Meet Free 4 All, a hardcore band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. "We formed right on the tail end of COVID, when me and the vocalist Jordan were living together," says guitarist Ty Everett. "He asked me if I was interested in joining his band at the time called Death Trap on guitar to help him write all new stuff.
"As we got going on writing, we all realized that it was going in a different direction and didn't want to carry the name forward. So we scrapped Death Trap, and started writing all new music under Free 4 All. Since then, we've put out two promos, a split, and this will be our 4th music drop since being a band, hence the title of our new EP, Volume 4."
Yes, Volume 4 just hit streaming outlets today. So, what can listeners expect from the 7-song effort? "When we started, we were inspired by bands like Trapped Under Ice and Turnstile at the time, and several NYHC bands.
"But as time went on and our sound developed, we drew more influences from Detroit bands such as Cold as Life and Never Ending Game, while also being influenced by bands like King Nine. We wanted to capture heavy moments that also felt injected with melody and dog pile sing along parts."
Ty offers some thoughts on the themes covered on Volume 4. "The lyrical content is largely introspective, talking about mental health and emotional impacts of personal situations, while also talking about the terrifying meat grinder of what it's like to be alive in 2025, what it's also like to live in Oklahoma specifically and the love and hate we all collectively have for our home."
Since he brought up Free 4 All's hometown, No Echo asks him for his take on the hardcore community there. "Oklahoma Hardcore is constantly evolving and growing, and is bigger now than it's ever been. Oklahoma has always had awesome legacy bands such as Upright, No x Thanks, Shame, The Tooth, End on End, and so many more. But now, there are so many more kids that have gotten involved to come to shows and be apart of our scene, as many scenes have experienced the same effect since COVID.
"Thanks to people at Backroom and with Flyover Fest, so many of the kids here have become hands-on in our scene and creating art, starting new bands and being about it. We have a ton of awesome current bands in our scene that are doing cool shit such as Diced (which No Echo did a write up on), Otis VCR, Inside You, Agony, Caustic, Tell Lies, Bashed In, Eruption, Cell, and of course the legendary Peeling Flesh.
"If you're in a band and you're routing through Texas, routing a show through Oklahoma City is a sure fire way to have an awesome show on your way to or from with awesome local bands and a ton of young scary moshers in the crowd."
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Free 4 All on social media: X | Instagram
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