When you think of Nashville, your mind might saunter down an avenue littered with neon signs, the strum of a country guitar, and lyrics pining for the one that got away. It’s a rare occasion when you associate the Tennessee heartland with vehement metal. But STILL HERE, the city’s latest metalcore offering, isn’t here to play to your expectations. Formed in 2023 and previously recognized as Purity Among Thieves, the band will be releasing their new EP, Hope Ran Dry, on September 22. It’s a moment to assess not just the metal scene in this country capital but also the very ingredients that make up the tumultuous cocktail of emotions in the genre itself.
Hope Ran Dry is a clenched fist, wound tight with aggression and a peculiar heaviness one could describe as Southern Metal gloom—clearly influenced by predecessors like Orthodox, Chamber, and Kublai Khan. But labeling STILL HERE as mere disciples of these Southern Metal icons would do them a disservice. Instead, they take those familiar tones and inject them with a virulent strain of social resistance.
“Plaster Saint is a song about pushing back against people and practices intended to alienate others. Whether your anger is towards political figures, people in your life, or the world around you in general, it’s validated and important to fight back for what you believe in. Fuck their judgements, fuck their hate, be yourself and be loud about it.”
“Our writing style is very “just jam on it”.” – continues the band about their new EP.
“Over the course of a few months we were pretty happy with what we had. So We wanted to keep the recording process very DIY. We hit up our friend Sam Pizzuto to track ourselves at his home studio. After knocking it out we sent it off to our good friend Thomas Rodriguez to Mix and Master the record.”
No mincing words, the lyrics that boil to the surface in “Plaster Saint”—a track we’re thrilled to premiere both in song and video form—are brimming with indignation. Still Here’s message is succinct and pulls no punches: challenge the status quo, especially when it seeks to marginalize or demonize the divergent. In a world obsessed with labeling and shelving human complexity, the band’s unambiguous disapproval of such practices can feel like a balm on a collective, festering wound.
