Colossal Rains is a new project from core members of Philadelphia’s iconic hardcore outfit, Blacklisted — a band whose influence helped shape a generation of heavy, emotionally-driven hardcore music. On their upcoming debut album, Feral Sorrow, Colossal Rains captures a powerful sense of renewal and rediscovery
Produced by longtime collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Scowl) for his label Memory Music, Feral Sorrow is a full circle moment nearly two decades in the making. Blacklisted was one of the first bands to ever trust a teenage Will Yip, recording out of his parent's basement in Philadelphia — a collaboration that would go on to influence the sound of modern hardcore. With Colossal Rains, that partnership returns, evolved and sharpened by years of growth on both sides. It’s the sound of seasoned artists building something new — a band rooted in history but entirely focused on what’s next.
The first song that made things truly click was “Deadlights,” an intense track about solitude, strength, and the strangeness of moving on and restarting your life. Hirsch says, “I’ve had a poster of Blade Runner above my desk. Looking at the poster, I kept thinking about how badly I wanted to get on one of those ships. Climb through one of the engines or into a cargo hold and just be a stowaway headed for a new life. But I knew I couldn’t.” The resulting track captures that restless need to escape, as well as the harsh realization that sometimes... you just can’t.
From there, Feral Sorrow gets into heavier terrain with moments like “Flowers on a Landmine,” the last song written for the record. It grapples with the absurdity of depression. “I wanted to write a song that held a lot of weight musically because I’m self-conscious my lyrics could outshine the musicianship, which is unfair,” Hirsch explains. Finding closure in forgiveness, “Agony Bells” is Colossal Rains’ most defining track, according to Yip. “After recording it, Will said this is what you sound like, and made us scratch all previous vocal takes for the album and re-record. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made together.”
Colossal Rains is:
