Anxious Hands – ‘Dissociate’ review and interview

Anxious Hands is a post-hardcore band out of Maine. Having been making music together for just around a year, the band recently released their inaugural EP Dissociate, and though it has come together fast it is already turning some heads.

The opening track “Envy” is an attention grabber. It is a very heavy song that feeds off of an aggressive vocal and a driving bass that you can feel in your chest throughout. The song has some clean transitions, but overall shows how heavy the band is, and the final breakdown is loaded with heavy vibes that left me grounded.

This sets the stage for the lead single, “Red Flags”. This song has a heavy feel and displays exceptional clean vocals in the bridge. It is catchy and fun despite the slow, heavy beat. The breakdowns use silence flawlessly and I would love to catch that transition live because I think it would stun the audience. “Drifter” is another powerful track that is unrelenting and pushes through the whole way to the end.

The title track, “Dissociate,” may be my favorite on the record. It starts out with an explosive vocal and the verse line has a deep ringing bass line that absolutely rocks me to the core. The drums are aggressive and the syncopation with the stringed instruments are awe-inspiring. “Farewell” may present the most star power on the record with its catchy hooks and clean vocals. The closing section of the song has screeching, almost pleading, vocals over a progressively more heavy backing track before building to a clean, catchy finish.

This debut EP is an amazing showing for the band. I was fortunate enough to get in touch with Tyler Bilodeau, the drummer of Anxious Hands, to ask some questions and give Metal Thoughts fans an insight into this up-and-coming heavy outfit.

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MT: Congratulations on Dissociate! The EP is great! What are your plans to launch it?

AH: We are going to release our debut EP “Dissociate” on March 29^th. We have five songs that we have poured our hearts and souls into and we can’t wait to share them with the world. It will launch on all major streaming platforms, such as iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.

MT: Are you guys touring to support the record? If so, where are you going?

AH: We are in the process of setting up a short tour in June and hopefully a couple shows in May. Besides that, we just played a nearly sold-out hometown show on March 16^th with a bunch of amazing bands in the Maine scene such as Hallowell, Bad Move, Spaced, and Let it Rain.

MT: The band has been together for a super short amount of time, and you’re already releasing a debut. What motivated you to get this out so quickly?

AH: When I reached out to our vocalist Trevor to start this project, I had the demos of what would become our songs Drifter and Home. Home was the first song we put out as a band last April as we felt that it encompassed everything we do well as band with catchy hooks and a great mix of heavy and melodic instrumentals. After that, we started working on perfecting our strongest demos to ultimately become these five songs on ‘Dissociate.’

MT: What was your writing process like? The content on this album is tremendous. Were any of you writing it before the band got together, or is it all collaboration?

AH: At first, I was doing most of the writing as I had a few demos lying around that I wanted to use. The songs on the EP I had the biggest influence on were Envy, Drifter, and Dissociate as those were the first ones we completed as a band. For “Red Flags” and Farewell (the other two songs on the EP) our rhythm guitarist Zach and our vocalist Trevor each contributed riffs and breakdown ideas along with me. We all jokingly refer to “Farewell” as “Zach’s baby” as he wrote the majority of the music for it.

MT: If you could tour with any band, who would it be?

AH: I think touring with Linkin Park would be absolutely amazing. Their first few albums influenced us all both musically and emotionally. In my case, Hybrid Theory was the reason I wanted to start playing drums in a band. They still remain one of my favorite bands of all time.

MT: I can hear the August Burns Red influence in your music. Who else has been an inspiration to Anxious Hands?

AH: For my writing style, Counterparts has been the single-most important influence. I was introduced to them when Trevor showed me ‘Tragedy Will Find Us.’ As soon as I heard the album, I was absolutely blown away by the songwriting and composition of the album. This was the album that inspired me to want to teach myself guitar, as much of the music on this EP was inspired by Counterparts in one way or another. Other main influences that the five of us share include Silent Planet, Silverstein, Vanna, ERRA, and Being as an Ocean.

MT: What should Metal Thoughts fans know about Anxious Hands?

AH: We are a hungry young band looking to prove ourselves in the New England metal/hardcore scene with relatable lyrics and unique, melodic songs. There is a song for everyone on this EP: whether you like heavy breakdowns, hardcore riffs, or soaring choruses, we have it all. Make sure to connect with us on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts where you will get the most up-to-date information on our band. We have two singles out on Spotify and Apple Music right now, and our debut EP ‘Dissociate’ comes out on March 29^th.

TAGS: Anxious Hands