GRIDIRON SHARE NEW SINGLE “STILL PLAYIN’ FOR KEEPS (BIG UMBRELLA REMIX) FEAT. DANIEL SON, PRO DILLINGER, + JAY ROYALE — WATCH VISUALIZER HERE
NEW ALBUM POETRY FROM PAIN OUT MAY 30 ON BLUE GRAPE MUSIC
BAND TOURING THIS SPRING
GRIDIRON — Matthew Karll, vocals; Will Kaelin, guitar and vocals; Xavier Wilson, guitar; Lennon Livesay, bass; and Tyler Mullen, drums — recently announced 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.
The band, which has been tipped by Stereogum for their “incendiary mosh riffs,” have shared the latest single “Still Playin’ For Keeps” (Big Umbrella Remix) Feat. Daniel Son, Pro Dillinger, + Jay Royale.
The track is hardcore x hip-hop hybrid that blends bounce, beats, groove, and grit — like the legends did in the ’90s. The result is a rhythmic, genre-smashing Molotov cocktail.
“‘Still Playin’ For Keeps’ is a track that I’ve wanted to pull off for a long time,” says Karll. “Gridiron riffs and some of my favorite current hip-hop artists on the same track. Hardcore and hip-hop meshing together into one entity is what this track is all about.
Watch the visualizer here.
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.
