Despite often being overlooked by neighboring New England states Rhode Island has always maintained an interesting and diverse hardcore/metal scene with bands typically drawing influence from the darker corners of extreme music. As shows seem to be forced further away from Boston, America's Renaissance City has been picking up the slack lately and with that more and more Rhode Island bands have formed.
This small yet fascinating corner of New England has been home to some of the greatest bands in the hardcore persuasion including Dropdead, Product of Waste, As the Sun Sets, and more recently bands like Peace Test, New Hell, and Edict.
Along with these bands comes Glorious Wounds who bring that same darkness but also find ways of injecting melody into their take on the hardcore landscape. The group features former members of Edict, Ruin It, and Third Death
Though the band started in different incarnations all the way back in 2017, the current members finally settled with the name Glorious Wounds which drummer Dan stated was taken from a quote in the bible.
The band played a handful of shows this year before releasing their debut single, “A Headstone With Your Name,” a reflective yet dark take on the melodic hardcore sound. It calls back to bands like The Carrier, mostly in Jill’s extensive lyricism and delivery but the song calls back to Providence’s crustier/power violence influenced scene.
“We basically wanted to sound like happier Cursed,” jokes Dan when asked about Glorious Wounds’ sound. He continues saying “We were really listening to a lot of Shark Attack when we first started and just early 2000s stuff but then we wanted to make it a bit darker and not so straightforward.”
Dropping their debut track in October, Glorious Wounds announced their arrival with an emotional and building sound. It’s similar to the heavy melodic bands that came around in the early 2010s like Blacklisted and The Carrier in the density and feeling in Jill’s lyricism. Much of the feeling in her lyrics comes from a sense of loss that adds to the wall of sound behind her, dragging you along through the whirlwind of emotional torment.
A standout characteristic of “A Headstone With Your Name” is its darkened sound that borders on a black metal influence. The Rhode Island scene has always had a penchant for making the music darker and taking on a crust/black metal influence, it’s kept the punk attitude alive in the small area. The small yet burgeoning scene found in Providence has always had that edge when compared to the scene in Boston, a lot more crust punk-influenced bands come screaming out of the Ocean State.
With this soundscape the band continues their attack with their next single “My Letter to the Boy Who Cried Wolf.” A blistering, hardcore punk-oriented track that doubles down on the speed factor and collides into a towering breakdown that makes you feel like the walls are collapsing around you. Jill’s vocals display an even more bitter lyrical assault as the title may explain. Lyrically what I gather is a scathing takedown of those predatory men who disguise themselves as prey or enjoy making themselves the victim:
The mix of the song beefs up their sound and makes the charging guitars accentuate the speed of the song as it builds toward a strategically placed two-stepper before the song ends. It seems like Glorious Wounds truly hits their stride on this track and it’ll be good to see them on a larger release which may not be far off. Adding further fuel to this fire they’ve ignited they’ve also announced that they will record their debut EP with Tor Johnson Records which will drop in February.
Glorious Wounds will be playing more shows around New England and will have physical copies of their February release but that will be announced very soon. They will also be featured on the WUML 91.5 radio show based out Lowell on January 11th.
They'll also be playing a stomper on January 5th with FAFA, Halo Bite, and The Minor Inconveniences in Meriden, Connecticut (more info here).
For now, get familiar with their hard hitting sound through “A Headstone With Your Name” and “My Letter to the Boy Who Cried Wolf” and keep checking back with their socials for more updates.
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Glorious Wounds on social media: Facebook | Instagram
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