GRIDIRON — Matthew Karll, vocals; Will Kaelin, guitar and vocals; Xavier Wilson, guitar; Lennon Livesay, bass; and Tyler Mullen, drums — will drop their new album Poetry From Pain. The album arrives May 30 via Blue Grape Music. It will be available on vinyl in several exclusive colorways. Pre-order it here.
A Stereogum fave for their "incendiary mosh riffs," the band has shared the visualizer for new single and album opener "26/9." Watch and listen below.
It's rife with Gridiron's hallmarks — hip-hop-inspired bounce and grooves, massive breakdowns, and a boatload of confidence and bravado.
"'26/9' is about always raising your personal bar, never settling, and continuing to level up and push yourself to the limit, something we set out to accomplish with this track and record," says Karll.
Once again — mission accomplished with Gridiron!
Gridiron, which originally formed as a pandemic project and have since grown into a full-fledged entity, features members of Never Ending Game, Simulakra, and Scarab, and connects the Philadelphia, Delaware, and Michigan areas.
Pushing every boundary to a breaking point, Gridiron will go to any extreme and then some. They follow quite possibly the most unpredictable playbook in the game. The band might flood the zone with a corpsepaint-smearing death metal barrage only to double back around for a victory lap narrated by blinged-out and braggadocios bars. Their hybridization of metal, hardcore, and hip-hop wouldn’t be out of place at either OZZfest 1997 or Rolling Loud 2027.
It's why the quintet have bulldozed their own path as a phenomenon with millions of streams and acclaim from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, NO ECHO, and more.
Gridiron were born out of a series of COVID-era marathon Call of Duty sessions, which led to writing and recording together. Their musical pedigree spoke for itself with Will also in Never Ending Game, Xavier in Simulakra, and Tyler and Lennon in Scarab. Given their individual experiences, the guys instantly locked into a creative groove. Following the Loyalty At All Costs EP [2020] and Worldwide Brotherhood EP [2021], they dropped their first full-length, No Good At Goodbyes [2022]. Along the way, they also shared stages with everyone from Missing Link to Trapped Under Ice and have plenty of upcoming touring planned for 2025.
And now, Poetry From Pain is here and it slays.
Gridiron have a bunch of live shows on deck. All upcoming confirmed dates are below. The band was also just announced for Summer Slaughter in July. Those dates are also below.
GRIDIRON ON TOUR:
5/9 — Chicago, IL — Metro#
5/11 — Columbus, OH — Sonic Temple
5/13 — Atlantic City, NJ — Anchor Rock Club
5/14 — Virginia Beach, VA — Peabody's*
5/15 — Columbia, SC — New Brookland Tavern*
5/16 — Athens, GA — Georgia Theatre*
5/17 — Pensacola, FL — The Handlebar*
5/18 — Orlando, FL — Will's Pub*
5/19 — Surfside Beach, SC — The BrickHouse Lounge
5/20 — Raleigh, NC — Lincoln Theatre*
5/31-6/1 — Detroit, MI — Tied Down Detroit
6/7 — Philadelphia, PA — GRIDSTOCK at First Unitarian Church
6/21 — Rutherford, NJ — The Black Box at the Williams Center
#With Power Trip
*With Sanguisugabogg + 200 Stab Wounds
SUMMER SLAUGHTER 2025:
WITH HATEBREED, FUGITIVE, MALEVOLENCE, ESCUELA GRIND, + INCITE:
7/8 — St Petersburg, FL — Jannus Landing
7/9 — Atlanta, GA —The Eastern
7/11 — San Antonio, TX — Vibes
7/12 — Oklahoma City, OK — Diamond Ballroom
7/13 — Dallas, TX — Bomb Factory
7/15 — Indianapolis, IN — Egyptian Room
7/16 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE
7/17 — Huntington, NY — The Paramount
WITH HATEBREED, FUGITIVE, MALEVOLENCE, SNUFFED ON SIGHT, + INCITE:
7/18 — Springfield, MA — MassMutual Center
7/19 — Sayreville, NJ — Starland Ballroom
7/20 — Philadelphia, PA — Franklin Music Hall
7/22 — Charleston, SC — Music Hall
7/23 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore
WITH HATEBREED, BLEEDING THROUGH, MALEVOLENCE, SNUFFED ON SIGHT, + INCITE:
7/25 — Rochester, NY — Water Street Music Hall
7/26 — Detroit, MI — Harpo;
7/27 — Milwaukee, WI — The Rave
7/28 — Grand Rapids, MI — Intersection
