Bristol band Split Chain offer up an intriguing fusion of shoegaze meets nu-metal that draws on late 90s / early 2000s skateboarder rock and punk in a sound they describe as “catchy, ethereal and hard.”
The quintet of Bert Martinez (vocals and guitars), Jake Reid and Ollie Bowles (guitars), Tom Davies (bass) and Aaron Black (drums) first started putting things in motion last year as a “happy accident.” Bert and Tom found themselves falling back into their skateboarding roots, watching classic skate videos, and reliving the classic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater days. And that nostalgia trip gave them the inspiration to start writing music.
As Tom says: “We ended up writing the first couple of demos and sending them to Jake. We basically told him that we wanted him to come in and help us refine a lot of it, and he was in from the get-go. After working on the demos a little bit more, we decided to meet with Ollie as we wanted a third guitarist and wanted it to be him. We showed him the demos in the pub and it was an immediate yes. Aaron was the final piece of the puzzle and like everybody else, we sent him the demos and he was fully on board for it.”
As mentioned, Split Chain have harnessed the influence of two fairly distinct genres in shoegaze and nu-metal. As Tom explains: “We like to think of it as a different take on the things we love the most about the music we’re passionate about. It’s nostalgic but unfamiliar. Big late 90’s early 00’s nu metal/shoegaze sound, clashing with modern hardcore, grunge and emo.
“Shoegaze and nu metal are both huge genres that peaked before we were old enough to appreciate them properly. In recent years there’s been resurges of both genres and they are both genres we keep going back to. To have an opportunity to combine them and try and push that sound out as much as possible is sick. Heavy distorted guitars, big riffs, chorus drenched lead lines and a mix of soft ethereal and harsh vocals.”
Our first taste of this was Future, their second single released last month. It opens up with vocals and guitar that explode into a smash of chunky guitars and a high-pitched lick. A chunky bassline comes in to support an edgy verse, which leads into a big atmospheric chorus. It drops into another bumbling bassline alongside a little guitar lick and laid-back vocals before another big chorus.
On the track, Tom told us: “The reception to Future has been extremely positive! We’re chuffed to bits. We’ve had a huge, huge amount of lovely feedback off of its release, and we’re honestly just so stoked people feel the same way about it as we do. In terms of expectation for people who haven’t heard it yet, think big hooky choruses but with driving melancholic verses. It builds, delivers, and then rebuilds itself to re-deliver.” Check it out in the video here:
That follows the band’s debut single Get Inside, which was released in April. It opens up with a piercing guitar sound that flows into a deliciously heavy shoegazey instrumental section. Drawn-out vocals “Dreaming of skies, For you, Sleeping inside, See you, The water it runs blue, Just like you do” take over, and the pace drops before launching into a big catchy chorus with repeats of “Get inside, Get in.” Another verse of mellow vocals is launched forward by a big instrumental backdrop of dreamy guitars and driving drums, before a heavier chorus brings this superb track to a close. Check it out in the video below:
The Split Chain sound is influenced by newer artists like Narrow Head, Fleshwater, Bleed, Soul Blind alongside classic bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Deftones, which solidifies the shoegaze and nu metal crossover.
And on what inspires them to write music, Bert tells us: “It’s something I’ve never thought about before, but I’ve been writing and playing music for many years now. When the pandemic hit, with the world at a stop, I thought with all this spare time at home I’m going to be writing all day every day, however it was the complete opposite. I don’t think I even had one fully finished song by the end of it.
“So looking back, being busy and just generally living life clearly has a huge influence on my creativity. It gives a place for events, both bad and good, to be concreted somewhere for someone to listen to, and relate to when needed. I’ve always looked at writing music as an outlet, the same as many other musicians. 100% it’s therapy.”
Split Chain are fresh off the back of their first-ever live show last month, as they played a hometown headline show in Bristol on the back of two singles – but it sold out. As the band said: “The crowd were singing along and getting so involved it blew us away. For a band that’s only been going for two months, we’d never think the reception of our first couple of releases would push us this far already.”
And you can rest assured there’s plenty more to come from Split Chain, starting with playing Gruesifest in Bristol on 26 August then gigs in Luton and Bristol in September. More info and tickets are on their website.
And the band add: “This is less about us but: Get involved in the UK alt scene. Go to shows, support small bands, go out of your way and search wherever you listen to music. So many bands are absolutely killing it and it’s amazing to see what the UK is offering right now.”
You can follow Split Chain on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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