Band: Snap Judgement
From: East Bay, California
Their formation story:
(Angel Escobedo, drums): "Our formation really was a very organic and homegrown story. We've been in the same circle (more or less) for a very long time. Spanning from the mid-2000's to now; going to shows in the East Bay and playing in various bands over the years.
"We all happened to be at one of our mutual friends' shows (The American Dream), and we were outside, talking, in between sets. I don't remember whose idea it was exactly but someone just said out loud: 'Yeah, let's just start a hardcore band. Nothing serious. Let's just make music and hangout.'
"Our chemistry is out of this world and we really do, authentically, enjoy each other's company. So that makes the process easy."
Their sound in their own words:
"I'd like to think that our sound is real and in your face but is also groovy, digestible, and fun. We kinda went against the grain, unintentionally, with our sound in relation to what's currently popular in hardcore. Our music is very lyric-centric.
"On We Came 2 Play, if you listen to the songs in chronological order, the lyrics tell a story of someone who doesn't care about his or anyone else's well-being and as the EP progresses, that same character starts recognizing his flaws but knows how hard it is to stop being himself after years of bad habits.
"Towards the end it really is kind of a redemption arc of like, 'Yeah, I've made mistakes in my life but we can always rectify those mistakes. One foot in front of the other. Keep on moving and always try to be better than you were yesterday.'
"Our influences range from all kinds of stuff from Carry On to Drug Church. From Comeback Kid to Losin' It. There's even some rips from Bay Area rap legend Mac Dre (T.I.P.) sprinkled in the lyrics."
Latest release info:
"Our first and only EP out right now, We Came 2 Play, is a culmination of the first 4 songs we ever wrote together as a band to really dial in our collaborative sound and what it means to be Snap Judgment. There's a lot of regional nods embedded within the lyrics and even the album cover has a newspaper background that is very specific to the cities that we're from.
"Also, if there's any comic book dorks out there like myself, they may have recognized the character layout (shoutout the goat King Chun) as a cover swipe of Giant Size X-Men #1."
Future plans:
"So, we have a couple shows lined up right now that will take us into early 2025, one of which is a cassette tape release show The tape is being put out by Big Bite Records (big shoutout to Timmy, who also plays guitar in Bite the Hand).
"In terms of future releases, we're actually going to be putting out a split EP within the first quarter of 2025 with our brothers in One Last Prayer. That split is gonna be bonkers. I heard a sneak peak of one of the tracks they're putting on there and yeah, that's that shit. We're super excited for that."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"There's a lot of killer bands from the Bay most of which we're lucky to call our homies. One Last Prayer, Opposing Force, From One Hell, Likewise, As My Ashes Blur The Sky, Fever, Manos De Fierro, Four Winds Away, Forced to Suffer, Dawg Fight. Lots of homies in dope bands from just outside the Bay, Entice, Avulsion, Under Negative Intent, Seed of Doubt.
"In making this list, it's inspired me to make a playlist of all our homies bands and put it on the Snap Judgment artist playlist section. I'm sure I'll be done with it by the time this article is out, so open up Spotify, find that playlist and slap those songs one time for the one time!"
Snap Judgement on social media: Instagram
Tagged: snap judgement
