There’s no shortage of interviews or reviews out there that don’t mention how DRAIN vocalist Sammy Ciaramitaro is a really nice dude. We’ll take that at face value if so many others are writing it down. Something about hardcore music has always had way of being like a Jekyll and Hyde type of sitch for people like Ciaramitaro, though. Where he may project positivity up close and personal, music is his rage outlet, and he’s also been at the epicenter of where it’s been happening most lately in the scee. From the ashes of his former band Gulch, Ciaramitaro alongside guitarist Cody Chavez and drummer Tim Flegal, have been on fire since the world erupted in one in 2020 with their debut full-length, California Cursed, an album that hit at a perfect moment in this timeline with amalgamizing their Santa Cruz surroundings’ red hot thrash and hardcore intensity with a few flares of metal that – alongside their violently fun live show – catapulted them to the top of the heavy listening scene’s best new acts. LIVING PROOF arrives on even heavier shoulders, but you wouldn’t guess it by the way Ciaramitaro is so ready to bat away whatever shit and boulders life slings his way. Concision in the way Chavez saws up an oncoming adversary as Flegal’s rhythm doubles as a blast pad for Ciaramitaro makes for a listen that feels like an acknowledgement and the subsequent destruction of any negative energy. DRAIN don’t seem to have felt any pressure to evolve in sound (although, “Intermission” injects a hip-hop crossover into its razor-sharp crosshairs with a guest spot from Valley rapper Shakewell,) but perhaps they’ve made it their objective to twist the switchblade more tightly here, ensuring every ounce of poison leaves the source, be it from within or the world outside. At its core is a wrecking ball determination to be the best self, so that people like Sammy can step off the stage and be that dude people love hanging with. To get there, DRAIN’s “fuck this shit” energy needs to be turned up hard with everything else standing between them.

Highlights: “FTS (KYS)”, “Imposter”, “Living Proof”

DRAIN’s LIVING PROOF is available now on Epitaph Records.

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