BAND OF THE MONTH: MINDHOLD

Hardcore in the UK has always been a place where some of the heaviest bands of the genre have come from and with an abundance of great bands popping up on an almost daily basis it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to keep tabs on.

But every so often you go to a show and a band steps out on stage and you are absolutely blown away. Well this is what happened the first time Just An Insight set eyes on MINDHOLD. The Nottingham outfit announced their just over 13 minute set by saying they have four songs and they are just going to blast through them, and that is exactly what they did.

The band combines together heavy riffs with groovy rhythms and chunky beatdowns which will no doubt have limbs flying across mosh pits all across the UK in no time.

As a quartet the band themselves say their sound is pulling from a mixture of Death metal bands like Dying Fetus, Cannibal Corpse and Cattle Decapitation, as well as Hardcore bands like Splitknuckle, Cold Hard Truth, Sunami and plenty of more.

And that influence is clear to hear in the music especially in the very British hardcore manner of the way their breakdowns are written.

But despite how tough their music sounds and the imposing presence the four-piece cast when they are on stage, their music has a much stronger message behind it.

Talking about the formation of the band and the nature of the lyrics would be vocalist Jay D Broadhead told Just an Insight: “After a year or two of being out of Music mainly because I needed a break to focus on my Mental health, I was in contact with Matt Riley (the guitarist) for a couple years because he was in another hardcore band before (Skin of the Snake).

“Me and him spoke about wanting to make a band with hardcore and death metal roots with topics surrounding Mental health, LGBTQIA+ rights, politics and other social issues.”

And it is this sentiment which is at the heart of MINDHOLD’s music. When asked what did that band want people to take away from listening to their music Broadhead continued: “Mainly to talk about your mental health and being truthful about how you feel, the experiences of being Neurodivergent, having a voice for those who can’t say what they say.

“The main focus is to have deep lyrics and hard as fuck riffs.”

In 2024 the band has already started to make a name for themselves in the north of the UK, and it seems like 2025 the Nottinghamshire outfit don’t look to be showing any signs of slowing down. With a tour and a new EP on the horizon this year looks set to be a big one for MINDHOLD.

SHOUT OUTS:

Here are Just an Insight we want to learn about as many bands in our scene as possible, both in the UK and internationally. So as part of each feature we are giving the bands an opportunity to shout out some other bands to check out. Here is Jay D Broadhead’s recommendations:

“First up got all of the bands from Nottingham which is The Tura, Emancipation, Human Deceit and Torn Apart then all our EMHC and Yorkshire Hardcore Brothers! Plus Closed Casket, Low Blow, Detriment, and all of the bands we’ve played with so far, so many amazing bands about!”