Link 80 offshoot Omnigone are gearing up to release their third album Feral on July 26 via Bad Time Records (pre-order), and we’re now premiering the album’s second single, “Grief.” The song was written about Link 80 singer Nick Traina, who tragically took his own life at age 19 in 1997, just as the band was really starting to take off.
“Everyone processes death differently,” says singer/guitarist (and former Link 80 member) Adam Davis. “When I am experiencing some of the best moments of my life, that is when I am struck by their absence. This song is specifically for Nick Traina who died at 19 and has missed out on the last 27 years. He never was able to fully appreciate the impact the music he was a part of had on others. I visited his grave for the first time on May 1st, 2024. It turned out, by chance, this was also his 46th birthday. This song and video is also for Kiyomi Tanouye, lost in the Ghost Ship fire, and everyone else who went too soon.”
The song itself is a gritty, melancholic punk song that’s about as emotional as punk can get without being called “emo,” and the band’s ska side comes through on the slowed-down refrain. It’s a great, powerful song and video (directed by Giizmo of the Hellas), and you can check it out below.