The hype around Knocked Loose has been steadily ratcheting up. In 2023, Billie Eilish moshed to them at Coachella, and Demi Lovato declared she wanted to collaborate with them. The Kentucky quintet started last year off strong, releasing singles Blinding Faith in February and Don’t Reach For Me in March. But it was April’s Suffocate, with a guest spot from genre-wrangler Poppy, that made the biggest impact. Its video, directed by Eric Richter (Better Lovers, Lorna Shore), featured the singer in a wedding dress, screaming out the songtitle before a surprise reggaeton breakdown.
“Filming this video was so much fun,” recalls frontman Bryan Garris today. “We pushed with every video to be deep and for it to have some underlying theme that kept the viewer intrigued. For this one I took a step back and said, ‘What if we just focused on cool and exciting imagery?’”
Third album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To was released the following month. With a title taken from a sentence someone said to Bryan when he was scared on a plane, and addressing themes of religion and uncertainty, it hit like a glass table to the face. Reaching No.23 on the US Billboard charts, it officially made them 2024’s breakthrough hardcore band.
“Bands like us aren’t supposed to do that,” says Bryan. “We aren’t the only one that ever has, but it’s still so surprising when it happens. I’m proud to make some sort of impact on the mainstream while maintaining the chaos that makes us who we are.”
A tour with Slipknot followed. Bryan flew his parents out for the date at the iconic Madison Square Garden – something he describes as a “Top 10 Knocked Loose moment for me”.
“It was a dream come true,” he says. “Starting a heavy band means that Slipknot is your ceiling. They are as big as it gets. And to get to share the stage with them was extremely special.”
Slipknot could see how fast Knocked Loose were rising, and Clown took them under his wing.
“I just got done telling Bryan and those guys about understanding that you’re in the zone,” Clown told Billboard in September. “You need a good team. A family around you, checking for isolation, substance abuse, depression, ego. You can’t just go rock out. Sharon Osbourne checked in on me... I’m checking in on [Knocked Loose] because I understand the realities.”
“I was very surprised at how down they were to hang out,” reflects Bryan. “Not that I thought they’d be rude, but they’ve been doing this for so long. They don’t need to make friends. But they went out of their way to socialise with us, take care of us, and guide us.”
Looking back, Bryan admits he put too much pressure on himself during the writing and recording of You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, making it “without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever made” – but he’s proud of the result. And as for where hardcore will go next?
“I truly couldn’t tell you,” smiles Bryan. “Every year new doors are opened. Every year the tide rises. I’m excited to be a part of it, I’m excited to keep pushing it into the mainstream where we don’t belong.”
Knocked Loose play dates across Europe, the UK and the US this Spring, Summer and Autumn, including Welcome To Rockville in May
