For such an uncompromisingly heavy band, Knocked Loose has become incredibly mainstream. And yet the limelight the group found at festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo hasn't corroded their metalcore fury one bit.
The band's long-awaited third album You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To is due out on Friday, May 10 via Pure Noise Records. It could be the most brutal Knocked Loose record to date.
Pre-orders for an exclusive vinyl version of the record have already sold out Target, where it will soon be displayed alongside releases from chart-toppers like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
"It's something you kind of hear about and don't realize how insane it is until you go into Target and see it there," guitarist Isaac Hale told Q.
The album is due out on Friday, May 10 via Pure Noise Records.
He said Knocked Loose felt "intimidated" when the band started writing their third full-length back in 2020. They see its performance as an important barometer for the band's long term success.
That sense of anxiety runs through the entire record. The title was gleaned from a conversation frontman Bryan Garris had with a fellow passenger while sitting on an airplane. She uttered the phrase after the vocalist mentioned his fear of flying.
You Won't Go is incredibly heavy, but not always in a way the band's longtime fans might expect.
"I do think that the record is a bit more scattered," Hale said. "It leans in different directions."
The death metal riffs that defined Knocked Loose's 2019 sophomore effort A Different Shade of Blue have been replaced by dread-inducing atmospheric samples.
The breakdowns are as punishing as ever, but in a crunchier and more industrial way that feeds the album's sense of impending doom.
Some of the most memorable tracks on the LP are already available to stream. Those include the religion-themed lead single "Blinding Faith" and "Suffocate" featuring the heavy pop icon Poppy.
Parts of the collaboration have a disco-influenced percussive groove that sets it apart from the rest of the tracklist.
"It's definitely the sassiest Knocked Loose song," Hale said.
Fans can still look forward to "Slaughterhouse 2" featuring Chris Motionless, which is the sequel to Garris' 2022 collaboration with Motionless in White.
They should also look out for "The Calm That Keeps You Awake" and "Sit & Mourn," which are prime examples of what the group's Grammy-nominated new producer Drew Fulk brought to the table.
Knocked Loose's first two albums were recorded with the legendary metal producer Will Putney, but they wanted to switch it up after recording their EP A Tear in the Fabric of Life with him in 2021.
Hale said the band was looking to create a "larger than life sound" and knew that Fulk could help them accomplish that. They first worked together on last year's two-track Upon Loss Singles release.
Most of the album was recorded at a handful of Los Angeles studios over the course of about a month. That's where Garris and his girlfriend have been living since 2020, so he was able to finalize the vocals in Fulk's home studio after the rest of the band returned home.
The band spent two full days recording the Sepultura-style auxiliary drums that pepper the album.
It was a throwback for Hale, who first met Knocked Loose's percussionist Kevin "Pacsun" Kaine while auditioning for the drumline at Oldham County High School in the band's native Kentucky. Hale, the youngest member of the original lineup, was still in eighth grade at the time.
"It was basically PacSun throwing me a bone," the guitarist said.
Many listeners assume that the Knocked Loose hails from the backwoods of Appalachia, but Oldham County is an exurban area west of Louisville. The wealthiest and most educated county in Kentucky is defined by its Walmarts, subdivisions and wide open fields.
"I would just describe it as Anywhere, USA," Hale said.
He added that coming up there had a big impact on Knocked Loose's mentality.
"It can be pretty isolating, especially when it comes to heavy music," he said. "You really feel the need to stick together and really care and nurture the scene. Otherwise it's not going to be able to survive."
'I do think that the record is a bit more scattered,' the guitarist said of the upcoming release. 'It leans in different directions.'
The punk world has a longstanding habit of eating its own, especially when bands start to find mainstream success. But Hale said the modern hardcore scene has taken a page out of Oldham County's book.
"I think that hardcore has never been more accepting of bands growing outside the genre," he said.
That's why the guitarist believes bands Knocked Loose, Turnstile and Militarie Gun have garnered broad critical acclaim without alienating their core fans. He said the newfound crossover between rap and heavy music has helped, as well.
"The only way that's going to work is if everyone lifts each other up," Hale said. "There can't just be one winner… It's kind of like a rising tide raises all ships situation."
Some members of Knocked Loose are still anxious about their future, but the band has arguably already made it – at least as much as a hardcore act can without drastically changing their sound.
Garris has even made enough to buy a home in Louisville. He's now splitting his time between there and Los Angeles.
"We've been very blessed," Hale said. "I haven't had to have a real job in quite a while."
Still, he said there's a lot of hard work that goes into running a successful band.
"It is super difficult sometimes," Hale said. "There is a lot of tough work and non-stop stress that goes into it."
Pre-orders for an exclusive vinyl version of the record have already sold out at Target.
Knocked Loose is currently on the road with Show Me The Body, Loathe and Speed. Check out a full list of the band's upcoming U.S. tour dates below:
May 06: Austin, TX - Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater
May 07: Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
May 10: Phoenix, AZ - The Marquee
May 11: Los Angeles, CA - The Shrine
May 12: San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
May 14: Seattle, WA - Showbox Sodo
May 15: Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
May 17: Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
May 18: Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
May 19: Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom
May 21: St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
May 22: Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore
May 23: Chicago, IL - Salt Shed
May 24: Newport, KY - Megacorp Pavilion
May 25: Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater
May 28: Pittsburgh, PA - Stage Age
May 29: Silver Spring, MD - The FIllmore
May 30: Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel
May 31: New York, NY - Terminal 5
Jun 01: Boston, MA - Roadrunner
Jun 03: Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall
Jun 04: Montreal, QC - Olympia
Jun 05: Toronto, ON - History
Jun 07: Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
Jun 08: Atlanta, GA - The Eastern
Jun 09: St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
And here's the tracklist for You Won't Go:
Thirst
Piece By Piece
Suffocate (ft. Poppy)
Don’t Reach For Me
Moss Covers All
Take Me Home
Slaughterhouse 2 (ft. Chris Motionless)
The Calm That Keeps You Awake
Blinding Faith
Sit & Mourn
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