By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- A Massena-based metalcore band is getting ready to tour the Northeast and plans on releasing a new LP in the fall.

Chasing Sokaris includes Allen LaClair of Massena on scream vocals, Dan Mariano of Massena on bass, Christopher Welch of Chateaugay on guitar and clean vocals, Ray Stevens on Gouverneur on drums and Dustin Wright of Pyrites on guitar.

“We’re really heavy, like we have a lot of breakdowns and we also incorporate melodic choruses and singing. A lot of people say we remind them of bands like Chelsea Grin, Attila … even Alice in Chains,” LaClair said. “We’re excited about the album release. Hopefully this winter we can head down south and tour the southern U.S.”

He says the tour will go from July 21 to 31.

“We’re kicking it off in Watertown at the Flashback Lounge. Pretty much covering the whole Northeast,” he said, adding that they will go as far south as Virginia, plus hit New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Ohio.

He said they are no strangers to the stage, having opened for some more well-known acts such as Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Paramedic, Nonpoint, Rings Of Saturn, Silverstein, Miss May I and I Set My friend On Fire.

They recently released their debut EP, “Branches,” through Fifth Dimension Records in Watertown. The upcoming full-length album will be self-released.

“Our main goal is to push the boundaries from Branches. We want to get a lot heavier and at the same time a lot prettier. There’s going to be a lot more technicality in the music. It’s a big challenge to write and learn,” he said. “Lyrically we’re hitting a lot of controversial topics … one of our songs is written about an African warlord who funded the Rwandan genocide. It’s something this man has gotten away with. He’s off somewhere, no one knows where he is. We’re bringing light to stuff like that.”

The band’s website is http://www.chasingsokaris.com. They are also on Facebook.