Held., a new project featuring Coheed and Cambria drummer Josh Eppard and members of Long Island post-hardcore vets the Sleeping, have unveiled their debut single, which both teases a forthcoming album and features guest vocals from My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero.
Fittingly enough for the fresh venture, the tune is titled “NEW YOU ANTHEM,” and it figures as the second song on their first album, GREY. The track begins with lighting-strike guitar pull-offs and thunderous drum accents, but soon settles into a brawny yet melodic post-hardcore groove.
Throughout, vocalist-guitarist Douglas Robinson sings of trying to keep it together through his darkest days (“I’ m tired of breaking down”). Iero comes through with a supportive vocal spot later in the track.
“I was motivated to write something anthemic, not for the sake of being purely anthemic but more or less therapeutic for people who feel down all of the time,” Robinson commented. “I feel this a lot in my life. It’s a heavy vibe I have to push through more times than not.
“I wanted to write something that encapsulates the feeling of any kind of love as survival. I reference different points of love throughout the song: music, friendship, sound, belief in yourself, and the desire for others to believe in you. It’s subtle but it’s all there.”
Held. joins Coheed skinsman Eppard with Sleeping members Robinson and bassist Salvatore Mignano. They shaded their GREY during sessions at Flemington, New Jersey’s Animal Farm facility with producer Jon Markson, who also engineered and mixed the LP.
Held. also marks another Amory-adjacent moment for Iero, who performs in L.S. Dunes with Coheed and Cambria guitarist Travis Stever (as well as Circa Survive’s Anthony Green and Thursday members Tim Payne and Tucker Rule). He’s also been a longtime fan of Robinson and Mignano’s work with the Sleeping.
“My Chemical Romance played a few shows with the Sleeping on the East Coast way back in the day, and I have always been a fan of Douglas’ voice and songwriting,” Iero explained. “It’s always a pleasure getting to work with new people; it opens doors and makes your brain work in different ways. Especially when those people are artists that you respect and are already a fan of. I’m flattered they wanted to have me on the record and I think the track turned out super rad.”
GREY is due out May 15th through MNRK Heavy. The album also features guest spots from members of UK post-hardcore unit High Vis. You can pre-order and pre-save the album here. That’d be the cover art and tracklisting down below.
GREY tracklisting:
DEFENDING THE EARTH
NEW YOU ANTHEM (Ft. Frank Iero)
CONSTANT TENSION
KNIFEPOINT (Ft. High Vis)
WAVES OF FIRE
GREY
I AND I AGAINST YOU ALL
THROUGH THE CRACKS
BROKEN SPACESUIT (DECAY AND SAND)
EMPTINESS: A SIDE EFFECT