Counterparts with guests I Promised the World, Balmora, and A Mourning Star

Counterparts is a Canadian metalcore powerhouse from Hamilton, Ontario consisting of members Brendan Murphy (vocals), Kyle Brownlee (drums), Tyler Williams (bass, backing vocals), and Jesse Doreen (lead guitar). The band is recognized as a leading force in the metalcore revival and contemporary melodic hardcore scene with their releases steadily climbing broader recognition—from underground acclaim ( Difference Between Hell and Home in 2013) to ( Heaven Let Them Die in 2024). A Eulogy for Those Still Here released in 2022 marked a refined blend of melodic heartache and crushing hardcore—signal of maturity and artistic depth while Heaven Let Them Die is an evolution toward heavier, darker territory. Counterparts continue to bring high energy performances through extensive touring having played Bloodaxe Festival (Kawasaki, Japan), Louder Than Life (Lexington, KY) Furnace Fest (Birmingham, AL), Reload Festival (Sulingen, Germany), Bautz Festival (Lüdenscheid, Germany) and several headline tours in US, Canada, Japan, Australia in 2025 alone.

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The fast-rising Texas-based five-piece I Promised The World have released a new self-titled EP via Rise Records, their first project with the label. Recorded at Timber Studios in Bayonne, NJ with Jon Markson (Drug Church, DRAIN, Stay Inside) and Adam Cichocki, I Promised The World opens quietly with “Proud” before exploding into the band’s full screamo / Midwest emo / post-hardcore push, setting the tone for an EP that never lets up. The EP captures a moment of choosing intention over drifting, presence over distraction, and treating the future as something you actively build instead of wait for. I Promised The World documents that turning point: the tension between who they were and who they’re becoming, where nothing has technically changed, but everything feels different. It’s both a reset and a declaration—the sound of a band committing fully to itself. Born out of tragedy, the band started after vocalist/guitarist Caleb Molina lost his father in 2020 due to COVID. Though the band—completed by vocalist Hunter Wilson, drummer Mason Zschau, guitarist Mason Nowlin and bassist Aidan Vickers—didn’t actually form until a few years later in 2023, their existence is intrinsically linked to his death. I Promised The World has always been both an extension and expression of Molina’s grief. But, as the band’s new self-titled EP demonstrates, it now also exists in defiance of it, as a celebration of Molina’s dad’s life. In the two short years of the band's existence, they’ve seen tours with Deafheaven, Midrit and Koyo.