Something Has Come A Knocking

Why Knocked Loose will be the band that will grow to fill the boots of the giants that came before them.

My commute from the front of my garden to the entrance of my work is 45 minute’s drive in total. Everyday I drive to and from work and I choose to listen to what I want because I am the sole occupant of the car. It is my time, my own space and a place were I can listen to what I want, as loud as I want and no one can turn if off or down. It was on an evening drive home, that I choose to pick an album by a band that I have heard of recently,only in the last few months. It was my time to listen to this band and allow me to really absorb them and get to know what they sound like. So I choose the album ‘You Won’t Go Before Your Suppose To’ by the American Hardcore band Knocked Loose.

I was geared up my entire journey. I got into my car, set up the album to play, turned on the engine and started to drive away from my job and on the road home. Within a few songs of the album I was already saying to myself “Holy shit! What have I gotten myself into?” Also, by track three I was already booting on the M3 (our motorway) at 120mph listening to the ‘Suffocate’ featuring Poppy, (which I am still unsure of if I like her yet, time will tell.) While driving and listening to this album with it’s aggressive sound, it raw vocals and just unbelievable production from this album, I had an epiphany moment:

This is a generational album, it has captured the sound of an entire group of people, its feelings, it’s anxiety and how it views the world and has put it all in an album that totals 27 minutes and 28 seconds long. I found myself being transported while listening to it’s entirety and I have come up with a very solid conclusion. I hope people will one day read my words an that they come true or at least predict something right. here it is:

Knocked Loose are this generation’s Metallica, (as in popularity, not style of music) I kid you not! we are witnessing a band that will grow to fill the boots of the giants that came before them. I have been waiting to see what band will be worthy of such a title, and I have finally found them.

American Outfit Knocked Loose burst onto the scene in early 2013 and came packing a punch and a sound that will define a whole new generation of metal heads/hardcore kids. Seen as a hardcore band, first of all, the band has roots in the scene and played shows in and around their hometown of Olham County, Kentucky, USA. Signed to Pure Noise Records after their debut Ep ‘Pop Culture’, (solid btw) Knocked Loose hit the studio and were finally ready to show the world their debut album ‘Laugh Tracks’ were they debuted their raw underground hardcore/metal-core sound to the world. They made a dual song video of ‘Billy No Mates’ and their most viral song to date ‘Counting Worms’, which itself alone is an iconic song in the wider metal community with lead singer Bryan Garris’s signature vocal growl: “Arf! Arf!” The video was released on May 31st 2017 and it was the perfect combination that showed that the band were not a your typical metal band. They had their own sound, their own image and were not afraid of being themselves.

Please check out the entire video below:

The band only saw their influence grow and their name start to be mentioned in with some of the big bands that they toured with like of Parkway Drive, Eighteen Visions, Beartooth and Thy Art Is Murder. They also played Festivals like Warped Tour and extensive tours around the US and Europe. With the momentum from their successful and nearly sold out tour, the band hit the studio for their follow up record ‘A Different Shade Of Blue’ which was released in 2019 to critical acclaim. After the release the band embarked on their first headline tour and they hit the road hard to promote the second album along with legendary bands like: Stick To Your Guns, Rotting out and SeeYouSpaceCowboy.

Knocked Loose were seeing their fan base grow and their unique and often times aggressive songs, with themes along the lines of suicide, depression, resilience, hypocrisy of Religion and those in power being sung back to them and gaining attention. These are not just theme’s that they sing about or just write filler songs with. The lyric’s are from real life situations and each song is personal to the band themselves. They are not just recording songs because they sound cool or awesome. It is their only way to release all this built up emotion and it comes across a legitimate in every song. You can fake songs with auto-tune, you can sing a good song and perform a instrument flawlessly, but you can’t fake realness and raw emotions, which the band had in droves.

When Knocked Loose play a song, they aren’t just playing, they are reliving each word, riff and moment and show every emotion that comes with it. That is why I think they resonate so much with the new generation and even some of the old head’s because all their lyric’s are relatable, real, raw and true. They have captured the attention of all that come to listen to them and have that aura about them that gives you that feeling that these lads are the real fucking deal. They are a legit powerhouse of a band.

Their third album and current release ( of this post) is the album that I mentioned above in the opening paragraph. This is the album that broke down the barriers from them just being a new and up coming metal band to mainstream artist’s. Knocked Loose are one of the very very few bands that have roots in the hardcore scene and crossed over into the mainstream music, a rare feat for any band to do so. They never looked back on where they came from and never changed either, but can see where they are going and it is looking bright.

They reached new heights in their career when they appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in November 2024 and performed their song ‘Suffocate’ with Poppy ( hey, she’s back) to an audience before that they never even thought of playing in front of :The American public. That performance alone on that major TV channel has grossed nearly 3M views on Youtube and was considered one of the most important moments in hardcore/metal-core history as the genre was finally platformed to millions around the states and the wider world. Bryan doing a pig squeal on live TV was everything to not only fans of the band but another iconic moment for the scene. They made it. Here is their performance on the Jimmy Kimmel show:

Knocked Loose was introduced to a new audience and they shown that they were more then capable of showing up and putting on a performance. This band has not only elevated to a certain section in today’s music scene, they are the ones’ that will be carrying the flag for years to come. Metal has their new kings and their kingdom is only going to expand the further they go and the more albums that they make with the breakdowns that follow.

I will make my statement again as I close of this article that I have enjoyed writing. Knocked Loose have been a band that I have been listening to for quite awhile now, (months at this stage) I have listened to all their backlog, I have looked at their live performance’s and I even have a ticket to see them play the Aviva Stadium in Ireland next year when they open up for Metallica, they very band I mentioned at the start of this article. So let me wrap up and say that next year when I am looking at two bands with my own eyes play live in front of me, I will be looking at the giants that are Metallica; that have given so much to this scene, so many timeless songs, created a thousands bands and have cemented themselves as the greatest band of all time. On the same night, I will be looking at the band that I truly think will take up the mantle were Metallica will leave off. It might not be the same music, or the same sound, but it is the same energy that has brought the metal scene to where it was and where it is now.

Next year, even if it is just me, I will be witnessing a passing of the torch moment. And I truly can not wait to see where the band goes next.

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Slán Go Fóill

-Marc Sean

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