Experience Stereo Grief by Greyhaven

By Phil Hawkins

Those familiar to the genre will know that Greyhaven is not new to the game by any means. However, Greyhaven is new to Solid State Records with their upcoming EP, Stereo Grief serving as their debut on the label.

Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Greyhaven has spent the past decade forging their own path within the heavy music scene and with Stereo Grief the band unpacks a myriad of emotions across a rather unpredictable soundscape that is teeming with fits of metallic catharsis, fearless experimentation, arresting melodies and piercing introspection. It is through these thematic framework that the band connects more intimately than ever before.

Stereo Grief opens with “Past Material” and wastes no time setting a tone for the EP as a whole leaning fully into an introspective nature that extracts a relatable story from within the heart of chaos. According to vocalist Brent Mills, the EP tells the story of a character travelling through a house where he watches all of these versions of himself. Through this journey he experiences good and bad moments as well as regret. Lyrically, Mills pulled inspiration from And He Built A Crooked House by Robert A. Heinlein. This conscious approach to an overall theme adds layers to the EP as each track builds up to and play into each subsequent track.

As the EP builds throughout it’s five part journey the first four tracks play in to more of a dark and/or negative space which is and can be commonplace within our own journeys as we all encounter hardships and trials throughout life. “Confined Collapse,” “The Welcome Party” & “Sick and Lavish” follow “Past Material” and intricately paints and weaves the dark space. However, the album culminates with “An Inverse Self-Reflection” which wraps up the EP in a more positive note as it provides the insight that despite all the bad and negative encounters we have the ability to makes things better. Throughout the EP it is evident that Greyhaven have honed their craft and focused in on what they wanted to accomplish on Stereo Grief. The musical approach and composition takes a front seat as each track is structured in a way that is tonally intimate.

Ultimately, Stereo Grief is a lyrically ornate and musically intricate tapestry that flows with the character’s journey as they are engulfed and eventually swallowed up, but still manage to find their hope and pull themselves out of the depths they have been entrapped in. It is a short journey, but it is impactful and only build upon the foundation that Greyhaven has built during their tenure as a band. Hopefully, it is but a small glimpse of bigger things to come.

Stereo Grief is out April 12th via Solid State Records and available on all major streaming and digital platforms or you can purchase physical copies via the Solid State webstore.

Greyhaven has a couple of California dates later this month. You can purchase tickets for West Hollywood here or San Francisco here.