Emotive hardcore outfit ZERO TRUST have shared their caustic new single “Blood Choke”, out now on Equal Vision Records. The band is a coalition of NJHC and NYHC talent, featuring vocalist BJ Allen (Full Scale Riot, Ghidrah, GMK) guitarists Zack Thorne (Bulldoze, Agents of Man, Skarhead) and Mike Milewski (Bulldoze, Homicidal), bassist and backing vocalist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) and drummer Evan Rossiter (Full Scale Riot, Organyc). The group pushes the boundaries of hardcore, metalcore and jagged alternative rock, creating music that is intensely melodic while remaining undeniably aggressive.
“Blood Choke” demonstrates a blazing, straight ahead style of hardcore that evokes classic NYHC with a modern edge. The riffs hit hard and fast, supporting a ferocious vocal performance throughout. Comparisons could be made to Sheer Terror, Madball, Youth Of Today et al, but Zero Trust continues to find a lane uniquely theirs. You can stream the track and view the lyric video here.
On the theme of their latest single, vocalist BJ Allen had this to say: “The song is basically about how there seems to be an awakening amongst the people that the media and politicians on both sides are not acting in their best interest. THEY MUST AND WILL SUBMIT TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OR BE PUT TO SLEEP!”
The band will appear at This Is Hardcore 2022 on July 7th alongside H20, Skarhead and more.
Zero Trust might be a new name, but members of the New York-based outfit boast résumé credits spanning decades of the most creative, cutting-edge pockets of the area’s storied hardcore scene.
With a lineup consisting of vocalist BJ Allen (Full Scale Riot, Ghidrah, GMK), guitarists Zack Thorne (Bulldoze, Agents of Man, Skarhead, etc.) and Mike Milewski (Bulldoze, Homicidal, etc.), Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) on bass and backing vocals, and Evan Rossiter (Full Scale Riot, Organyc) behind the kit, the group formed as a creative outlet during the quarantined isolation of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Continuing to experiment and innovate, the quintet unifies its broad palette of hardcore, metal, and alternative music experience into a progressive blend of dense, charging rhythms and melodic underpinnings; plus towering vocals and hook-laden songwriting that carries substantive lyrical themes reflecting on the socio-political turmoil that has erupted throughout the past year. At a time when all too many are content to simply rearrange the same old ingredients, Zero Trust opts for an aggressive yet emotional sound that simply can’t be pigeonholed.
