New HC Bands

New Hardcore Band Spotlight: Cherub Chains

Photo: Joe Calixto

Band: Cherub Chains
From: Seattle, Washington


Their formation story:
(Molly, vocals): "The idea of starting a band has been in the back of my mind for several years but school and personal life got in the way of me pursuing it. It was summer of 2023 where I finally brought up the idea of starting a band to my boyfriend, Mitchell (drummer), and he said he’d be pumped to learn drums for the band.

"Then I became friends with Carlos (guitarist) at a local gym after we bonded over hardcore and powerlifting. Pedro (guitarist) is someone I’ve known in the scene for several years and is currently in a few other local hardcore bands. After I told him about the project, he enthusiastically wanted to join. Derby (bassist) has been a good friend for a few years and has been wanting to play in a band again. So we all came together to form Cherub Chains."

(Pedro, guitar): "Mitchell and Molly were always an older couple who were super nice to me and cool as hell, both moshers that I stole hella swag from. They asked me if I wanted to do a band with them like early 2024/late 2023 and I was insanely down because I love those foos and they introduced me to Carlos. Derby I’d known beforehand but we hadn’t had the chance to really hang like that and these boys own."

(Carlos, guitar): "We basically started a hardcore band at a gym haha. Shoutout to coach Zane for making the connections."

Their sound in their own words:
(Molly): "Sonically and lyrically, I drew inspiration from some of my favorite bands: Disembodied, Arkangel, 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Undying, Whispers, and Kickback. I have a strong penchant for '90s metalcore riffs."

(Pedro): "For the style, at least on my end, I was going for Arkangel 100%. Hope You Die of Overdose is one of my favorite albums ever, one of my old bands used to cover them and Kickback a lot I love H8000s stuff. In general and with drumming especially a lot of early Hatebreed is always just in the DNA of everything I do so that was definitely in there too."

(Mitchell, drums): "We are definitely a metallic hardcore influenced band. I only recently picked up drums for this band, but my longtime favorites that I want to push my style toward is Arkangel, Kickback, Excessive Force, Martyr AD, and Grimlock."

Latest release info:
(Molly): "Our first demo was released at the end of August. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by our friend and wizard Cameron Heck. In terms of lyrics, some biblical references were written to allegorically touch on themes of desolation, resentment, my own personal struggles/experiences, and current world issues. So far, we’ve received an astronomical amount of love and support for our demo. It’s gotten us excited and motivated to write new music."

(Mitchell): "Our newest release is for the moshers."

Future plans:
(Pedro): "Immediate future I’m not super certain. I know we’re gonna practice try and get as tight as possible, write new stuff when the opportunity presents itself, we’ve all got lives and a lot of stuff going on but we wanna make stuff work where we can and hang."

(Mitchell): "Write more, practice more, be better. I’m my own worst critic and there is always room for improvement because I care about us sounding really good."


(Derby, bass): "We plan and keeping things moving and trying to get out more tracks. It’s all about capturing the grind and growth we’ve had as a band. We’re pulling from the music we vibe with and mixing it into our own thing. At the end of the day, we just wanna get people moving, whether they’re moshing or just chilling to the beat. We’re all about making tracks that hit hard and stick with you."

What other bands from your region should we check out?
(Molly): "Spurr, Odd Man Out, Land Lost, End of Dayz, Gag, Cujo, Unjust, Skelm, Fashion Change, By All Meanz, Adipocere, Chopping Block, Dulzura, Gun Shy, Witness Chamber, and A Mourning Star. Northwest hardcore is a rich and diverse scene. There are a ton more bands in our region that I haven’t named so check this out."

(Pedro): "Dulzura’s a band I love hella, obviously End of Dayz, Apex Predator, and Land Lost. Spurr, Ritual Killing, and Skelm are some other projects I’m currently involved in from up here. Also I can’t forget about the non-Washington NWHC homies like Don’t Sweat It, Stomp, Place of Refuge, Ghaul, Smuther, and Tranq from Calgary."

(Mitchell): "Adipocere, Gun Shy, Impertinence, Juji Gatame, Odd Man Out, Unjust, End of Dayz, Land Lost, Gag, Spurr, Skelm, Cujo, Apex Predator, Crawl Space. NWHC has something for everybody."

Cherub Chains on social media: Twitter | Instagram
 

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