Between the white lines of the endless highway and the dimly lit green rooms, every band has its soundtrack. SOM’s Van Jams are the tracks that push them through the exhaustion, the ones that crank up just before they step onstage or when the night stretches too long between one city and the next.
The Massachusetts-bred post-metal and shoegaze outfit is gearing up to release Let The Light In on March 14 via Pelagic Records. A reshaped and refocused SOM has emerged after a year of transformation, re-recording much of the album following the departure of their original drummer. The result is a raw, yet deeply melodic record, one that finds catharsis in change and clarity in resilience. But before the world hears the new album in full, SOM gives us a glimpse into the music that fuels their journey.
SOM has spent years on the road, crossing North America, Europe, and the UK alongside bands like Katatonia, Sólstafir, and Slow Crush. With members from Caspian, Rosetta, Junius, and Constants, their collective experience is vast, but Let The Light In may be their most personal statement yet. It’s an album built from the kind of moments these Van Jams soundtrack—the late-night drives, the pre-show tension, the exhaustion, and the exhilaration. It’s about finding solace in movement and meaning in sound.
Here’s a glimpse into the music that fuels their journey while being on the road.
Killswitch Engage – My Last Serenade
If you put on Killswitch at least 50% of our band will drop to the ground and immediately start doing pushups. Mike and Will saw Killswitch’s very first show at the Worcester Palladium and we’ve all been big fans of the band ever since. Coming up in Massachusetts, they’ve always been a north star of how a successful band operates, and we’ve been lucky enough to get to know their drummer Justin over the years through his bands Lybica and Fixation Arc (whose albums Will mixed). You could put on pretty much any song of theirs, but My Last Serenade just rips right through the noise and delivers that emotional high energy punch you need to cruise down the highway in the middle of the nowhere at 2 AM.
Type O Negative – Love You To Death
A perfect song. There’s something timeless about Type O’s music that even though they had this self-deprecating kind of humor throughout, there was also this super earnest vulnerability to it. This song is them at their most beautiful and sincere while still feeling they’re not taking themselves TOO seriously. Pete Steele’s bass tone and voice were just unstoppable.
Handsome – Left of Heaven
A strong contender for one the best riffs of all time. This band, featuring members of Helmet and Quicksand, is one of the criminally underrated acts of mid-late 90s NYC post hardcore. They broke up too soon, but their self-titled album remains a Van Jam favorite.
Bone Thugs n Harmony – Home
As a huge Phil Collins fan, and a lover of all the syncopated melody of Bone Thugs, this song delivers on all levels.
Fear Factory – Descent
Possibly the ultimate riff that we work very hard at not trying to rip off. This song is nu metal at its absolute radio ready best – a bouncy anthem that feels like it defines the best of the late 90s.
Sevendust – Black
Joel heard this song on the radio in 1997 and immediately called the radio station to request it again. It’s just such a ripper of a song that never seems to get old even after all these years.
Ultraspank – 5
One of the all-time worst band names ever, but these guys were one of the best to come out of the late 90s wave of nu metal. If you can get past their name, they’ve got some real bangers that still hold up and are still kind of a late night guilty pleasure on the road.
Paradise Lost – So Much Is Lost
This era of Paradise Lost’s catalog (with the albums Host and Believe In Nothing) seems to be pretty polarizing among fans. They took a turn away from the drier metal of their early albums, embracing synths and electronics with a more late 90s Depeche Mode kind of sound, and was awesome. We celebrate their entire catalog, and are stoked that they returned to this sound with the “side project” Host.
Killing Joke – Millenium
Another band whose entire catalog is worth celebrating. Everything Killing Joke has done feels fresh and of-the-moment. This is one of the heaviest riffs ever and this song with its haunting mid-90s industrial sound never seems to get old.
Post Malone – Too Cool To Die
This is a late night Justin banger with his motto for life as the title.
