Held. have introduced themselves to the world via their debut single, “NEW YOU ANTHEM“. That collective unites Douglas Robinson (vocals/guitars) and Sal Mignaro (bass) of Long Island, NY post-hardcore band The Sleeping with Josh Eppard (drums) of platinum-certified prog rockers Coheed And Cambria. The band’s debut album “GREY” is headed for a May 15th release through MNRK Heavy.
A video for their aforementioned debut single directed by Adam Thomson is now available below. Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance, etc. fame guests on this initial track. Recording sessions for “GREY” took place under Jon Markson (Drug Church, The Story So Far) at the Animal Farm in Flemington, NJ. Robinson said of the project:
“I wrote the idea for this song in my room. I was motivated to write something anthemic, not for the sake of being purely anthemic but more or less therapeutic for people who feel down all of the time. I feel this a lot in my life. It’s a heavy vibe I have to push through more times than not. I wanted to write something that encapsulates the feeling of any kind of love as survival.
I reference different points of love throughout the song: music, friendship, sound, belief in yourself, and the desire for others to believe in you. It’s subtle but it’s all there: ‘if our infection is loving, then we’re drinking up to the swell of the sun.’ I wrote this as an ode to people who love all elements in their lives with so much passion. Even if you feel yourself beaten and broken down every single day.”
Iero went on to say of his involvement:
“My Chemical Romance played a few shows with The Sleeping on the East Coast way back in the day, and I have always been a fan of Douglas’ voice and songwriting. Recently, when my friend Mike Dubin hit me up and said he was managing Douglas’ new project with Josh from Coheed on drums, another mutual friend, and that they were wondering if I’d be interested in singing on a song, I immediately said yes.
It’s always a pleasure getting to work with new people; it opens doors and makes your brain work in different ways. Especially when those people are artists that you respect and are already a fan of. I’m flattered they wanted to have me on the record and I think the track turned out super rad. ‘NEW YOU ANTHEM’ is a great song, and our voices work together really well.”
Eppard meanwhile reflected on the band’s origins as follows:
“Woodstock has long been a beacon for artists across all genres. The town, in its guts, is home to world class musicians and studios and has served as a sandbox of sorts for the three of us throughout our careers. It feels awfully serendipitous that our first time playing together was in that town, in a studio (Applehead studios) where we’d all crafted career defining albums with our previous projects.
Personally, I felt the hands of the universe at play when Michael Birnbaum (longtime Coheed/The Sleeping producer) called me and said ‘Yo, Doug and Sal are coming through… wanna jam?’ To be honest I’ve gotten quite a few of those kinds of calls over the years. This time, I said yes.”
“GREY” track listing:
01 – “DEFENDING THE EARTH“
02 – “NEW YOU ANTHEM” (feat. Frank Iero)
03 – “CONSTANT TENSION“
04 – “KNIFEPOINT” (feat. High Vis)
05 – “WAVES OF FIRE“
06 – “GREY“
07 – “I AND I AGAINST YOU ALL“
08 – “THROUGH THE CRACKS“
09 – “BROKEN SPACESUIT (DECAY AND SAND)“
10 – “EMPTINESS: A SIDE EFFECT“
For pre-orders, see held.ffm.to/grey.
