Douglas Robinson

ALBUM REVIEW: HELD.- GREY

One of the albums I’ve been anticipating most of 2026 has arrived! Grey, the debut album from Held., is more than just a debut album, it’s one of the most personal and compelling albums of the year.

Grey is the album you didn’t know you needed. While many bands say they wear their heart on their sleeves, Held. is literally pouring themselves out on these songs. The melodic yet heaviness of these songs permeates through the entire album.

The way the album begins with “Defending The Earth” and the very urgent lyrics comes out of the gate with pure intensity. From there the next three songs explode in your speakers. I’m still amazed at “Constant Tension” and the heart strings it pulls on. “Waves Of Fire” is another gem of a song in the way its speed propels the second half of the album. The title track “Grey” is as emotionally charged as it is anthemic. That’s a recurring theme found throughout. It’s not so much about empowerment but, more about self awareness and realization. “I and I Against You All” is one of those songs that hits on the previous theme only this one is more empowering. “Through The Cracks” feels like a very classic post-hardcore song along the lines of Jawbox. “Broken Spacesuit/Decay And Sand” is epic. This Failure-esque song is spacey all the while introspective. Closing the record is “Emptiness: A Side Effect” a song that is an instant classic. This is one of those songs that will make you want to listen again and again. What a song. I’d go into more detail about it but that would just take away from your own listening experience.

The lyrics of singer/guitarist Douglas Robinson are beyond personal and memorable. The way he writes speaks to the listener in a way that it gets under your skin in the best way. Some of my favorite lyrics of the year are on this album. In particular the closing song has my favorite line “Side effect of every side effect you ignore.” What a line! I can hear the audience singing along to this! The rhythm section of Sal Mignano and Josh Eppard is a revelation of thunder. The way they play off each other and create a great tension that plays off the guitar. One of the other aspects of the album that stands out is the production. The way the band feels alive throughout is stellar. You can feel the energy and breath of the performances. Which is something that is missing in modern music.

Grey is hands down one of the best albums of 2026. Having a debut album hit the strides this one does is astounding. Held. have arrived and I genuinely hope are here to stay. The grasp they have on the listener via this album is one that I don’t want to let go of. This is one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in a long time. You wouldn’t even think this is a debut based on the quality of the songs and how great this band sounds.

Overall Rating: A

By: Brian Lacy

Held.- Grey:

ANTICIPATED ALBUMS: HELD.- GREY

About a month as of this writing, the debut album from Held. will be released. Since the beginning of the year, Held. has been unveiling themselves via now three singles and three intense performance videos. The first single “New You Anthem” was right out of the gate a welcome introduction. The catchiness of the riff and the chorus, if that doesn’t strike you, there’s something wrong with you. Seriously, it’s heavy, melodic, packs quite punch to the gut. Then you add in Frank Iero’s guest vocal spot and how his voice hits the perfect counter balance to vocalist/guitarist Douglas Robinson. The second single “Constant Tension” (which of the three released is my favorite. When you get to the bridge of the song, you’ll know why), is a song that could’ve been released during the 90’s evolution of “emo” music. There’s a really cool Sunny Day Real Estate/Jawbox vibe mixed with a bit of a hardcore element. The rhythm section of Josh Eppard and Sal Mignano really shines here. They are beyond tight yet combustable in the best way. I can only imagine them on stage and this song is played. The lyrical connection here is real and very personal. The honesty is pure as you can hear in Douglas again here. “Knifepoint” is the one of the three released that hits the more “alternative” side of the band so far. The syncopated riff/rhythm has a cool push and pull that hits in a very striking way with the vocal as well as the guest spot from Graham Sayle of High Vis.

So here we are at three songs into their debut and it’s shaping up to be quite the explosive one. This combination of Douglas, Sal and Josh sounds even better than you’d think. As a fan of Josh’s playing, he really gets to go for it here in Held. That’s not to say he doesn’t in Coheed And Cambria, you can just hear a different excitement in his playing here. After Douglas left Night Verses, I was pretty bummed not to get to hear him as a part of that band. I really enjoyed the two albums they made and thought they were really on to something. The Ross Robinson produced second album, Into The Vanishing Light, is very underrated and has some truly deeply gritty vocal performances by Douglas. Getting to hear Sal in a different light than The Sleeping is a treat too. As a fan of that band too, you can hear where the roots come from. The sum of the parts here in Held. is going to be something special to see live. I look forward to what’s to come. And let’s just put a proper Los Angeles show out in the universe to happen soon!

Knifepoint:

Constant Tension:

New You Anthem:

Album Review: Night Verses- Into The Vanishing Light

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When I first heard Night Verses, I thought that this is one of the bands that is much needed in today’s stale music climate. Their debut album Lift Your Existence was an album full of epic proportions that really left a mark on me. The album is still in constant rotation in my stereo. So when I heard that Night Verses were in the studio working on their follow up album with Ross Robinson, I became even more excited about this band. The end result of their collaboration together is an album that is full of passion, inspiration, diverse music that pushes genre boundaries and vocals that are raw and powerful.

Into The Vanishing Light is an album that will take you on a journey just as a full album should. The more you listen to it all, you pick up on different things and feelings. After my first listen the flow of the album seemed to be a little disjointed, but after a couple more listens, it all began to make sense. The first track “The Future As History: I Love You Dead,” is a mood setter alright, that is set against a bit of a schizophrenic vocal delivery, but done with so much passion. The next couple songs emit pulsating music all the while a moody etherial vibe. By the time “Dialogue In Cataplexy” hits you know you are in for a ride with the way it plays out as a song with complexity and seriousness. As the rest of the album moves along the path of the journey certain songs like “Panic and Pull Your Heart Out” and “Blue Shades Of The Sun” truly leave a lasting mark. The closing song “Phoenix III” is a great encapsulation of the album and what the band has evolved into.

Night Verses have created an album that emits true artistry and vision. Singer Douglas Robinson really goes all out to ensure the words and messages come across as real and true as possible. Musically drummer Aric Improta is an absolute inspiration behind the drums. His use of time signatures and percussion adds so much more to the music. Guitarist Nick DePirro’s riffs, structures and skill is brilliant. It’s all tied together by bassist Reilly Herrera’s thunderous yet gentle playing. Working with Ross Robinson really helped to push the band to realize their potential as a band. Into The Vanishing Light is an album that separates Night Verses from their peers in the genre. I’d even go as far as to say this album could be a blueprint for the genre just as the Refused’s The Shape of Punk To Come became. Night Verses are here and deserve your undivided attention.

 

Night Verses- Into The Vanishing Light: