With so much MAGA-fueled turmoil littering my news feed daily, I find myself gravitating towards hardcore records with energizing and emboldening lyrics as of late. Fitting that criteria magnificently is Stand Tall, a young band that released an impressive demo called Running In Place last year. They're based out of the Bay Area of California, a region that has produced countless hardcore and metal artists that have helped inform my listening habits going back to the late '80s.
"The Bay has kinda shaped who we are because of all the awesome shows we play there," Stand Tall vocalist Justin Vela told me over email yesterday. He typed away from their van as Stand Tall is currently out on tour with Start Today, another newer hardcore band I recently profiled on No Echo.
"People always go off for us and it really doesn’t surprise me. R’N’RG Presents is the best when it comes to booking shows and a lot of the people involved in the scene have helped me see that supporting your local scene is very important, so I will rep that forever. And straight edge, I think, is just the foundation of this band. We take influence from a lot of straight edge bands."
In terms of style direction, Justin layed out some of the foundational groups that set Stand Tall on its course. "I feel like with the demo we were taking a bit of influence from Turning Point, which is my personal favorite hardcore band," the singer wrote me.
"With the new stuff, it’s a lot more of the New Age Records-type bands that inspired it. Bands like Outspoken, Strain, Strife, and even some Iron Maiden parts as well."
READ MORE: New Age Records: Everything You’ve Wanted to Know About the Seminal Hardcore Label
Stand Tall recently released their debut EP, A Promise Unfulfilled..., and the band has been out supporting it on the aforementioned US trek with Start Today. "The tour has been really awesome so far. Honestly, all the cities have been great but Boston, New York, and Philly have been my favorites so far. It was kinda expected but it exceeded expectations for me personally especially seeing some really important people in the hardcore scene at these shows.
"I think that the final track 'In This Fight Together,' has definitely received the best energy. People know the lyrics, people mosh hard, and overall it’s just my favorite song off the record to play."
A Promise Unfulfilled... was released by From Within Records, a label out of Florida that has also issued titles by Lead Spirit, Imprizon, and Down to the Wire this year. "We’ve all been listening to the From Within bands for a while now, Envision being one of our favorites. We always wanted to try to be on that label.
"At first, I sent the EP to Bob Wilson from Rebirth Records and he liked it but said it seems much more like a From Within release and after that he got me in touch with Carter who runs the label and he was down to put it out."
Hardcore has always been a part of Justin's life. Back in 2017, I interviewed his father, Joey Vela, who sang for Breakaway and Second Coming, two bands from the Bay Area scene in the '90s.
"My dad is 100% responsible for getting me into hardcore," Justin wrote me. "He started taking me to shows when I was 9 and from there on out he showed me a lot of bands I like. I definitely branched out and found my personal favorite style of hardcore on my own though. But he is definitely who got me into hardcore."
Things are just starting to cook for Stand Tall, and Justin's excitement for hardcore is infectious. "We have a lot of shows coming up after tour with bands like Shelter, Judge, Integrity, Earth Crisis, and many more which I am very stoked on. And I believe we will be writing some more songs when we get back as well!"
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A Promise Unfulfilled... is out now via From Within Records.
Stand Tall on social media: Instagram
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