ORTHODOX, Nashville’s metallic hardcore luminaries, have unleashed their latest single, “The Other Side Of The Nail”, a track that encapsulates the band’s raw energy and unyielding spirit. Following the acclaimed success of their album Learning to Dissolve, ORTHODOX continues to push the boundaries of the hardcore genre, melding intricate guitar work with the visceral intensity for which they’ve become renowned. Stream the new single HERE.
Adam Easterling, ORTHODOX’s formidable frontman, shared insights into the band’s latest offering: “We’ve been sitting on this song since we finished recording ‘Learning to Dissolve’ back in 2021. Leaving it off the tracklist was a hard decision to make, but we feel this song packs its own punch without having an album around it. It’s only fitting that this is finally releasing just four days before we head back to Randy in New Jersey to start tracking the next LP.”
The release of “The Other Side Of The Nail” is not just a single drop in the ocean; it’s a harbinger of the electrifying performances that await fans on ORTHODOX’s upcoming tour in support of BOUNDARIES in May, as well as acting as a bridge between Learning To Dissolve and their next opus. The tour promises to be a monumental journey across several key cities, showcasing the band’s explosive live show and the dynamic range of their latest material.
ORTHODOX’s May Tour Dates:
5/8 – The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
5/9 – Preserving Underground, Pittsburgh, PA
5/10 – Mahall’s, Cleveland, OH
5/11 – The Sanctuary, Detroit, MI
5/12 – Subterranean, Chicago, IL
5/14 – HQ Denver, Denver, CO
5/15 – Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
5/16 – Eagle Aerie Hall, Las Vegas, NV
5/17 – Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA
5/18 – Cornerstone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
5/19 – Goldfield Trading Post Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
5/21 – Voodoo Room at House of Blues, San Diego, CA
5/22 – The Nile Theater, Mesa, AZ
5/24 – Vibes Underground, San Antonio, TX
5/25 – Haltom Theatre, Ft. Worth, TX
5/26 – 89th Street, Oklahoma City, OK
5/28 – Vino’s, Little Rock, AR
5/29 – Saturn, Birmingham, AL
5/30 – Will’s Pub, Orlando, FL
5/31 – Crowbar, Tampa, FL
6/1 – Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
6/4 – Metro Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
6/5 – Amityville Music Hall, Amityville, NY
More About ORTHODOX:
The sound of ORTHODOX is the opposite of what most associate with the laid-back energy and country-fied twang of their native Nashville, Tennessee. ORTHODOX’s distinct, nu-metal-tinged brand of metallic hardcore has carved its own lane with their Century Media debut, Learning to Dissolve. “I think Nashville is really no different here than in any other city,” says frontman Adam Easterling, whose family background is rooted in the city’s country music industry. “There’s no major city where hardcore is at the forefront of the music business. But the musicians here are of a higher caliber because it is so competitive. If anything, it sets the bar a little higher.”
Learning To Dissolve is the punctuation on a journey that began with 2017’s Sounds of Loss. From the inception, ORTHODOX were nothing short of a standout, blending together riffs that wouldn’t be out of place on a SLIPKNOT record coupled with Easterling’s blunt, Jonathan Davis-esque howls. But, like their sonic brethren in KNOCKED LOOSE or VEIN.FM, while the influence of the 90’s/00’s is there, ORTHODOX doesn’t merely pay homage to their influences, it exceeds them. “From the beginning, we went in our own direction regardless of what anybody thought,” states Adam. “We didn’t grow up listening to hardcore. We grew up on bands like Linkin Park and System of a Down.” With Learning to Dissolve, those influences have refined themselves into a sound that is urgent and unforgettable from the album’s opening track, “Feel It Linger” to the personal and aural meltdown of closer, “Voice in The Choir”.
Written during the global pandemic and world shutdown of 2020, Learning to Dissolve was born of frustration. That is, until Easterling and guitarist Austin Evans began to really dig in. “I was in a weird place and felt creatively shut-down in the first few months of Covid,” says Adam “I really reflected on what I was going to do if things never came back. Austin and I started putting songs together, and Mike [White-Drums] and Shiloh {Krebs-Bass] came down and the album started to come together.” Recording in the dead heat of Summer with producer and mixer Randy Lebooeuf (THY ART IS MURDER, KUBLAI KHAN) at Graphic Nature Audio in Belleville, New Jersey, found the band in creative overdrive, ripping their songs apart. The experience was both grueling and intensely creative – until near-disaster struck the very last day.
“We had the van packed up, ready to drive back to Nashville and beat Hurricane Ida,” Adam recounts. “We are literally walking out the door. It’s already raining pretty hard. Austin turns around and goes, ‘What the fuck!’. Randy has already left and water is pouring out of the ceiling in the control room. At that point everyone runs in and starts grabbing all of his gear. Then it was like, oh shit! Right under one of the spots where water was pouring out is our hard drive. Randy’s computer was getting soaked. Luckily, we got all of the gear out before the hard drive was ruined!”
While 2019’s Let It Take Its Course focused on the duality of love and anger, Learning to Dissolve is born of intense self-reflection. It digs deeper than most metal or hardcore records. “The whole record Is about growing up and realizing that the things you wanted or the people that you loved when you were young don’t always align with your moral compass as you get older,” says Adam. “Learning to dissolve is about finding your own way. It’s about coming into your own as a person and deciding what’s right for you. Basically, living in your own solidarity or dissolving in complacency.” Not surprisingly, that ethos has echoed throughout ORTHODOX’s existence as a band, whose members past and present come from backgrounds rooted in straight-edge hardcore.
Easterling chocks it up to growing up in a family that had its share of addiction issues. “We’ve always been a straight-edge band – but we certainly don’t sound like one,” states Adam. “It’s not ‘if you’re not straight-edge, fuck you’ but we all come from that background. For me, it was about recognizing that addiction is a genetic trait and my personality as addictive so I want to stay away from habits that can hurt me.”
The hardcore-borne energy translates to ORTHODOX onstage. Ask anyone who’s seen ORTHODOX over the years giving from basements and DIY venues to giving the likes of THE ACACIA STRAIN, KUBLAI KHAN and SPITE a run for their collective money. No member stays in place as instruments flail, drumsticks shatter and Easterling channels personal demons leaving the audience nothing short of transfixed. “Live it all comes together.” says Adam. “There’s no do-overs or corrections. It’s as real and honest as it gets.”
Learning to Dissolve channels that sense of personal ennui in the most ferocious way. “Head On a Spike”, the first single and video from Learning to Dissolve is nothing short of a personal call-to-arm and statement of intent. “It’s a fuck you to everyone who said we’d never become anything as a band. You’re not enough to pull me away from this or make me give up.”
Line-Up:
Adam Easterling – Vocals
Austin Evans – Guitar
Shiloh Krebs – Bass
Mike White – Drums
Discography:
Sounds Of Loss (2017)
Let It Take Its Course (2020)
Learning To Dissolve (2022)
ORTHODOX online:
https://orthodoxtn.com/
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