The Path’s new track “Yes, All Churches” arrived on September 3, 2025, through State of Mind Recordings as a preview of the upcoming LP “Godless Vermont.” The release comes with the confirmation that the Vermont hardcore band is calling it quits after ten years together.
In a statement, guitarist Matt Kimball explained: “We are breaking up for various reasons. I think we began to realize a couple of years ago that we were becoming the dinosaurs in the scene. I think we’d rather not overstay our welcome and become that old band that’s way past its prime. We’ve been a band for 10 years. Why be a band for 11 or 12? We prefer to go out before it gets stale. And truthfully, life has caught up with many of us. Our adult schedules have become incompatible with being in an active band. If we’re gonna do this, we want to do it for real. And unfortunately we cannot do that anymore.”
He traced the roots of the band back to Burlington’s need for fast hardcore: “When I started this band, my main reason was to bring back fast hardcore to the Burlington, Vermont scene. Honestly not much has changed and I’d probably say we need more of that today too. Everyone’s got their own thing, but for me there’s something about that raw 1980s hardcore sound. Hardcore should definitely evolve so it doesn’t get too stale, but I think it should also pay homage to its roots, which for me is simple, short, loud and fast. I think we really did a lot experimenting with the sound though, but without sacrificing the integrity.”
Kimball pointed to friendships and uncompromising decisions as central to The Path’s decade: “We were fortunate enough to make so many friends through the songs we made and I’m glad we always did it on our terms. We played what we wanted and it definitely wasn’t always the cool thing or whatever. Our last album, Godless Vermont, really pushes the envelope as far as it can go I think. The process was organic. There wasn’t a game plan where we said ‘we have to write these types of songs now.’ Nothing like that. We were just in a flow and it was fun to try weird things.”
Vocalist Jon described “Godless Vermont” as a concept album, citing Julian Jaynes’ book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind as inspiration.
“Godless Vermont is a concept album loosely inspired by The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes. It focuses on humanity’s transition from animal to man and how it was a raw deal. We could have been lounging in the sun all day, but instead, humans developed convoluted systems designed to define and destroy us. This is not a win.”
The record’s lead track, “Yes, All Churches,” reflects that perspective in direct terms: “‘Yes, All Churches’ is another anti-religion song. You know the deal—it’s a con and one of the worst weapons humans have created. It doesn’t matter if it’s a priest, rabbi, or Krishna guru; they can all take that car-salesman bullshit on a sad walk out of the room. Worthless leeches.”
“Godless Vermont” was engineered and mixed by Scott Mullin, with instruments recorded in May 2024 at VT Music Lab in Essex Junction, vocals tracked in June 2024 at Mullin’s house in Lincoln, and mastering handled by Will Hirst in January 2025 at Sonelab in Easthampton, Massachusetts.
Formed in 2015, The Path leave behind ten years of Vermont hardcore built on speed, brevity, and a refusal to compromise. See our history of features here.
