Gridiron will bring Poetry From Pain to fans and venues all summer long. All upcoming confirmed dates, including Summer Slaughter, are below.
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.
“Poetry from pain is about team work, brotherhood, never settling for less than your best, always raising the bar, and finding ways to express what you’re feeling inside.”
GRIDIRON — Matthew Karll, vocals; Will Kaelin, guitar and vocals; Xavier Wilson, guitar; Lennon Livesay, bass; and Tyler Mullen, drums — are proud to release their new album Poetry From Pain today, May 30, via Blue Grape Music. Get it here.
A Stereogum fave for their "incendiary mosh riffs, the band has shared a dope, football-themed visualizer for the title track. Get off the bench and watch and listen here.
Groove? Check. Bounce? Check. Swagger? Check. Mosh? Check. Gridiron tick off ALL the boxes.
"Poetry From Pain is about teamwork, brotherhood, never settling for less than your best, always raising the bar, and finding ways to express what you're feeling inside," states Karll.
GRIDIRON ON TOUR:
5/31-6/1 — Detroit, MI — Tied Down Detroit
6/7 — Philadelphia, PA — GRIDSTOCK at Warehouse on Watts
6/21 — Rutherford, NJ — The Black Box at the Williams Center
SUMMER SLAUGHTER 2025:
WITH HATEBREED, FUGITIVE, MALEVOLENCE, ESCUELA GRIND, + INCITE:
7/8 — St Petersburg, FL — Jannus Landing
7/9 — Atlanta, GA —The Eastern
7/10 — Baton Rouge, LA — Mid City Ballroom*
7/11 — San Antonio, TX — Vibes
7/12 — Oklahoma City, OK — Diamond Ballroom
7/13 — Dallas, TX — Bomb Factory
7/14 — Memphis, TN — Growlers*
7/15 — Indianapolis, IN — Egyptian Room
7/16 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE
7/17 — Huntington, NY — The Paramount
7/18 — Troy, NY — No Fun*
*Gridiron Headline Show
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
