PREVIEW: Those Once Loyal - Glass Hands

Nottingham's very own answer to Killswitch Engage, the five-piece Those Once Loyal have returned from a few years of lineup uncertainty with a new bassist, a new song, and plenty more. The band mix modern metal and hardcore with 2000's metalcore to make a sound that's not only nostalgic and powerful, but also invigorating and intensely enjoyable - yet still keeping a fresh edge that rides the wave of 2020's metal.

The band's previous efforts have all sat a little more within the realms of 2000's worship than upcoming single 'Glass Hands', which will be released on streaming services tomorrow. The track is a two and a half minute rampage that's much further into the realms of groovy hardcore than most of their previous output, and certainly takes a lot of influence from the current batch of American hardcore acts doing the rounds, as well as inspiration aplenty from the mighty Northern hardcore scene. As much Malevolence and Knocked Loose can be heard as bands like Desolated and Cauldron.

Chatting to the band about the single, they've also revealed that there may well be more to come in the future, with another song somewhere over the horizon that could be with us within the year - alongside a number of great live shows on the way! With a support slot underneath Xentrix and Raised By Owls in Norwich, a hometown show with Hacktivist and InRetrospect, and an appearance at Derby's Nu-Blood Festival too, they're going to keep themselves busy for the future.

In conversation with four of the five members of the band, we also discussed a few fun bits such as their favourite shows they'd ever played - which, despite having all of Oscar Gutkowski (guitars), Matt Smith (vocals), Harry Blanchard (guitars) and newly official (as well as previously stand-in) bassist Chayce Swain, three of them mentioned Bloodstock as their first thought. Chayce's slight lack of being there did mildly detract from the fun, as four of them thinking the same one could've been just that much more enjoyable, but another big highlight that was mentioned was the band's support slot opening at Rock City for metalcore staples Atreyu, on the revered Nottingham venue's main stage.

Since this track also veers genres a tad for the band, it only felt natural to discuss which other genre they might all choose to mix their staple sound with for a fun exercise in musical creativity. Pretty much off the bat, Harry said that "a bit of mathcore, some sort of chaotic thing, a bit like The Dillinger Escape Plan" would be his direction to swerve in - which was quite the change from Chayce's slightly comedic choice of funk, utilising Oscar's trumpet skills! Matt chucked in a suggestion that drummer Tom might be a fan of adding an nu-metal tinge, before he himself said to chuck some thrash into the blender. Finally, Oscar took a moment to consider how possible it would be to add in some of the indie rock of Bloc Party into their sound, which could be quite the interesting genre fusion.

Meandering between chatting about different venues and their pros or cons, a new Muse song with a fight riff, more trumpets and some ska punk, we had a lovely chat about all things Those Once Loyal that could be detailed over many paragraphs, but ultimately boils down to the fact that this band loves heavy music. They're listeners of all sorts, and lovers of live, with plenty of energy and bags of passion. For any fans of such things, and of course any fans of melodic groovy hardcore, then the below video is a little treat before 'Glass Hands' is officially released into the world tomorrow.

Those Once Loyal have also released a new hoodie design based on the single, and are prepping for more shows to come. Keep an eye out on them playing near you!

Glass Hands will be released on April 11th 2025.

Words: Jake Longhurst

Photos: Those Once Loyal