South Wales band Copehill Down have honed an aggressive and emotionally charged sound that’s pushing the boundaries of metalcore. The band take inspiration from metal pioneers through to more progressive and djenty styles, which is shaping what they describe as “raw, emotional metalcore.”
The Newport band started out as a two-man home recording project between Neil (guitar) and Dan (vocals), who’d previously been in another band with James (guitar) from around 2011. Copehill Down initially began as a hard rock project with clean vocals, but the heavier, metalcore-based sound gradually evolved over the years. And the lineup was soon completed by drummer Rhys in 2018 and bassist Dave in 2021.
On the sound they’ve honed since, the band tells us: “We play fierce, technical and emotionally charged metal, capturing the raw aggression of the early metalcore of the 2000s and 2010s. We combine crushing riffs, epic hooks, brutal breakdowns and gritty energy.
“Our roots stem from metalcore but, as we continually develop our sound, we’re infusing elements of progressive and djent styles with a view to forge a unique sound that can’t be labelled as any specific genre.”
The culmination of this will be the release of their debut EP The Design, The Disaster: Part One in April, which includes two remastered versions of released tracks and three new songs.
The first of those new tracks is World One, which was released earlier this month. It starts out with chunky guitar chords and moody synth sounds, before the guitars intensify as heavy vocals take over. A fun little guitar lick jumps in and quickly gives way to the intense vocals, guitars and powerful drums. It powers into a cool section of spinning guitars and heavy vocals, which are joined by clean vocals that bring the track to a close.
On the track, the band said: “We are especially excited about World One. Named after a computer program that predicted the collapse of civilisation by 2040, World One is an apocalyptic reflection on global climate events and how we are already on the trajectory towards collapse. We’d describe it as the epic centre-piece of the EP. Lyrically inspired by John Martin’s Apocalypse painting, it’s the darkest and most hopeless song we’ve written. One of the lines from the song, ‘There’s death waiting for us…in the skies,’ became the basis for the EP’s artwork. Musically, it sounds massive!” Check it out in the video here:
That follows on from the equally powerful previous singles Akira, which starts with a spinning guitar riff then launches into a wild verse of heavy vocals supported by a funky little riff, and Reckoning, which you can check out in the lyric video here:
While we also love the sound of the intense Silent Twin, which starts out with huge vocals then fast-paced guitars and drums as big vocals join in. It intensifies with crushing guitars as the heavy vocals continue relentlessly, then high-pitched guitars drop into a chunky breakdown. Check it out here:
On the EP, the band tells us: “We’re incredibly excited! As the name suggests, it’s part one of a two-part double EP, with part two planned for release later this year. Together, they will effectively form our full-length debut album.
“Both are concept EPs hinging around the collapse of civilisation and how human nature has attributed to it. Each track picks up on a theme that relates to the main concept from a slightly different angle. In doing so, we wanted to tell a story that raises questions and addresses issues about the trajectory of the ‘end times’ of our civilisation that we seem to be in. It’s an explosive onslaught of highly energised metalcore from beginning to end. We’ve poured everything we have into it and we’re really proud of the end result.”
Copehill Down remain a “happily independent and very ambitious unsigned band.” As they tell us: “As an independent band we do pretty much everything ourselves. We record, mix and master our own songs, create all our own artwork and merch, and even shoot our own videos. All the money we save by doing this is put into PR, promotions and putting on our own shows.”
The Copehill Down sound is shaped by members’ shared love for metalcore, from the likes of Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying and Unearth to more modern bands like Landmarks, Polaris and Spiritbox. And in terms of their favourite bands, Rhys goes for Meshuggah, Dave chooses Phinehas and Periphery, Dan selects August Burns Red, Neil says Unearth and After The Burial and James prefers Monuments and Parkway Drive.
As they explain: “We’re all also into different progressive, djent styles and that finds its way into the writing here and there. And of course, the classic metal of the 80s and 90s including Metallica and Iron Maiden, which inspire a lot of our riffs. All of these bands have helped us to grow into the band we are.
“August Burns Red are a band we’ve loved for a long time and have a huge amount of respect for. They’ve worked really hard and crafted their art and sound and they’ve just kept on slowly rising up the ranks to become the respected band they are today. They’ve just persevered, and they seem like cool guys! We’ve also got a lot of respect for Parkway Drive, they’ve literally done it all themselves, the tenacity that takes is something to be admired!”
And on what inspires them to write music, they continue: “Musically it’s a mix of riffs or melodies just coming together whilst playing, a hook or something might just form and then riffs are built around those. In terms of lyrics, we write about social commentary a lot, basically things that piss us off and those things we have to deal with in everyday life. Other themes we’ve recently written about are all hinging on the decline of human civilisation. So yeah, cheery stuff! Let’s just say we thrive on being pissed off generally!
“For example, the opening song of the EP is essentially about indoctrination and the arrogance of particular power structures such as empirical science, and the impact this has had on the beliefs of the masses and their connection to a spiritual aspect of life. The song highlights that the loss of our awareness of our ‘spiritual selves’, not necessarily in relation to organised religion, is a symptom of the design and decline of human nature and civilisation.”
Also, if you’re wondering about the band name, then it seems you’re not alone. As the band voluntarily explain: “Copehill Down is this abandoned, purpose-built army training village in the Salisbury Plains. We thought it had kind of a cool ring to it, as in a ‘Parkway Drive’ kind of ring and that was that. Some people assume we’re ex-soldiers because of the name which makes us laugh – we’re not soldier material.
There’s plenty to come from Copehill Down, with the band entering the South Wales Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses competition in the first heat on 31 March at Fuel Rock Club in Cardiff. That’s followed by the EP release in April, then a summer tour with two fellow South Wales metal bands State Of Deceit and Collapse The Void, which takes in The Crofters Rights in Bristol on 27 July, The Hobbit Pub in Southampton on 28 July, The Engine Rooms in London on 29 July, and two more dates still to be confirmed further north. All shows will be free entry and limited capacity so get there early to avoid disappointment!
As if that wasn’t enough, the band also plan to close the year out with their second EP, which will be released in December with two singles released prior to that. And the band adds: “We are definitely a live band at heart and our real focus is on providing ‘stand-out’ live performances; unleashing raw energy and feeling, unrestrained by click tracks and pre-recorded samples.”
You can follow Copehill Down on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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