never would have hung out with sophomores Magglio, Richtemeyer or Buck if not for their bond through music. He said that the bond they have formed is “special,” and one he is grateful for.

“Being in a band means like–I don’t know–it’s a really unique relationship because it is so creative,” Conterno said. “It’s somewhere you can really open up and it’s a place where you laugh and have fun, but you also go to collaborate and make art in a really cool way. It is really special.”

Magglio’s SoundCloud Link