Puerto Rican hardcore band Secret Bound are moving into their next phase with Positive Change, a new full-length that just dropped through their own label, Grey Matter Records. The album continues to build on the band’s melodic hardcore foundation while doubling down on the message that’s always driven them.
Speaking with No Echo, vocalist Noel Alvarez frames the band’s sound in familiar but effective terms: “Melodic hardcore from PR, in the veins of Bane, Time X Heist, Ensign, Berthold City, Shelter, and Floorpunch.”
Since their 2025 Forget the Past & Live the Present EP, Secret Bound have stayed active. “Since that EP, we have released several new songs to record our new album, as well as several covers to always have something different to play,” Alvarez explains. That steady output has helped keep the band moving forward while refining what would become Positive Change.
Lyrically, the new album is centered on support, awareness, and community. “In the songs on the album we talk about helping people with depression to prevent them from committing suicide,” Alvarez says. “We talk about always helping friends and always protecting family.” It’s a direct and purposeful approach that reflects the band’s commitment to using hardcore as a platform for connection rather than just expression.
That mindset extends beyond the music. Secret Bound have been taking their message outside of Puerto Rico, including a trip to Colombia last year. “We went to play in Bogotá, Colombia last year, at the Mosh Para Los Niños event, playing together with our brothers from No Dependiente HxC and organized by our brother Pepito,” Alvarez says. The band is also set to return to The Upstage Music Fest in Pennsylvania—hosted by Grey Matter Records—for the third time this year.
Back home, they’re continuing to build their own community. “We will be playing in my fest in PR ‘The Congress Community Fest’ on October 10 with local bands and from the US,” Alvarez notes, pointing to the band’s ongoing efforts to strengthen ties both locally and internationally.
As for the bigger picture, Positive Change is meant to carry a message beyond any one scene. “On this new album we will be carrying a message to the hardcore community around the world, so that this unity may be greater,” Alvarez says.
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