GUIDES
“Drain”
Hard rock outfit GUIDES unveils their new single, “Drain,” a blend of nu metal and post-hardcore elements, produced by Zac “ZROKK” Diebels of Simon Says.
GUIDES have always leaned on the push-and-pull between weight and shimmer: groove-first riffs that land like wet concrete, then a filigree of atmosphere that makes the impact feel strangely spacious. “Drain,” the first in a new run of releases, sharpens the band’s sound, adding control and hooks that evoke tension and release.
It was written in real time, during a period of loss, instability, recovery, i.e., the unglamorous work of resilience, so the track’s emotions feel like snapshots captured by a camera. The lyrics fixate on survival math (what you can carry, what you can’t), relationships under stress, and the chancy project of selfhood, even as the band’s external story was inching toward lift-off: sold-out rooms, bigger bills, the kind of gigs that are supposed to make everything click. “Drain” sits in that contradiction and lets it hum.
Made up of vocalist Jonathan Joseph, drummer Tim Evans, and guitarist/bassist Zach Hess, GUIDES established their presence with 2023’s When Everything Reverses, a five-song debut EP that combined heavy instrumentation with a palette of experimentation. Its crunch and haze nodded toward the late-’90s/early-’00s alt-metal of Deftones, Taproot, and Staind, while its melodic urgency pulled from the post-hardcore emotional class of Finch, Thursday, and AFI.
GUIDES has shared the stage with artists such as Sevendust, Taproot, Cold, Orgy, Attack Attack!, and Simon Says.
“Drain” rolls out on eerie, whispering voices, followed by raw guitars topped by fierce vocals immersed in Linkin Park-like visceral textures. Tough, finessed drumming from Evans gives the rhythm a tight, chopping cadence that adds raw passion. Harmonic shifts infuse the melody with thrumming layers, accentuating dark colors and vocals that alternate between melodic and hellish rasping timbres.
On “Drain,” GUIDES comes closer than ever to a tremendous leap in scale, conjuring irresistible, primordial emotions.
GUIDES will celebrate the release on May 18 as they support Powerman 5000 and 12 Stones at Crafthouse in Pittsburgh.
