Hard rock and metal collective September Mourning see themselves as more than just a band, but a transmedia project that fuses music, comics and performance into a single immersive universe. On stage, it brings to life characters created in a comic book series of the same name to create a sound they describe as “cinematic, heavy and immersive” and “a story you can see, hear, and feel.”
September Mourning was started by primary songwriters and comic book creators Emily Lazar (vocals, California) and Rich Juzwick (guitar, Ohio), along with Kyle Mayer (drums, California) and Pat Romenelli (guitar, Pennsylvania). They met through mutual connections across the rock and metal scene and eventually evolved into a blend of musical performers who embody the comic characters on stage.
In Emily’s words: “At its heart, September Mourning is a story-driven project: a human–reaper hybrid who collects souls and gives them a second chance at life. That mythology powers the live shows, the comics, and the music itself, making the band stand apart from typical rock acts.
“September Mourning sounds like if a comic book came to life on stage and collided with hard rock and metal. It’s heavy riffs, soaring vocals, screams, and haunting melodies – all wrapped in a dark, cinematic universe where music, story, and character merge into one experience.”
Our latest taste of this is Bite Back, which was released yesterday. It opens up with stabbing guitar notes that continue under wild guitar noises, then drop into Emily’s engaging light vocals. Instrumentals creep in, before exploding into a huge chorus “Bite back, Jaw latched, Tearing through a detached halo, A pang inside, You, you choke on mine.” The pace slows again, but intense guitars come in to lead us into an expanded chorus, which drops into pulsing synth sounds then vicious screamed vocals take over and tee up a final blast of the chorus.
Speaking ahead of the release, Emily told us: “I’m honestly so excited for people to finally hear Bite Back. This track is really personal and powerful – it’s about what happens when someone tries to pull you under, and you find the strength to rise up and fight back. It’s heavy, it’s melodic, it’s got those hard-hitting riffs and screams that our fans love, but it also carries that anthem energy we’ve become known for.
“People should expect a song that feels like defiance -raw emotion turned into power. If you’ve ever been tested, broken down, or underestimated, Bite Back is that battle cry to remind you that you can come out stronger on the other side.”
Bite Back follows on from a series of singles, including this year’s intense Hell Like Me and feisty cover of Meredith Brooks’ Bitch. Prior to that, the band’s impressive back catalogue includes the more melodic 20 Below MMXXIV and the intense Body Count, in addition to last year’s fourth album Volume IV, and racking up some big number streams on tracks like the excellent Unholy and catchy Eye of the Storm.
The September Mourning sound has been influenced by metal, rock and alternative acts that push boundaries sonically and visually. And, in Emily’s words, “bands and artists that balance heavy riffs with deep atmosphere and emotion.” At the top of her list are Deftones, for their ability to create haunting, textural music, along with Rob Zombie’s theatricality and dark storytelling and Evanescence’s fusion of hard rock with melody, orchestration and vulnerability.
And on what inspires them to write music, Emily explains: “I write music as a way to process the world and the emotions that come with it—loss, love, survival, identity, and the constant fight to rise above. A lot of my songs are inspired by moments of pain or struggle that I’ve had to transform into something powerful.
“In September Mourning, I also write about the souls September has collected. Each song becomes a story—sometimes tragic, sometimes hopeful—about a soul’s journey, their mistakes, their redemption, and what it means to keep going even when the odds are stacked against you.So the key themes in my writing are resilience, transformation, and the search for meaning. Whether it’s my own life experiences or the fictional universe I’ve built, the music always comes back to this idea of turning darkness into strength.”
There’s plenty more to come from September Mourning, who’ll have more new music dropping steadily through the rest of this year. They’re also mapping out another live tour and have new comic books in the works with expanded storylines and, in Emily’s words, “fresh lore to deepen the September Mourning mythos.”
And Emily added: “September Mourning has always been more than just music – it’s an entire universe. Every song, every comic, every live show is a piece of that story. At its core, our music is about resilience, transformation, and the fight to reclaim your power when the world tries to take it from you. We blend heavy riffs, haunting melodies, and storytelling to create not just a sound, but an experience. For me, it’s about giving fans a world they can escape into, but also see themselves in — a place where their struggles, triumphs, and spirit are reflected back. That connection is everything, and it’s why I keep creating.”
You can follow September Mourning on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
Listen to September Mourning and more new metal on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core and GigRadar Metal
GigRadar 