RANKED: The Top 10 Knocked Loose Songs (Ahead of their exclusive Outbreak after hours show)

To limit a band’s extensive discography to ten songs is a monumental feat. Especially when that band is KNOCKED LOOSE. Over and over, they have proved they are a band capable of doing it all. And after the release of their third album, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, they are only getting bigger and better. They are a band that continues to prove they are all bark, all bite. Moreover, their live performance is impeccable, and their stage design completes any experience seeing them live. While every song in their catalogue is worthy of recognition, we have ranked the top 10 songs from their catalogue before their exclusive Outbreak show this weekend.

10) SEPARATE

It is always important to acknowledge a band’s roots and respect their earlier releases. When the material released is this good, it’s hard not to. Separate is a track that starts with a sonorous riff - the kind that snakes into your ribcage and beats a rhythm alongside your heart when turned up loud. The song resurfaced in recent years as a soundtrack to videos of people on TikTok. It is usually clipped at the lyric: "Whether you die on your feet or on your knees / at this point you should take what you can f*cking get.” a pleasantly gnarly line.

9) PERMANENT

This song is the concluding track on the band’s EP A Tear in the Fabric of Life, released in 2021. Fans of the band saw the release of Permanent in a period of time where the dust was still settling after the pandemic. An earworm like this, then, was almost medicinal in what was a strange, isolating time for many. Here, the guitars sound almost like a vehicle alarm or a siren. It would be fitting that a siren sound signals the arrival of this song; it is the kind of track that should come with a warning.

8) MISTAKES LIKE FRACTURES

Despite the track rising to fame as an internet meme, Mistakes Like Fractures is worthy of some attention. Featuring on the band’s second album, A Different Shade of Blue, it is interwoven with a certain kick and sharpness. It contains a lone, slow riff before rising again like a phoenix from its own ashes - just when you think it is all over. It becomes a welcome surprise that there is still more of this tune to enjoy.

7) BELLEVILLE

Booming drums. The clash of cymbals. A hefty riff on a guitar that hops from note to note. These are the things that make Belleville. The elements that form this song are fast, then slow, then they pick up the pace before you have even had the chance to catch up.It is an untamable rift ripped wide open into KNOCKED LOOSE’s world, and any listener is unable to close it. 

6) DEADRINGER

To understand KNOCKED LOOSE more thoroughly as a band, Deadringer is a must-listen. Featuring on their debut album Laugh Tracks, this song permeates like a mist. It’s the kind of song that grips you by the shoulders and shakes. Fierce guitars take you around everywhere, like a path dipping and rising in a valley. There is a certain groove to this track, despite being rooted in metalcore. There is no such thing as static when listening to it.

5) DON'T REACH FOR ME

When it comes to making music, KNOCKED LOOSE are not the kind of musicians to hold back. Everything they release is a substantial thing, something that you can sink your teeth straight into, only to keep craving more. A gritty song is something KNOCKED LOOSE excel at. Don’t Reach For Me is no exception. Kevin Kaine’s fast-paced drumwork pulses alongside vocalist Bryan Garris’ screams. The track concludes with a slow riff you can chew on and savour.

4) OBLIVIONS PEAK

KNOCKED LOOSE are a band who have perfected the formula for making the opener of their albums strong. Oblivions Peak marked that worthy place on their album Laugh Tracks, which turns ten this September. Furthermore, this was one of the first songs that put the band on the metalcore map. It’s vicious. As Bryan Garris himself has announced at Knocked Loose shows before, it is a song for the LGBTQIA community, and that makes it all the more special.  Oblivions Peak is to us like climbing ivy is to an abandoned house: it snares and grips you in place. But most importantly, the track sounds as good as it did in 2016.

3) HIVE MIND

KNOCKED LOOSE are known for some epic collaborations over the years. Billy No Mates with COUNTERPARTS. Suffocate with POPPY (which has its Reggaeton influences).  Hive Mind is no different. It is a genre fusion with DENZEL CURRY, who has mingled with the likes of DEFTONES, and it is a hip-hop-infused hit. The track maintains that Rap and Metal have always gone hand in hand. This song has all the hallmarks of a traditional KNOCKED LOOSE song, but worthy of note is an eight-second pig squeal and thunderous guitars.

2) EVERYTHING IS QUIET NOW

If you have ever been to a KNOCKED LOOSE concert, experiencing a wall of death to Everything is Quiet Now is a rite of passage. The song has been a staple of KNOCKED LOOSE setlists since its release in 2023. After all, nothing can compare to that feeling when the lights shut off and you’re moshing to the sound of low-pitched guitars in the flickering dark. This is the kind of song that makes you want to pull a face when the breakdown strikes. You know the one.

1) BLINDING FAITH

This track often kicks off the band’s set and has done so since its release. Upon hearing it, it’s not hard to see why. Blinding Faith is the match that ignites a mosh pit. From the first few beats, you are entranced: it is as though the band has woven magic into those first few beats. A magical spell will get you moving toward it in some way. Full of staples that pin a KNOCKED LOOSE song, it is cathartic. And if the pig squeal before the breakdown doesn’t entice you, it’s hard to know what will.

Words: Shania Richards

Photo: James Smith for Out Of Rage