Nicole Brice
Jan 30, 2026
Shape Shifting combines the power of thrash metal with the intensity of punk rock.
Music, at its core, is meant to inspire and motivate us as humans. The frequencies in music can uplift us in the darkest of times, to the point where we can forget about everyday life and become engrossed in the soothing sounds. Finding new music from a band that truly clicks can be tough in today’s crowded music scene, but when those rare gems appear, they’re worth celebrating and sharing with the world.
Owls & Aliens is a band from Klamath Falls, Oregon, that got its start in late 2018 and released its self-titled debut album in 2022. The first album blends classic rock, heavy metal, punk rock, alternative, and post-hardcore. With so many layers to their music, Owls & Aliens falls under the category of really good hard rock – amazing solos that melt your face off with heavy breakdowns. Releasing their new song, ‘Shape Shifting', today, January 30, 2026, Owls & Aliens is comprised of Dustin Carter (clean/unclean vocals), Travis Siebecke (rhythm guitar / clean vocals), Jeffry Maryinez (lead guitar, backup vocals), Nicholi Ohbronovich (bass, unclean vocals), and Dakotah Webb (drums, backup vocals).
A brotherhood with a well-rounded group of musicians, each member of Owls & Aliens shares vocal duties on their songs, with no song sounding the same. This band has mastered a formula that delivers a different listening experience through a cornucopia of sounds, textures, melodies, and riffs. It’s all organic, and it just works.
Previous releases include ‘Mercy’ in 2020. This song starts with heavy guitar, fuzz, and distortion, then takes on a melodic tone – a strong track with an amazing guitar solo at the end. ‘You Can’t Save Everyone’ came out in 2021, and I freaking LOVE THIS SONG! I guarantee that if you haven't heard this song, you will love it once you give it a spin. Other notable releases include ‘Tsunami’, ‘Temperature Shift’, and ‘Romanticize the Sorrow’ – all off the band’s debut album. Take it from me, though, the entire debut release is killer. There is not a single track that lacks. Â
Let’s talk about this new song, shall we? ‘Shape Shifting’ is powerful and begins with a classic thrash-metal sound mixed with a little Judas Priest and the intensity of punk rock. What makes a great rock song, you think? For me, it has to be intense, loud, melodic, and just full of energy. ‘Shape Shifting’ is exactly that. It is loud, fun, and just plain enjoyable. Owls & Aliens is a band on a mission, and we were able to catch up with the band’s drummer, Dakotah, recently to learn more about what this band is about, so dive in.
MaM: Shape Shifting – let’s get into this track. Wow. What a strong song. What inspired this song, and what is the main message you’d like to convey with this track?
Dakotah: We were going for something really powerful that brought the energy. I think it originally started off with a guitar riff from Jeff; he brought that. I remember him bringing that to the table. As far as the rest of the music, it just kind of molded around that riff. Dustin, I’m not sure whether he had the vocals prewritten or wrote them on the spot. He is constantly writing, so he always has lyrics. In fact, he has this journal, so I’m not sure how those came about. When I first heard it, it gave me those classic Judas Priest vibes, and I knew that there would be a big modern element with Dustin’s vocals.
MaM: He has such range!
Dakotah: I also remember when I was doing the drumbeat, I wanted some double kick in there, so you could feel the power of there being a double kick in there. I don’t use it on every song, but I felt it was necessary. I have a lot of influence from Pantera, Slipknot, and Slayer, so I’m trying to get some of that, but combine the classic heavy sound with some of the more modern drumming, even more modern than some of the things I’ve mentioned. The message is more of a new-age experience of the end of an era and the beginning of the next. We had written our first album and had a whole big experience with going to Texas to record, traveling together, and then touring across the country with Raven Black. During that time, ‘Shape Shifting’ was one of the first songs we wrote, and so it just felt like it was the point from which we were shifting. All these things that we have done, what is this going to be in this new era, not just personally, but musically, too. It's been two years since we got back from tour, and we haven’t released new music. We wrote that so long ago, but it feels like the perfect song to release as we enter this new era for the band.
MaM: It’s such a strong song right out the gate. I didn’t know what to expect when I pressed play, but truth be told, every song of yours is so different. You can hear that cornucopia of vast influences with every song. You’ve got this amazing catalog of music so far. What is the band's vision for 2026 and beyond?
Dakotah: With the first record, we were trying to showcase all of our influences since we all are influenced by different artists, but there is this common core you can hear, and with that, we were trying to show people what we were capable of. Now, as we come into this new era, I think we’re going to be a little more decisive on creating a more cohesive sound and album. I know this new song comes out really hard and heavy, but we’re shooting for more melodic stuff, but you never want to force anything. Just let things go how they’re gonna go, and find a way to make all of our unique styles exist and work together.Â
MaM: … and they do!
Dakotah: We have so many pieces of new songs and riffs that we’ll have to be selective to put them into what we want for this next album.Â
MaM: If you had to describe your music to someone not familiar, how would you describe it? For me, it’s just good, solid, heavy rock.Â
Dakotah: It’s so hard, and we really don’t know. We just say hard rock because it keeps things as broad as possible, but at the same time, when you say hard rock, people may think that it’s basic, but it’s anything but that.Â
MaM: It is definitely not basic.
Dakotah: You really just gotta listen.Â
MaM: I can agree with that. So, where did the band's name come from? To me, there are spiritual undertones, but I could be reading more into it. Give us a little more info on the name.
Dakotah: When we were looking for a name, we wanted a good graphic to go with it as well. Our community features many owl-themed elements, and the school I attended has owls as its mascot. There is also a bird festival up here every year. Our frontman, Dustin, and his sister were helping us design all the graphics. She’s a tattoo artist and does really cool work. She had drawn up this really cool owl design that had three eyes, and we had tossed up an owl-themed name before, and that’s kind of where she got the idea for the sketch. We actually ended up calling ourselves Night Owl to start off. Then we played a show under that name and we even did a few demo recordings, and when we put those out, we tried to release it under the name Night Owl, but then we found out there is another artist – a Chicano rapper that has been going by that name since the 90s, and even though it’s more underground, he is relatively known in that scene of music, so our music actually got released under his name.
MaM: That’s awesome.
Dakotah: I had to go in and pull it off immediately. We then had to come up with a new name, but we really wanted to stick with the owl theme, because we’ve all been part of the music community in Klamath Falls, and it was through that community that we met each other. The owl is a central theme of our work. Eventually, someone came up with the idea of Owls & Aliens, and it stuck really well. From then on, that was who we were.Â
MaM: With you being the drummer, what made you choose to play that particular instrument, or better yet, when was it that you decided you wanted to beat on crap?
(laughter)
Dakotah: I think I was born to be a drummer but didn’t realize it for a while. I actually started playing guitar. My dad played guitar, and I still play and love it to this day. Fun fact: Every person in our band plays guitar.
MaM: I saw that you all share vocal duties, but that’s incredible. I didn’t know that.
Dakotah: I just love music. I can’t remember a time when I didn't love music or want to play it. At the same time, when I wanted to learn guitar, my grandma was showing me things on the piano, and so I’ve been self-taught my entire life, and this is kind of funny, but I also had some friends and some neighbors who loved to play the game Rock Band, and so I would go to my friend’s house to play Rock Band, and he had the drum kit. I had always liked tapping, and one of the reasons I think I loved Guitar Hero so much was that you’re matching patterns and rhythms like drums; that’s probably why I was so good at the guitar part, too. He let me try out drums, and I was naturally good at it. The drums in Rock Band correlates most realistically, but not more than like vocals, but it really is real drum patterns that you’re learning. It’s just on pads instead of a drum kit, so I got obsessed with it and made my mom buy me the game. That’s how I started learning to play beats. I remember telling my mom I wanted a real drum set. I had some buddies in middle school who wanted to start a band, and I wanted to be the drummer, so I had to get a drum set. The first drum kit she ever got me was used from a friend or something, but it had no cymbals.Â
MaM: Oh wow!
(laughter)
Dakotah: I was just doing this ‘George of the Jungle’ vibe for the first few weeks.
(laughter)
MaM: I bet you were probably annoying your mom with it, too.
(laughter)
Dakotah: Absolutely, and I was trying to explain to her that I didn’t have all the pieces, but then because I was expressing so much interest in drums and music and wanting to play, my dad’s friends all thought that was super cool because growing up my dad loved music. He wasn’t in a band or anything, but that was just a big part of his life. My dad’s friends were kind of like my uncles to me growing up. One of the guys was like, I have this miniature drum kit for you, and it was undersized for me, but it came with regular sized cymbals, so I took the cymbals from that, and brought them over to my mom’s, and then bam! I had a full drum kit.Â
MaM: That’s some ingenuity right there.
Dakotah: I just fell in love with it. From the first time I ever played Rock Band, I just knew this was it. I also remember the first time I played a real drum kit, I was confused because on Rock Band, the yellow hi-hat is on the right, and with a traditional kit, it’s on the left, and then you cross your arms, so the first time I sat down, I was confused, and went, ‘How do I hit the hi-hat?’
(laughter)
MaM: Yeah, something feels off.
Dakotah:Â Then, someone was like cross your arms.
(laughter)
Dakotah: I was all self-taught, though. Even to this day, not a single lesson. I would love to get formal training from someone who is truly a master of the craft. It’s kind of backwards, I didn’t approach it from a music theory approach or anything, and now that I’m older, I’m trying to learn all the music theory and bring it all in. I feel like I found myself when I found drums.
MaM: So, new song and what else this year? What’s the game plan for the rest of 2026?
Dakotah: We have two singles in the works that we want to release for sure this year, and then the primary goal is just to get a second album recorded. We have a lot of new material that is not finalized and put together, so it’s just making steps to find studio time, and finish those songs. We’ll still play some regional shows this year, but while I’m in graduate school, it’s definitely hard to tour. I should be finishing my master’s in June of this year, so we’ll probably start looking at planning some tour dates after that.Â
With so much on the horizon for Owls & Aliens, 2026 is shaping up to be a busy year. Stream their new single, ‘Shape Shifting,’ on your favorite platform, then engross yourself in the rest of their discography. It’s a journey through an abyss of sounds, textures, and styles that will leave you absolutely speechless.
Â
*cover photo by Anonda Rae
To learn more about Owls & Aliens:
Website:
Spotify:
Apple Music:
‎Owls & Aliens - Apple Music
YouTube:
Questions or comments? Reach out to mixedalternativemag@gmail.com.
Â