Emerging alternative meets nu-metal project abide combines heavy riffs with unsettling atmospheres and confessional lyrics in a sound they describe as “nostalgic, energetic and angsty.”
The project was started by Tom Ungerer, the bassist for Sam Fender who’s based between London and Nice, and drummer Jack Golightly. The pair previously played in the band Them Things around eight years ago. But this project came together via Moth Lake Records, a label that’s built around bands inspired by music from 1995 to 2005 run by Sam Fender’s drummer, Drew Michael.
In Tom’s words: “I told Drew that he didn’t have a band that sounds like System of a Down. So I wrote a song, then another, and before long I had dozens of demos. That naturally became abide. It’s in between nu-metal and alternative rock. I love System of a Down, Slipknot, Audioslave… So expect heavy riffs, a lot of dynamic changes and screams.”
Our first taste of this is abide’s second single forget to pretend, which was released earlier this month and was mixed and mastered by the legendary Romesh Dodangoda. It opens up with deliciously thick guitars that drop into twinkling guitars over engaging vocals, which intensify into screams that usher in the return of the heavy guitars over wild cries. It slows down into another laid-back verse, then mellow strings come in over repeats of “You tried to make me doubt myself, Again, It’s not working this time.” That explodes into another smash of heavy guitars and wild vocals, bringing the track to a powerful conclusion.
On the track, Tom said: “It actually just got played on BBC Introducing and, while I’ve heard myself on the radio plenty of times playing bass with Sam, hearing a full composition – and my own voice – is a completely different experience. People have only had nice things to say so far. For anyone coming in fresh, expect heavy riffs and long screams. The guitars sound huge thanks to Romesh.”
That follows on from abide’s debut single lullaby lullaby, which was released on Halloween. It opens up with a spinning guitar riff that intensifies before dropping into mellow vocals. Stabbing guitars come in alongside cool, repeating guitar notes that almost usher in fairground scenes and flow into a slightly unnerving chorus. The track concludes with a little guitar lick supported by piano, setting up a final blast of the chorus.
As alluded to, the abide sound is heavily influenced by the metal and nu-metal era of the 90s and 2000s, including bands like System of a Down, Slipknot, Audioslave and Limp Bizkit.
And on what inspires them to write music, Tom tells us: “It comes from nostalgia. In my teens, that was pretty much all I listened to, heavy music from the late 90s and early 2000s. And writing riffs and structures in that world seems to come naturally to me. The vocal side and lyrics take more work, I’m
primarily a bass player, but I’m learning. In a way, it feels like going full circle, especially now that I’m back to listening almost exclusively to bands like System Of A Down and Slipknot again.”
There’s plenty more to come from the duo, who have plans to involve more people in the project moving forward, particularly through guest artists. Tom already has a strong body of material in place, and is now focused on developing those songs and finding the right musicians to bring them to life in a live setting.
And Tom added: “There’s something genuinely thrilling about starting a band from scratch after doing this for about two decades. I’ve played stadiums with Sam and shared stages with some actual living legends, so knowing I’ll have to go back to playing tiny/empty venues is quite exciting actually.”
You can follow abide on Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
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