With their first show in over a decade just around the corner, Massachusetts hardcore band I Rise are officially back on the radar. Formed in 2007, the group spent three relentless years on the road, dropping a steady run of releases along the way, including their Down EP and For Redemption LP on 1917 Records, and split with Soul Control on Eightfold Path.
During their initial run, I Rise shared stages with such bands as Bane, Have Heart, Verse, and Down to Nothing, carving out a loyal following throughout New England and beyond.
As they prepare to return to the stage, I caught up with guitarist Alex Kantarelis to talk about the band’s history, what the members have been up to since the breakup, and the hometown love that helped bring I Rise back to life.
This upcoming December 27th show will be your first in a decade. What sparked the decision for I Rise to get back onstage now, and why was 2025 the right moment?
We're all still friends. Two of us live on the West Coast with the rest of the band still in Worcester, Massachusetts. We all still make music, and we hang out whenever we can, and it always gets brought up.
Last year, we seriously talked about it, and everyone was on board so this year we decided to go for it.
You’ll be playing with the original lineup—something not every reunited band can pull off. What was it like reconnecting musically and personally after so many years?
Like a lot of bands, I Rise went through a lot of lineup changes. Touring as much as we did made it very difficult to maintain the original lineup. When we played the one-off reunion show in 2015 it was with the final lineup of the band, but we always knew we wanted to get the first guys back together.
It has been interesting to re-learn the songs, some of which were never played by these guys. They all play in bands and are still active. My brother Nicky Kantarelis and I are in Los Angeles-based band, New Death; Danny played guitar in Moss Folk, a Worcester hardcore band; Chris Berg plays bass in Worcester thrash metal band High Command; and Jackson Massucco plays drums in Four Year Strong, and just got done with this summer's Warped Tour.
We all get along great and everyone is really good at what they do. It feels very natural to play music with them again. The only difference is, we’re all older now. Chris Berg played bass for us the longest, but he was technically our second bassist. Shout out to Joe Voe who recorded the first batch of songs with us and played bass for the first few months of the band.
The hardcore scene in Worcester has its own rich history and personality. What does it mean to return home for this show at Ralph’s Rock Diner?
We have been so impressed with Worcester, and Central Mass in the last few years. The Central Mass Hardcore scene is stronger than ever. We've been lucky enough to play shows with our other band, New Death, and see it for ourselves. New Death is from Los Angeles, but all the members are originally from Worcester, and we've been playing shows in Worcester every Christmas for 4 years now.
Bands like High Command, Clock Out, Wisdom & War, and Hard Target have been crushing it there, and we feel so welcomed every time we play. It means the world to me to be back in my hometown playing at my favorite venue. I truly feel so lucky.
I Rise only existed actively for about four years, but you packed a lot into that time. Looking back, what do you feel defined the band’s identity during that run?
It all happened so fast. Most of the guys were teenagers when we started. We played a first show followed by lots of local shows, handed out at least 1000 demos, and were immediately getting asked to tour and play shows everywhere. Just 6 months into being a band we released a split 7" with Soul Control, an EP on 1917 Records, and we played Sound and Fury fest.
One year later, we were touring Europe and releasing an LP. It was like going into a full sprint right away, and in many ways it was overwhelming. Danny was 17, and a junior in high school, and it made it hard for him to play so many shows with us. Nicky was 18, and had to postpone going to college for touring in a shitty van we named “The Wolf.” And the drummer Jake was also 18, and was busy working on Four Year Strong’s first album, which was followed by a lot of touring.
It was tough to juggle everything and lead to an endless stream of fill-in members, and new members. When it ended it felt like just a memory. I never really thought about the band's legacy or anything like that.
As New Death kept playing shows in Worcester, people would always ask when I Rise was going to play again. And random people would stop me to tell me how much I Rise meant to them back in the day. I don’t know what the band’s identity was during that time, but in the years since it means a lot to know that people remember us fondly.
The hardcore landscape has changed a lot since 2015, never mind since 2011. What’s it like stepping back into a scene that’s both totally different and somehow the same?
The big change was when we first came back to Worcester, from Los Angeles to play with New Death in 2022. We hadn’t played a show there since the last I Rise show, and didn’t know what to expect. We felt so much energy from our former hometown. A lot of friends we hadn’t seen in a long time came, and the energy in the room was unreal.
It felt familiar, but somehow totally fresh. And the younger people were going off, and everyone was in a great mood. When New Death plays the West Coast, it’s fun, but when we play Worcester it’s a whole different thing.
We’re stunned and how positive the reaction has been for us there. And everyone kept asking for us to make an I Rise show happen, so it became clear it was time. But that being said, I really don’t know what to expect from our set.
You’ve said you’re “very stoked to be back” and hoping for more to come. Without giving too much away, should fans take this as a one-night-only celebration or the start of a new chapter?
The future is bright and I hope we can do more. As of right now we're only focused on this one show, but we are open to playing more and doing more as a band. If people want it, in 2026 we are down to play more.
Our other bands New Death, Mossfolk, and High Command all have new music coming out in 2026, and Four Year Strong released a new album in 2025. And we haven’t ruled out working on new songs for I Rise, too.
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The reunion I Rise show will go down on December 27th, 2025 in Worcester, Massachusetts at Ralph's Rock Diner with New Death, False Grip, Death Defier, and Body Eviction.
I Rise on social media: Instagram
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