Earlier this month, we got our first taste of Long Island hardcore (LIHC, courtesy of Koyo) and our second taste certainly doesn’t disappoint. The Great Lie offer up an intense, fast-paced and aggressive hardcore punk sound with a metal edge.
The quartet of Kerry Merkle (vocals), Mike Scarola (guitar and vocals), Scott Martin (bass) and John Lafata (drums) hail from different parts of Long Island. John and Scott have known each other since high school and have long-established Long Island hardcore (LIHC) roots, with John being part of Madball, Sheer Terror, Neglect and Deathcycle and John playing with Milhouse, Error Type 11 and Silent Majority. The pair were also both in Mind Over Matter and Mike has known Kerry for years, both playing in bands together and going to shows around Long Island.
Our first taste of the band’s approach is their fourth EP Vertigo, which was released last month. The EP opens up with the short and sweet Everything Ends, which starts out with fast-paced hardcore punk fury. But halfway through everything does indeed end, dropping into palm-muted guitars over Kerry’s building vocals and feeding into big backing vocals over engaging vocals. A high-pitched guitar kicks in and heavy guitars bring the track to a close.
That’s followed by a stabbing guitar opening up Viet Cong alongside shouted vocals. Heavy guitars and a bumbling bass support intense vocals before dropping into a cool laid-back riff before shouted vocals and drawn-out backing vocals. Huge rolling drums drive it along as wild vocals continue, then the pace drops with a return of the heavy guitars setting up a final chorus. Check it out in the stream below:
The pace picks up a notch in the lively Tactful Choices, which starts with a lively riff and drums supporting intense vocals. It suddenly drops into palm-muted guitars supporting gruff vocals, before jumping back into the lively verse. Second time around, the chorus gives way to a groovy little bridge and a laid-back funky guitar solo, which sets up a heavy outro.
Look Into The Sky begins with heavy guitars then a naughty little bassline tees up an avalanche of punk intensity. And Southern Drawl continues on the same theme, with wild opening vocals supported by driving drums and heavy groove guitars.
The EP goes out on a high with the final track All This Weight, which opens up with intense vocals supported by fast-paced drums and a chunky riff. That drops into palm-muted guitars and slightly less vicious vocals, before quickly jumping back into the barrage of punk goodness. The pace drops with a rolling riff and crushing drums, which are joined by echoey vocals. A piercing guitar solo jumps in over the atmospheric instrumentals, before a huge cry of “yeah” brings the EP to a conclusion. Check it out here:
On the EP, Mike told us: “I’d say the reception’s been pretty positive. We’re proud of the work we did and hope people dig it. Someone should expect fast hardcore punk songs with a bit of a metal vibe to them. As far as previous recordings go, I just think this is a natural progression of what we’ve been honing for years now.”
The Great Lie sound is influenced by 80s hardcore and thrash metal, which is a common base that the band’s members all agree on. And Mike tells us his influences include everything from Discharge, Nausea and Sonic Youth to Slayer and Celtic Frost. In his words: “All noisy in their own way, but different approaches to aggressive music. That type of stuff always spoke to me.”
Ad on what inspires them to write music, Mike says: “Kerry writes most of the lyrics and typically writes about life struggles, but my lyrics usually come from some general dissatisfaction. Be it people, politics, personal struggles, I use my lyrics to be something that can be cathartic. For me or the listener. I try not to be too specific so that it can apply to anything that sets someone off. More open to interpretation than a direct message.”
The Great Lie’s fourth EP Vertigo is out now on all streaming platforms, and is available for pre-order on translucent blood-red vinyl (which sounds very cool) through Lemmis Records. You can also see the band playing their new songs live at Amityville Music Hall on Long Island on Saturday (2 September, tickets available here).
And Mike adds: “We are already working on a follow-up to Vertigo and are hoping to get back in the studio before the end of the year. We are happy to be a part of such a great music scene with such great history here on Long Island.”
You can follow The Great Lie on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
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