Any band who cites Dark Angel, Exhorder, Slayer, Black Flag and Blast as influences is surely onto a good thing. However, Santa Cruz, crossover thrashers Drain are so much more than the sum of their inspirations and are wise enough to bring their own schmaltz to the party and have formulated a sound that captures the energy of hardcore punk and delivers it with the viciousness of thrash metal. Their songs are as volatile as that admixture suggests and they’ve won more that a few friends on both sides of the Atlantic and their fanbase is certain to grow exponentially with their third album, …Is Your Friend.
When it comes to music it seems that three really is the magic number; Budgie, Rush, Motörhead, The Rods, Venom, Tank…the list is endless. There’s something about reduced numbers that creates a sound far bigger that their constituent parts…and now you can add Drain to that illustrious list. Formed in 2014, they settled on their current incarnation two years later, and since then it has been full steam ahead, first signing with Revelation Records and now with Epitaph. The fire that feeds their flame is very much in evidence on opening shot ‘Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow’, it’s all very moshable and is guaranteed to ignite pits whenever it is unleashed. This isn’t the type of music you passively receive, rather it demands a reaction in the listener, whether that’s breaking out the air guitar or starting a pit (in your living room). The main benefit of the band’s configuration is that all the instruments come to the fore; often the bass guitar is buried deep in the mix, in a more supplementary role, but not so here, it’s bold and twangy and dictates the rhythm rather than playing behind it. The guitar is the sound of urban desolation, a pillion ride through 1980’s New York, the drums mix up tempos to great effect and will have all but the infirm and frail throwing neat moves whilst vocalist Sammy Ciaramitaro adds a touch of menace to tracks such as ‘Nothing But Love’ and ‘Loudest In The Room’.
Those who grew up on the crossover sounds of Cro-Mags, Suicidal Tendencies and Cryptic Slaughter will find a spiritual home here, but Drain are certainly no retro act and songs like ‘Darkest Days’ and caustic closer ‘Until Next Time’ seethe with an energy which places them firmly in the present. In our age of fragmentation and division, Drain is a friend you can count on.
- …Is Your Friend is released via Epitaph on 7th November 2025.
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Track List:
- Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow
- Living In A Memory
- Scared Of Everything And Nothing
- Nothing But Love
- Can’t Be Bothered
- Loudest In The Room
- Nights Like These
- Who’s Having Fun?
- Darkest Days
- Until Next Time
