Band: Vicegrip
From: Boston, Massachusetts
Their formation story:
(Brendan Atty, vocals): "So, our guitarist Mikey and I met back in Fall of ‘24 when our bands (Eyes Pressed In and Neighborhood Shit, respectively) played together at a warehouse practice space in Lynn (shout out Cannabis Crypt). Gumskab, and Secret Work from Maine (RIP!), and these younger rippers, Silent Spring, also played.
"Mikey and I got to talking, and learned we were actually neighbors. See, in a city of transplants like Boston, you get pretty stoked when you somehow meet someone new from the city proper (I grew up in Southie, he in Roslindale) so already that circle is pretty small—add in that you both like hardcore? You’re immediate family.
"We both wanted to start something fresh, and did something unheard of in today’s world—we made a plan to jam… and actually stuck with it! We got together the next weekend and this whole thing got set in motion. I was initially going to play drums to get us started, but I’m so grateful that one of my life long pals from the neighborhood Sean picked up the phone and came through last minute to play.
"Enter our bassist Max—another almost 20+ year friendship of mine. We met as teenage punk rock street kids in Copley Square (shout out Original Local Collective!). Somehow in that span of time, this is the first band we’ve had together. We had neighboring practice spaces, he heard us playing and asked if he could try out. There was no audition, he slid right in and the band was formed.
"So our current lineup is myself vocals, Mikey on guitar, Seany on drums, and Max on bass. I’ve always done vocals with an instrument, so it’s been cool figuring out what to do with my newly freed hands! There’s a little more lore to the formation story, but not enough space (Shout out Tedesco!)"
Their sound in their own words:
"Our buddy Adam who recorded our 'homie' demo described us as 'The Bermuda triangle of heavy.' Mikey and Sean had more of a metal gateway into hardcore, and Max and I punk. I think our songs are different enough without compromising the 'core.' Mikey and I have this cool riff writing dynamic where he is a little more technical coming from a metal background, and I balance that out with some slop coming from more crust and power violence.
"Direct influences are tough to list- Vicegrip is a culmination of 20+ years of love for heavy music and coming up in the Boston hardcore punk scene. It has taken on a sound of its own—but objectively I’d say it’s a healthy blend of old school and new school hardcore. Listening to the finished product, I was surprised to notice some heavy similarities to Integrity!
"There are too many to list, but we might hang out to dry on a clothesline that connects Tragedy/His Hero is Gone, Rival Mob, and Weekend Nachos. Of course, there are the Boston staples spanning decades: Jerry’s Kids, Blood for Blood, Mental, COA, etc. A dear old head friend recently said our sound is spiritually connected to the earlier sounds of Boston hardcore band Diecast, which was a cool compliment.
"The 5 songs on our EP cover a cool range, without losing itself if that makes sense. It’s heavy, it’s dark, it’s a lot of fun, it’s born and raised in Boston."
Latest release info:
"Our bassist Max came up with the name of our EP, Drawn & Quartered. Crucial shout out to Alex Garcia-Rivera (drummer extraordinaire of American Nightmare) at Mystic Valley Studio in Medford, Mass. His beautiful home studio is completely analog, and he is as cool as they come. While this EP literally wouldn’t exist without him, sonically we owe him a huge debt of gratitude. He pushed us in all the right ways, and was brutally honest. Go record hardcore to tape. It rules.
"Lyrically, the songs deal with tension between opposing forces. I’ve enjoyed writing about stuff that is open for interpretation, free of goals or objectives. Some personal inspiration for me on this EP has been Catholic guilt, anti-colonialism, and the price of bettering yourself/upward mobility. We’re all really proud of this EP."
Future plans:
"Play out a bunch and continue writing. We have the Vinyl masters ready to go (hit us up if you can help!) which will be a first for me."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"New England is killing it right now, lots of bands that don’t need my little shout out here because you probably know them.. but definitely check out Latch who just dropped their Shock and Awe EP and will be playing it at our first show; No Chain; Low Tide; Max’s other (non-hardcore) project Blame it on Whitman and Care For; my brothers in my other band Neighborhood Shit; I’m personally pretty stoked to see Product of Waste (RI) playing out again. Boston’s a small city, you can f around and find out pretty quickly."
Vicegrip on social media: Instagram
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