There’s a specific thing that happens at hardcore shows in Connecticut – has for decades – where the line between stage and crowd just stops existing. Kids rushing up, piling on, screaming along. It’s not performance in any polished sense. It’s communion. And for the guys in Sinking In, a four-piece out of southern CT, that feeling is basically the whole point.
“Nothing is more exciting than lyrically driven performers connecting with fans rushing the stage to pile on and join in on the music,” say Chris and Ryan. “That alone is a driving force to create and see what you can bring to the table. Sinking In is our chance to rush the stage and scream at the world.”
The band started in 2023 with a pretty clear idea of what they wanted to do — bring back early 2000s melodic hardcore, a style that’s been more or less frozen in time while the scene moved in heavier directions. Their self-titled EP, produced by Chris Cav of The Lab and mixed and mastered by Ivan Fiallos-Zambrano of Monolithic Sounds, got immediate traction in the Connecticut hardcore community. Big enough that Many Eyes took notice and brought them on as support at the Space Ballroom in 2024.
From there, things kept moving. They linked up with Blake Sturchio of Brothers in Arms to cut a standalone single, “Embrace,” which got picked up by several podcasts including HMHD. A music video for “Regret” — one of the tracks off the debut EP — followed via Swantown Productions, debuting on HMHD and then Hardcore Worldwide.
By early 2026, the guys had a full-length ready. “Testimony,” a seven-song LP, came out January 12th through a distribution deal with Arson Theory Records. Weeks later they were co-headlining with Invocation of Nehek — proper CT legends.
Connecticut, of course, has history here. This is the state that produced Hatebreed, 100 Demons, With Honor. But the band points to a different layer of that lineage as the real formative stuff.
“It was the legion hall shows with At All Costs, Brothers in Arms, and Our Final Say where performance, music, and community really molded our minds about how special that time was,” they explain. “As a product of the early 00s, we were spoiled to see our peers at such a consistent level.”
The current CT scene, they say, is stacked. “The current climate is dominated with serious heavy hitters we’re lucky to call friends and share the stage with — Bound, Intrusive, Mercy Whip, the resurrected Invocation of Nehek, and Many Eyes with Nick Bellmore being a household name in CT.”
Sound-wise, comparisons to Comeback Kid and Shai Hulud come up constantly, which tracks — those are direct influences. With Honor is in the DNA too. But there’s more metal under the hood than straight melodic hardcore usually carries, and the guys see that as their way in on mixed bills.
“What sets us apart is our power to strive on a mixed bill. Our fusion of melodic hardcore and metal puts us at an advantage to catch the ear of anyone from the occasional Bane-listening Killswitch fan to the Have Heart kid who just found Misery Signals.”
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“Testimony” is meant to be the bridge. Seven songs that aim to bring that early 2000s melodic hardcore warmth to a scene that’s evolved in different directions, without pretending 2005 never ended. The message across both releases leans on hope, faith, and finding strength through dark stretches — and live, that translates directly.
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“With the release of our first LP ‘Testimony‘ we aim to reinvigorate that nostalgic melodic hardcore sound to the modern masses,” Chris and Ryan say, “with hopes to create a spark for anyone who comes to a show to share that feeling we all had going to those substantial shows back in the day.”
Whether that spark catches wider remains to be seen, but in Connecticut at least, the room is already paying attention. Can’t wait to hear more from these guys.
