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Meet Meta-Stasis, a new band out of Springfield, Illinois with a sound that melds chaotic hardcore and skramz. "I connected with [guitarist/vocalist] Ren through our love for hardcore music, which my dad introduced me to at a young age," guitarist/vocalist Roscoe tells No Echo about the group's roots. The love I have for my two bandmates inspires me and keeps me motivated to create. We have good chemistry together, the process of making songs together doesn’t feel forced at all; instead, we constantly feed off each other’s enthusiasm for the project which has led us to what we have today."
The other band member in Meta-Stasis Roscoe is referring to is drummer Richard, who also happens to be his father. "I played in New York-area hardcore bands in the 1990s, The Judas Iscariot and then Countdown to Putsch," says Richard, who I've known since my Black Army Jacket days in the '90s. "Ren and Roscoe have a very important and deep connection. It comes out in the music-making. Roscoe has been going to hardcore and punk shows since he was a little kid. He’s been writing original music for years now, and when we started playing as a trio, the chemistry with Ren was organic and authentic.
"The band has guitar, drums, and vocals, no bassist. Ren and Roscoe trade the guitar and vocal duties back and forth, though Roscoe writes most of the music and Ren writes most of the lyrics. I would say that all these features together make Meta-Stasis unlike any other band I know musically and aesthetically, although we have our influences, of course."
Meta-Stasis recently released their debut album, a self-titled 11-track collection recorded by Brandon Carnes in November 2024:
I"t's hard to put a specific name to it since we have so many different influences from different genres," says Ren. "We’ve gotten by just calling Meta-Stasis 'chaotic hardcore.' A big inspiration is without a doubt Converge. For me, bands like Rolo Tomassi. Other than that, my biggest influences are my bandmates and their good ideas." Richard says of his influences, "Personally, I come to this band with the sensibilities of a lot of the 1990s Gravity and Ebullition Records bands like Angel Hair, Portraits of Past, Heroin, and intense, explosive screamo like Honeywell, as well as later Unbroken, etc."
Roscoe's description of Meta-Stasis might be the best one:
"If disasters were awesome, that’s what Meta-Stasis might sound like, the sound of an awesome disaster."
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With the album out on streaming outlets, Meta-Stasis is looking to get busy on the live circuit in and around Illinois. Their next show will go down on January 31st at Dumb Records in Springfiled along with Livid, Groin, Mechanizm, and Man With Rope. "The hardcore scene in Springfield, is big and vibrant," says Richard. "It centers largely on the performance space at Dumb Records, and a lot of the activity there is anchored by Prevention and its members who book most of the shows."
"I went to my first show when I was probably around 10," Roscoe tells me. "Now I am 17 and seeing the way our scene has developed is amazing. A drug-free, safe space to socialize and bring the youth together is what hardcore needs and Springfield has it. So many passionate people, many shows, and countless great bands. Some of my favorite bands you should keep an eye out for from central Illinois are Worldview, Totaled, Reject Modernity, and Change of Heart."
Richard's following thoughts on playing in Meta-Stasis touched my heart. "Being in a hardcore band with my son and with Ren is truly one of the greatest joys and honors of my life. Hardcore is for everyone, and if we are making counter-cultural music full of rival visions for a better world for humans and non-human animals, then we cannot stop. I will never stop making music. Hardcore is an intergenerational struggle, and Meta-Stasis is a part of that."
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Meta-Stasis on social media: Instagram
Tagged: meta-stasis
