After dropping their debut LP, Death Is a Welcome Friend, last year, The Greying are back again with another demonstration of their heavy-handed and emotional brand of East Coast metalcore in the form of an EP entitled Misery.
But before we go there, let's talk about the hardcore side of the South Shore, Massachusetts' band's sound. Seeking influence from bands like Terror and The Greenery gave songs like “Cyanide” and “Thoughts In Reverse” off their album a manic energy that garnered them attention, mixing this with their Wolverine Blues-kissed guitars and vocalist Jordan Stevens' frantic screams made the release a standout amongst the scene.
The Greying have always added new elements into their sound, trying to emphasize the “core” part in the term metalcore for their releases. When talking about this component of their approach, bassist Derrick stated: “We’ve always championed both our hardcore and metal influences, we don’t care if you want to call us metal, metalcore, metallic hardcore, etc. We’ve always tried to be an amalgamation of everything we love about this kind of music."
Derrick and company have always gotten that across with each release since they truly solidified their sound on their 2020 EP, As Above. Even though it's been less than a year since Death Is a Welcome Friend came out, The Greying wanted to get their latest material out to listeners.
Released on July 11th, Jordan admits that the main inspiration behind the Misery EP came from personal loss. “Early in the writing process of this EP, I was mentally in a really dark place," the singer told me.
"I lost several friends and family members in a short amount of time which really exacerbated those emotions and dark thoughts. It made me really question a lot about myself and I think some of the songs, including the title track, really show the turmoil I was going through. Luckily, the guys in the band stood by me during all of that and we were able to emerge with this EP we are all really proud of.”
The Greying many changes in the last year and a half with vocalist Jordan moving out of state and guitarist Rob announcing his coming departure from the band with the birth of his firstborn. Though these seemed like small hiccups as the band soldiered on, continuing to play shows across the Northeast, though sometimes with guest vocalists. “I live in Nashville so it can be difficult for me to make it back to New England to play one-off shows," said Jordan. "Susie has stepped in for me in those circumstances."
The "Susie" Jordan refered to is Susie Donovan, a multi instrumentalist singer/songwriter who records under the name Entei. Susie also makes an appearance on the title track of the EP. “It felt like she deserved to be on the record in some capacity with how integral she has been to the band over the last year,” Jordan explained.
The Greying also received help from J. Costa of Rhode Island's own Thy Will Be Done who contributes his vocals on “Depths & Decay":
With Misery, The Greying is also beginning a new chapter as a band as founding member Rob will be stepping down from playing guitars later this year as he commits his time to his family.
On leaving the band, Rob admitted: “I’m happy to end on a high note, I recorded and mixed this EP myself, we’re extremely proud of it and I can’t think of a better way to end my time here. I’m excited to play these last few shows, we want to make them special.”
In spite of Rob’s departure The Greying will continue on as a four piece. “I’ll be moving from drums to guitar and our friend Jason Goodwin will be joining the band on drums. I wrote some of the guitar parts so I’m excited to get to play them live,” Noah explained. The Greying have a string of shows lined up in the New England area to close out the summer including an opening slot for local legends The Miles Between in August.
The Greying will also be hitting up Worcester, Manchester, and Providence with Long Island heavyweights Bore later this month. These will be some of Rob’s final shows with the band so they intend to make them some of the most memorable moments of their run together. Be sure to check up with The Greying on all their socials for any further updates.
The Greying would like to shout out: Edict, Shapethrower, Gumskab, Secret Work, Mourned, TAR, Bore, Jealous Mind, E, and The Blind.
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