Craig Simas

Craig Simas is a New Hampshire-based guitarist, songwriter, and longtime contributor
to the New England metal scene. With more than four decades of playing and writing
behind him, he has built a style rooted in technical precision, melodic guitar harmony,
and heavy, expressive riff writing.

His musical history dates back to 1989 with the thrash band Mortuary, whose sound
blended technical guitar work, harmonized leads, and aggressive soloing. That early era
helped shape the player he would become, one equally drawn to sharp rhythmic attack
and memorable melodic movement.

During the years he stepped away from active bands to raise a family, Craig never
stopped playing or writing. He continued building songs in his home studio, refining his
voice as a guitarist and pushing his ideas into darker, heavier, and more expansive
territory. What may have looked like time away from the scene was really a period of
deep creative growth, strengthening his connection not only to music, but to himself.

One of those projects, Onera, explored progressive doom through long-form songwriting
and complex arrangements. In 2020, one of Onera’s songs was chosen by Anneke van
Giersbergen for a vocal collaboration, adding a notable milestone to his catalog.

Craig is currently active in two bands that further define his voice in the New England
metal scene. Vigil is a melodic death/doom band built on low-tuned heaviness, dark
atmosphere, and soaring twin-guitar harmony. A World Worth Burning is an instrumental
post-metal band that blends complex structures, thrash-based groove, orchestration,
synth textures, and cinematic scope into something both crushing and emotionally
charged. Its sound has been described as atmospheric, emotional, and cinematic, but
underneath it all is a foundation of riffs, dynamics, and guitar-driven storytelling.

Vigil released its album through Italy’s Argonauta Records, with new material currently
in development. A World Worth Burning is preparing to release its debut full-length, a
double LP also through Argonauta Records, with its first two singles already available
on major streaming platforms. Across all of his work, Craig Simas brings a distinctive
blend of aggression, melody, arrangement depth, and veteran musicianship that
continues to shape his voice in modern metal.