Formed in 2010 in Reno, Nevada, Drag Me Under emerged from the remnants of several bands, with no big plans beyond continuing to make heavy music. A few years in, they shifted from a five-piece to a four-piece lineup, which they say helped focus their writing. “Things got heavier, faster, more aggressive. We’ve been leaning into that ever since.”
Their latest album, recorded and mixed by bassist Jeromy Ainsworth and mastered by Alan Douches (West West Side Music), captures that live energy they’ve been honing over the years. The artwork was done by longtime collaborator Matt Lundahl, who, according to the band, “gets our aesthetic and always delivers something that fits.”
Musically, Drag Me Under continue to blur genre lines. Hardcore, metal, punk—they don’t pin themselves down. They mention influences like Converge, Every Time I Die, Metallica, and Deicide, but emphasize that these are just reference points. “We try to let those inspirations shape what we do without imitating anyone directly.”
The record’s themes reflect both political anger and personal reckoning. “Iron Eaters” tackles the self-defeating allegiance people give to harmful leaders. “People rally behind and support leaders who don’t have their best interest in mind,” the band says. “They’re taking us all down with them.”
“Season of the Shark” widens the lens to systemic issues. “Capitalism, political manipulation, systems that exploit and discard people—all of it. We’re both the product of that machine and the resistance to it.”
The band grounds that broader commentary with a deep sense of place. “Blood Hymns,” the first song written for the record, was sparked by a show experience and reflections on Reno’s vanishing DIY spaces. “These places feel almost separate from the outside world. Everyone that goes to these basements, or warehouses, or even more put together DIY spots are visiting something special. It’s about remembering who we are, what we’ve built together, and refusing to let those spaces be destroyed.”
Throughout, Drag Me Under stay rooted in Reno’s scene, which they describe as “a very special place.” While Covid and rising rents shuttered many basement venues, spaces like Empire (just “a brick room and a bathroom”) and the Holland Project still push things forward. “Holland Project hosts art shows, workshops, and shows of all genres,” they note, alongside houses that host shows “here and there.”
The community also includes a range of local bands—Wisecrack (hardcore), Wormshot (fun rock), Weight of the Tide (sludgy metal), and Vakker (black metal)—and radio station KWNK 97.7, which streams at kwnkradio.org and broadcasts local programming, including a show on Dungeons and Dragons. “I even host a show once a week called Sand Blast where I play metal, hardcore, and whatever else I feel like playing.”
The new record is available on Bandcamp, streaming platforms, and the band’s webpage. Check out the full track by track rundown below.
Iron Eaters
We see, over and over again, people rally behind and support leaders who don’t have their best intrest in mind. Either because they want someone else to lose or they genuinely think someone at the top of the coporate or political ladder will take care of them. This isn’t in their interest – it’s against their own safety and well-being and they do it happily, and they’re taking us all down with them.
Old Lions
This song is about being overwhelmed from looking back for too long. We’re unable to escape the past, deep down we all know this but we still do it. It’s so easy to point out all of the things that we may conisider the wrong choice but we don’t actually know if they were. We just think they were. If we look back for too long we’ll crush what we have now and sabatoge things we may be working towards in the future.
Season of the Shark
Capitalism, political manipulation, systems that exploit and discard people—all of it. We’re both the product of that machine and the resistance to it. There’s no trust left, no safety net—just survival. The ones in power always find someone else to blame, but the weight of their greed and indifference isn’t ours to carry.
Blood Hymns
This is the first song that was written for the record. I wrote the lyrics after an incident at a show, nothing over the top but it still stuck with me. It got me thinking about how important DIY spaces are for music and about how these places feel almost separate from the outside world. Everyone that goes to these basments, or warehouses, or even more put together DIY spots are visiting something special. It’s about remembering who we are, what we’ve built together, and refusing to let those spaces be destroyed.
Black Moth
This is probably the most personal song on the record. When we started writing I had already lost my mother and I was thinking of her slow decline while writing the lyrics. By the time Blood Hymns was finished I had lost my father. For me, it’s a look into the future.
Breath in Return
Sometimes things get to overwhelming and the need to disconnect and retreat kind of takes over. I leaned into that feeling and just thought about what it means to really isolate. How far would I have to go to cut everyone off completely.
Oath of the Rat
Our leaders are clining to power while everything beneath them burns. Even on their death beds. They exploit fear, division, and insecure youth to maintain control—serving themselves and discarding anything that’s served it’s purpose like trash. In the end they’ll turn on each other even if the only thing they have left to rule is rubble.
Galactic Acid
Fascists and white supremacists who try to hide behind respectability have slowly been exposing themselves. The past few decades have seen these people get bolder and bolder but still mantain they’re racist or homophobic or sexist. They hide behind patriotism, religion, wanting to go back to simpler times but really they want fascism. You can only lie for so long before the cracks show.
