Band: Age of Despair
From: London, Ontario
Their formatiom story:
(Predrag, guitar): "Age of Despair started the way many bands do, with just a couple of friends getting together to make music. We knew right from the get go what we wanted: heavy metallic hardcore with catchy riffs and lyrics that focus on the negative side of existence. It's not that we're all necessarily glass half-full people, it's just that writing about the ugliness and the negativity is a lot more fun. Or at least cathartic.
"We started practicing around Christmastime 2023 and then in June 2024 we recorded the Merciless World demo as a two piece. We didn't make any plans past the demo, but we thought it had turned out really good and it'd be cool to play the songs live.
"We found a drummer who brought a bassist friend of his on board and with that lineup we played our first shows. Since then we've found a permanent bassist. The lineup is Tim - voice, Jake - bass, Louie - drums, and myself on guitar."
Their sound in their own words:
"We definitely try to avoid sounding directly like other bands but similarities are unavoidable. Let's just say that if this were 1995 we'd feel right at home on Catalyst Records, Victory, Good Life Recordings, New Age Records, and Trustkill.
"We're always looking for the hook, for that riff that won't leave your head. I like to imagine watching us from the crowd and thinking 'what do I want to hear?,' 'how do we make this more effective?'
"In short, 'evilcore' meets the sensibilities/songcraft of the Black Album meets Ligotti and Orwell lyrically. Can't forget Hatebreed (Under the Knife era)."
Latest release info:
"We had recently finished writing the material for our first record and we decided to do a little pre-production on three songs. It's not a perfect performance, but the recording turned out really good and we thought we'd put it online. We called the session Beyond the Veil.”
Future plans:
"We're getting ready to play a few shows this Fall to test drive the new songs live. After that we're going to record for a 12" EP. It's going to be either 8 or 9 songs. We've talked about adding a second guitarist after we're done recording to fill out the sound."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Shout out to these fine London, ON bands: Mauling, Old Way, Losing Sight and of course to the Forest City Hardcore crew for all the hard work they put in. Thank you, Carlos, for the feature."
Age of Despair on social media: Instagram
Tagged: age of despair
