New Band of the Week: Cober Mouth

Bristol-based trio Cober Mouth harnesses the aggression of hardcore, the bounce of nu-metal and the weight of metalcore in a vicious nu-metalcore sound they intriguingly describe as “Groovy. Slam. Jackhammer.”

Cober Mouth was formed through Adam Jones (vocals) and Dylan Plenty (drums) spending years playing together in their teenage band Black Leaves Of Envy. The pair moved from Cornwall to Bristol, where they met fellow Bristol-residing Cornwall native Sam Windsor (guitars) and, after refining their sound, they launched as Cober Mouth in 2023.

On the sound they’ve crafted, Adam told us: “Imagine the aggression of hardcore, the bounce of nu-metal, and the weight of metalcore—stitched together with unsettling ambience and suffocating atmosphere. It’s heavy, groove-driven, and full of raw energy.”

Our latest taste of this is STERIDE, which was released on Friday (21 February). It opens up with a pulsing synth sound that continues as heavy guitars and drums support wild screamed vocals. The pace drops with drums, which continue under fast-paced vocals and a little synth line before exploding into a vicious chorus. Stabbing guitars come in as the pace grinds down as heavy vocals bring it to an aggressive conclusion.

On the track’s release, Adam told us: “Beyond excited. STERIDE is the most pissed-off, groove-heavy thing we’ve done. It’s packed with frustration, bottled rage, and the kind of weight that makes you involuntarily grit your teeth. If you like music that makes you want to swing, shove, and lose yourself—this is for you.”

STERIDE follows on from September’s EP Untethered, which includes the intense opening title track, the absolutely vicious They’re Only There For Their Food and Then They’re There For Their Food and the excellent Beneath The Hydrogen. While the intriguingly hard-hitting yet intricate and melodic All, I Created and final track Open! Shut… showcase the band’s ability to mix things up. And if you want even more, the band also released their debut album last April.

The Cober Mouth sound has been heavily influenced by a few specific bands. As Adam explains: “Knocked Loose was a huge turning point, especially Laugh Tracks – it showed how hardcore could carry the weight of metal. Paleface Swiss confirmed that if something makes you laugh because it’s so disgustingly heavy, you’re on the right track. Thrown was another key influence – bringing Buster Odeholm’s thall-style riffs into a simpler, groove-first approach made us rethink how we write.”

And on what inspires them to write music, Adam told us: “A lot of our writing stems from frustration – whether that’s with people, the industry, or ourselves. There’s a recurring theme of self-awareness in our lyrics; being brutally honest about who you are and where you’re going. STERIDE is about watching people throw away their potential. Untethered dealt with the fear of losing everything you’ve built. If it’s something that makes our blood boil or keeps us up at night, it ends up in the music.”

Cober Mouth are always writing so new music is inevitable, be that an EP, an album or something else. They’ve got a busy touring schedule coming up, including a first show in London at The Black Heart on 21 June and returning to play a sold-out Thekla in Bristol on 6 April. All their gig details are here.

And Adam added: “We don’t do things by halves. If you come to a show, expect to feel every ounce of aggression and intensity that went into the music. If you’re into honesty, groove, and unfiltered catharsis – Cober Mouth is for you.”

You can follow Cober Mouth on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon Music and YouTube.