Band: Pluto's Kiss
From: Toronto, Ontario
Their formation story:
(Harold, drums): "Pluto's Kiss formed in the summer of 2024 when Norman (vocals) asked me if I wanted to jam with Michelle (guitar), who I had yet to meet. Norm knew we had similar tastes and that we both wanted to start a new band, so it was a no-brainer. The three of us got together on a Saturday and started working on what would become the 5 Songs demo tape.
"Michelle came in with some riffs and song ideas and we spent a few hours working them out. I believe we came out of that jam with 'Blank Stares' and 'Watch You Fold,' maybe one more. We did the same thing again a few weeks later and after that had the demo ready to go. We asked our friend Matt if he'd play guitar and he was an immediate yes (thank god).
"Our first bass player, Tom, was a friend of Norm's and he joined before our first show and played with us for the first six months or so. Tom left the band (on great terms) and we needed to find someone to tag in on bass, so we asked our friend Micah who recorded and mixed the 5 More Songs 7" for us. He was down to join and we've been rocking with this lineup ever since."
Their sound in their own words:
"When the idea for the band was pitched to me, the inspiration was mostly '00s Boston hardcore like Step Forward, Stop and Think, Mental, and so on. This is obviously still in the DNA of the band, but I like to think there's a little bit more on the LP in terms of influence. I know I was listening to Floorpunch a lot when we were writing these new songs because I had just gotten the Shining Life Floorpunch book.
"There was definitely a lot of 'democore' golden era stuff being listened to as well, Stick Together and Discrepancy were specifically noted when we were writing. I was also on a big CIV kick, which maybe doesn't show in our sound, but definitely influences my drumming."
Latest release info:
"Our self-titled LP is 10 songs and clocks in just shy of thirteen minutes. We released this through Total Supply, which is the label I run with Norm and our friend Ben. Writing this record started at the beginning of 2025 when I sent a couple of demos to the band that I had worked on at home. In the spring, Michelle and Matt came to my place in Detroit for a weekend of writing. Joined by our beloved sixth man, Richie (King's Command), we locked in and wrote probably four new songs that weekend.
"A couple weeks later, we were joined by Richie again in Toronto at our practice space where we wrote a few more. I did another couple demos at home and we had enough songs for a record, so it was time to hit the studio. We tracked all the instruments with Micah, our bass player, in a span of two days. We worked until probably 5am the second day to get everything done. Birds were chirping when we walked out of there.
"Norm did all the vocals at Micah's house and then our friend Matt Tomasi tagged in to master it. I think this record sounds like us and takes from all of the influences I mentioned above, but in our own style. If you've liked anything we've done prior to this, I have a good feeling you'll be into the LP as well. It's fast hardcore you can sing along and mosh to, simply put."
Future plans:
"As of right now, we only have a couple of gigs on the books. The first of those is Town of Hardcore in Toronto and we're playing the second day of the fest. Not only can you come see us, but you can also see Cold World, Terror, and many other great bands. After that, we've got our record release show on November 29th in Toronto. This is a joint record release show with 9Million (you owe it to yourself to listen to their new record) and a bunch of other friends yet to be announced.
"There's some movement on a Detroit edition of a record release and that will probably happen in January. Michelle is moving to Montreal this fall, so the band will be a little more scattered, but we'll still make things happen. We'll probably hit the road for a couple of long weekends next year, so keep your ear to the ground."
What other bands from your region should we check out?
"There are so many to name, but I'll shout out some of our closest friends: 9Million, So Perfect, Eskrima, Mil-Spec, BFD, Sold Short, One Track Mind, King's Command, The Sissy Boys, Bad Beat, WMD, and every band in the Total Supply family."
The vinyl version of the Pluto's Kiss album is available for pre-order via Total Supply.
Pluto's Kiss on social media: Instagram
Tagged: plutos kiss
