Band: Guess What
From: Orlando, Florida
Their formation story:
(Blake, vocals): "Guess What started as an idea between Bryce and me. We recruited Alex, Malachi, and Gabe through playing in bands together and from friendships built in the local scene. We mainly started the band because the current Orlando scene didn’t really have many true “capital H” hardcore bands, and honestly, we feel like that’s the best and most fun form of hardcore.
"Orlando is mostly populated by screamo, deathcore, metalcore, and indie bands, so it’s a really diverse city musically. We formed in November and wrote 'Kick Rocks' during the first session we all got together. Malachi brought some riffs, and the rest of the band just bounced ideas off each other to make something we thought would rock.
"We wrote the demo in a week and recorded it ourselves in our practice space, which Bryce had put together. Then our friends in xDestroy Babylonx connected us with Nico in Italy, who mixed and mastered the demo at Shin Breaker Audio. Around the same time, our friend Guy wanted to start a label called High & Tight Records, so we decided to work with him and become one of the label's first bands.
"We put on for our scene—that’s what keeps a scene united. If you’re not supporting your scene or your locals, then you have nothing."
Their sound in their own words:
"Our influences come from bands we constantly listen to like Rival Mob, Losin’ It, Gorilla Biscuits, Violent Reaction, and a lot of early-2000s hardcore. We really love that era of hardcore. Besides the two younger members in the band, we all came up around that time, and we think it was one of the most fun eras the genre ever had."
Latest release info:
"We spent a few months writing the promo we released in April, around the same time as the Florida weekender we just played. Everything was done by us because we wanted to keep it as DIY as possible. Compared to the demo we wrote in a week last year, this release feels much closer to the sound we were aiming for—faster, groovier riffs, drum solos, and guitar solos.
"Lyrically, I wanted to talk some shit about people who are in hardcore for money and ego, and the people who cosplay hardcore because of current TikTok trends. Keep corporate suits out of hardcore, don’t talk to the police, and keep hardcore underground—that’s the only way it’s supposed to be."
Future plans:
"We’ve got a bunch of shows lined up for the summer and hopefully throughout the rest of the year. Florida has so many good tours and shows happening right now, which is awesome to see.
"We’re also putting the promo onto streaming services in June. Originally, it was only on Bandcamp, YouTube, and physical formats, but people kept asking for streaming, so we’re making it happen. Outside of that, we’re continuing to write new material.
"Next year, we’re hoping to do a longer East Coast run. We got a small taste of touring during a recent Florida weekender with Zero Chill and False Alarm, and now we want to do more. I’d especially love to visit Washington, D.C., so many legendary hardcore bands came out of there that it would honestly be a bucket-list experience for us to play there."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Shout out to our homies: High & Tight Records, Zero Chill, Barricade, Nervous Breakdown, Afterthought, Remote Control, Retina, Contention, Domain, Step 2 This, No Truth, Exit Life, xDestroy Babylonx, Covenant, Iron Clad, False Alarm, Armageddon Records, Hard Love, and Equinox Booking.
Honestly, there are too many to name. Just all of Florida. One love."
The 2025 Guess What demo is available on cassette via High & Tight Records.
Guess What on social media: Instagram
Tagged: guess what
