On the cover, the Louisiana state capitol and the Mississippi river bridge stand behind streets drawn corrupt and treacherous. That is not an aesthetic choice. Louisiana holds one of the highest incarceration rates in the entire world, the state is poor, and the schools are failing the kids who go to them. “You get desensitized to all the crime and violence because it’s so common,” says Jonah Smith, vocalist of Baton Rouge’s By Any Means. “I think we’re all so grateful for the hardcore scene/music because it’s all there really is to look forward to here.”
That gratitude is all over the band’s self titled debut EP, out this Friday, July 10th, on all streaming platforms. Iconic Baton Rouge rapper Boosie Badazz opens the record, Gridiron vocalist Matt Karl closes it, and everything in between is brutal, mosh friendly hardcore with rap running through its veins.
Metallic riffs dig straight into thrash territory, old school bounce collides with a modern strike, and the breakdowns come turbo powered, the kind that clear a room at Mid City Ballroom in about four seconds. If you have anything breakable nearby, move it before pressing play.
The band is Jonah on vocals, Matt Rumfellow and Bobby Burnette on guitars, Chris Rumfellow on bass, and Mike Burnette on drums. Two sets of brothers: Matt and Chris, Bobby and Mike. They formed in 2026 after putting Decoy, the band most of them spent nearly a decade in, on hiatus. “By Any Means is everyone from Decoy except Mike,” Jonah says. “We started By Any Means because we wanted to start something fresh and new. This style specifically feels super natural and not forced to us so everything came together very quickly.”
The Boosie feature was not a label pulling strings. “Getting Boosie Badazz on a track has always been a wild dream of mine,” Jonah says. “It wouldn’t have made sense with Decoy but for this project it just made perfect sense. I went to middle school with one of his family members so he helped line that connection up with his agent and we got it done! His camp was super professional and got it taken care of for us extremely quick.”
The name was chosen to represent the city, and the artwork followed the same logic. Jonah brought the concept to graphic designer Jon Mayo, who, in his words, “absolutely blew it out of the water.”
Jonah is also one of the people carrying the scene the record grew out of. He runs the Louisiana Hardcore Instagram (@louisianahardcore) and books shows in Baton Rouge with Hunter Erie, all of them at Mid City Ballroom, “the greatest all ages venue we’ve ever had.”
Belly Up handles New Orleans, Dipset Booking has started putting on shows in Lafayette, and the three cities are pulling in the same direction. “We’re all trying to work together and continue to grow,” Jonah says.
“Some bands that deserve some love are Holeopener, xoutlastx, Course of action, human instinct, wishful thinking, Lower class, and face off!”
He has been around long enough to see the difference. Decoy started in 2017. “I feel like anyone in Louisiana that was active in the scene pre-Covid is ‘old head’ status at this point. Those were the dark ages haha,” he says. “I feel like some newer kids don’t realize how good we actually have it here currently so I just try to stress the point to be grateful and respect the venues that allow us to do shows there.”
By Any Means play their first show on Friday, August 21st at Mid City Ballroom, sharing the stage with Outta Pocket, Fragmentation, Lower Class, and Course of Action, who are also making their live debut that night. All ages, 20 bucks, doors at 7, show at 8. If you are anywhere near Baton Rouge, be sure to drop by.
The EP was mixed by Taylor Young at The Pit and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audio Siege. “By Any Means” by By Any Means is out July 10th on all streaming platforms. Follow the band at @byanymeanshc.
Be sure to check out more of Jon’s work at @mayor_mayo.
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