Loathe (band)

They released their debut studio album, The Cold Sun, in 2017, then a split EP recorded with label-mate Holding Absence titled This Is as One in 2018.

[2] Loathe has its origins in the Liverpool melodic metalcore band Our Imbalance, which Erik Bickerstaffe was a founding member of.

Eventually, Kadeem France, who at that time was the drummer for Escapists UK, replaced Our Imbalance's founding vocalist Harry Rule.

In 2015, they performed at Deadbolt Festival on 8 August, and in Autumn that same year they released their first EP titled Prepare Consume Proceed independently.

Kadeem France was the only one whose stage name was revealed (DRK) as he is the lead vocalist, and was identified by a prophetic mask of unknown significance, which was used as the album artwork for their EP.

[15] As the band's career progressed, the members decided that the use of code-names and the mask was unnecessary, citing that they just wanted to be themselves when performing their music and pointed to the likes of Ghost and Slipknot and their influences for starting that gimmick in the first place.

[30] Starting off 2018, the band released a split EP with SharpTone Records label mate Holding Absence on 8 February, and was followed up with a co-headline tour in March with support act Modern Error, along with God Complex at a show in Leeds.

The album also features collaborations with The 1975's saxophonist John Waugh, Parting Gift guitarist Peter Vybiral, and Vincent Weight.

[77] On 18 September, the band announced the departure of guitarist Connor Sweeney, while thanking him for his contributions, the guitarist clarified that part of the reason for leaving was because he "thought some things might have changed with time within the band but unfortunately in this case things continued to stay the same" so to preserve his sanity and mental health he chose to leave, and added that he would be back with new music and playing shows once "all is ready".

[81][82] On 20 October 2023, the band were featured on a reworking of Static Dress's song "Lye Solution" alongside BVDLVD and Hail the Sun from their EP Rouge Carpet Disaster (Redux) Volume 2.

[83] On an episode of the 78 Amped podcast, uploaded on the 14 December 2024, France and Bickerstaffe confirmed that the band's fourth studio album had been recorded and was planned for a release in 2025.

[92] This sentiment was echoed in an article by Distorted Sound Magazine, where the band were referred to as being part of the latest metalcore movement within the genre, along the likes of Code Orange and Ocean Grove.

[15][97][98][90] In an article for Revolver magazine, they were described as making music ranging between "industrialized metallic hardcore that's as crushing as it comes, to shoegaze-inflected post-rock that soars and shimmers".

[99][101] The 2021 instrumental album the Things They Believe also showcases the band's ability to create atmospheric sounds and sonic soundscapes with their use of expressionist, experimental, and synth heavy sounds, which has been compared to the works of Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Vangelis, and soundtracks to David Lynch films, described as noir-like electronic-ambience.

[14] Their first release, Prepare Consume Proceed, was said to involve a story about a tormented protagonist, who loses a loved one and is later killed by the end of the EP's run.

[107] The studio album the Cold Sun tells a narrative of a violent post-apocalyptic setting, mixing themes of desolation with an overarching sense of positivity and heroism.

[7][101] Bickerstaffe has stated that they don't take influence from other major concept records and acts such as Thirty Seconds to Mars and Pink Floyd, making the remark: "Our inspiration to create concept records mostly comes from wanting to create our own worlds within the music, almost like looking at the album as a book with separate chapters.

[108] The band's lead vocalist Kadeem France utilised a prophetic mask of unknown significance, which was used as the album artwork for their EP.

that they "...take a lot of inspiration from Marvel, DC and the rest of the comic world - seeing our live shows like performance art."

[13] On their earliest releases, Slipknot was their biggest influence, particularly in terms of the band's use of dark atmospheric and industrial elements and vocal aggression.

Former member Shayne Smith performing live at The Key Club in 2017