Making their No Echo debut today, meet In Jest, a Philadelphia band that combines the aggression of early 2000s metalcore with influences pulled from hardcore, death metal, mathcore, and emo.
Since forming with a group of friends who met in school, the group has built a reputation through relentless touring, emotionally charged songwriting, and a commitment to strengthening its local scene. In the following interview, vocalist Caroline Gallen discusses the band's 2026 Violent Self Reflection EP, the story behind their standout track "Chained to the Mirror," Philadelphia's thriving heavy music community, and why looking out for one another is just as important as playing heavy music.
What is your formation story? Did you all know each other from playing in other bands in and around Philly?
We started out as a four-piece (Caroline, KJ, John, and Tyler) who met at school and united over a love of heavy music. Half of us had been in bands before, and for the rest of us, this was our first band. We spent a whole year jamming and figuring out what kind of music we wanted to write before we played our first show.
After we felt solid as a band, we asked our second guitarist, Dom, to join; we had seen him playing in local bands and knew he would make us sound bigger and meaner. KJ unfortunately had to leave the band, so it was a no-brainer to ask our friend Jackie to join, and that brings us to the lineup we have today.
How would you describe In Jest's stylistic approach?
We’re a metalcore band that likes to blend other subgenres into our music. Our influences are all over the place; we love death metal, mathcore, hardcore, emo, and metalcore. During the first year we spent writing, we had a difficult time making all of our influences fit in a cohesive way, but one of the first bands that we all united over was Hazing Over from Pittsburgh. They made unique music that blended many styles, and we wanted to write like that.
We’re also heavily inspired by powerhouse Philly bands we’ve seen over the years, like Jesus Piece and Kaonashi. Other bands, we’re "for fans of" are On Broken Wings and Bloodlined Calligraphy.
Regarding the Violent Self Reflection EP, I was curious about the song "Chained to the Mirror." The lyrics on that one stood out to me.
We wanted to write a story that encompasses different experiences we all have had, rather than focusing on any one of our own. Our EP follows someone in the aftermath of a life-altering fight. After misplacing blame and desperately trying to make things right, the narrator recognizes the irreparable damage they have caused.
In “Chained to the Mirror” the narrator is devastated, but finally comes to terms with the loss of someone from their life due to their own actions. They embrace the fate that lies ahead of them: being unable to escape their own reflection. We intentionally left out the details of the story (characters, the type of relationship, what the fight was about) to allow people to relate to it based on their own experiences.
Taking a look at the band's Instagram page, it's clear you're committed to playing out as much as possible.
It would be a dream come true to make touring a full-time job one day. We love traveling to new places, and we’ve met some of our closest friends from playing shows. Right now, we are working towards more touring while balancing our day jobs, which means we do a lot of three-day runs on the weekends and the occasional ten-day tour when we can swing it.
Is there a Philly Metalcore vs Hardcore vibe in terms of the scene, or is it all just one happy family?
I don’t think there is a huge separation between metalcore bands and hardcore bands here in Philly. A lot of us borrow from and respect both genres. Everyone has their preferences and each genre draws different people, but we try our best to book cohesive mixed bills that can unite people with different interests.
Metalcore and hardcore aren’t the only genres in Philly either; we’re lucky to play in such a musically diverse scene. My favorite mixed bills will always be death metal and metalcore bands playing together. It would be a stretch to call any scene “one big happy family,” but it’s a community built on respect and shared struggles.
What's next for the band?
We have some weekenders this summer throughout the northeast, and in October we have a 10-day tour. We’ll be hitting the road with our friends in Fliora, who we’re releasing a split EP with before the tour. Our friends in the Boston-based label Assbeaters Anonymous will also be helping us out with some merch in the future, so we’re really looking forward to working with them.
What else can you share about In Jest that you would like No Echo's readers to know about?
Something we emphasize at every show we play is the importance of recognizing that the people around you at a show are your community. We are so grateful for every friend we have met being a band. We live in a country with a government that doesn’t care about us, so now more than ever it is critical that we look out for each other.
We distribute Narcan and drug testing strips at shows because knowing how to prevent a fatal opioid overdose is one way we can care for our community. Get involved with your local scene, make new friends, and remember why we all got into this music in the first place.
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In Jest on social media: Instagram
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