On Friday a new anonymous project debuted on 20 Buck Spin that is very much a tribute to Type O Negative. Naturally, the Young brothers came to mind as suspects, though we figured it didn’t make sense since they’d probably instead (hopefully) be putting that energy into a new Twitching Tongues record. Meanwhile, that very same day, Colin Young debuted a new band called Holy Blade that sounds a whole lot like a tribute to late ’90s AFI. Colin plays guitar in the band, and he’s joined by his God’s Hate/Twitching Tongues bandmate Alec Faber on vocals/guitar, Twitching Tongues’ Mike Cesario on bass, and his friend Mac Miller of Cosmic Joke on drums. Colin and his brother Taylor co-produced the band’s self-titled debut EP, which arrives tomorrow (8/13) via Closed Casket Activities.
Lead single “Only The Dead” is out now, and from the guitar style to the snappy drums to the “whoa-ohs,” it captures the kind of goth-punk that AFI made in the Black Sails in the Sunset / Art of Drowning era to a T, with maybe just a few hints of the punkier Sing the Sorrow songs. It’s a natural followup to Twitching Tongues doing a full covers EP of AFI’s own heroes the Misfits, and fits nicely with the ’80s Cali hardcore vibes of Cosmic Joke’s Taylor Young-assisted debut LP too. Alec Faber has a notably lower voice than Davey Havok, but other than that, “Only The Dead” sounds like it was ripped straight from the AFI playbook.
Update (8/13): The full EP is out now, and there’s plenty more AFI worship where “Only The Dead” came from on this thing. On track one, Alec actually does sound like a dead ringer for Davey Havok. Stream the whole thing and watch the Derek Rathbun-directed video for “Only The Dead” below.
When asked about the AFI influence in an interview with No Echo, Alec replied, “It was definitely a launching point. I think if you look back on those first two LPs after Jade joins the band, there’s a musicality he brings to their brand of melodic hardcore punk that was missing before him. They were still fast and aggressive, but there was a real sense that AFI was writing songs for the first time (in my opinion). I wanted that in Holy Blade.”
Asked about other influences on the band, Alec said, “From [Alec’s short-lived band] Faith Alone, we brought a crust punk influence. Every fast part on the EP is a d-beat, and that was really important to me. I took a lot of influence from From Ashes Rise, Tragedy and Death Side. Those bands could be so fast and aggressive while being catchy at the same time. I’m also super influenced by early 2000s emo. Like, The Moon is Down by Further Seems Forever is as important to me as a Cause for Alarm in informing how I play guitar, especially in Holy Blade. I think that shines through in a lot of parts.”
Holy Blade’s first-announced show is FYA Fest 2025, which is being headlined by a Foundation reunion.
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Taylor Young meanwhile just officially debuted as a member of Regional Justice Center with Ian Shelton. Twitching Tongues will play three West Coast dates on the just-announced Sunami tour.