Caskets

Having already risen from the UK rock scene to become internationally-acclaimed rising stars, Leeds post-hardcore quartet Caskets are about to explode with their incredible, emotionally-driven third album, The Only Heaven You’ll Know.

Their mix of lush post-hardcore, modern metallic power and edges gilded with electronics that recall Bring Me The Horizon and Linkin Park has already made them one of the most exciting rising bands in Britain. Now, singer Matt Flood, guitarists Benji Wilson and Craig Robinson, and drummer James Lazenby have gone lightyears further, and delivered their finest work to date.

Describing the record as “Pure honesty” Matt says that the title is a thread that runs through the whole thing, the idea of being caught in a rut of darkness that, where it feels like even if you try to pull yourself out you end up back where you were. Having broken that cycle through the band to become a success at home, in Europe and in America, the singer hopes his reflections will resonate with those who need to hear them.
“I’ve been really honest about it on this album. But I think all that helped shape me into the person I knew I wanted to be. I'm only now just starting to realise that I am that person.”

It's a long way from “recording our first album in a literal shed” as Matt puts it. Working in LA with in-demand producers Zach Jones and KJ Strock (Hot Milk, Scene Queen, Machine Gun Kelly), Caskets band have gone all-out here. This required a meticulous approach, entering the studio with over 20 songs in demo form, and whittling them down, making sure every element is lifting its weight, so that the results sparkle and, at times, surprise.

Musically, it’s towering. But its in its raw emotion where The Only Heaven You’ll Know gets its soul.

“I've totally smashed my heart on my sleeve for this album,” says Matt. “As a musician, you want to be real. As a vocalist and a lyricist, you want people to feel what you're saying and what you're singing. That's what people really relate to and bond with.

“When I was younger, I had no vision or drive in life. I was sofa-surfing, I was homeless for a bit, I was addicted to drugs. I couldn't hold down a job simply because of that. The line in the song, ‘Hell is the only Heaven you’ll know’ is about those feelings when you're in a rut, your own special type of hell. Even if you thought there was a way out of that, you feel like you’re just walking straight back into it again.”

Throughout the record, these depths of emotion are matched by towering music. From the first electronic scratches of opener Lost In The Violence, through the anthemic, stadium-sized chorus of the title-track, to the empowering closer Broken Path and darker, pulsing Sacrifice, it’s an even bigger and bolder Caskets than ever before. One track, Closure, even has “an ‘80s feel to it,” according to Matt.

“I think that song shows how different we can be as a band, sound-wise. It’s very pop, it's got loads of pop elements, the chorus is very emo, and then you have this really heavy, metal breakdown at the end. I think it just shows how many sides there are to us.”

This is partly the result of being assured enough now to make such leaps. Matt says the idea of recording in Los Angeles was mind-blowing, having come from Worksop in the Midlands, but it also made them more confident as soon as they stepped into the studio.

“It’s basically just a house. It’s not like a big studio at all. I have really bad anxiety, so being able to walk into a normal looking house where there's just KJ and Zach there, no assistants, none of that, it was really welcoming and homely. It definitely helped us get comfortable and be able to get our heads into it and do what we wanted.”

Having built up an impressive momentum, Caskets look set to explode with The Only Heaven You’ll Know. But, Matt says, what’s just as important is people finding hope in its honesty.

“If you want to listen to something that's real, raw, has real-life passion and trauma in it, something that's catchy and believable, you’ll find it here. If someone needs it, I hope it helps them through a hard time, or just evokes some sort of feeling. Because it’s all real.”

Having been through Hell, Caskets have found a much better place. They might even help you get there, too.