The best of heavy music offers more than shallow vanity. IMPERIAL TIDE continues that iconoclastic tradition with anthems of hope through struggle, aspiring to nothing less than radical change through aggressive action. Existence In Crisis, the Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles, California-based band’s debut EP for Mascot Records, is an exercise in bombastic creative freedom.

IMPERIAL TIDE follows that lineage with a metallic hardcore-punk assault untethered to genre conventions and ready to smash preconceptions. “We came from the hardcore and metalcore scenes,” charismatic frontman Landon Hill explains. “And Las Vegas is different than anywhere else. The city gave us a hustle mindset. You can go there and get lost in the sauce, or you can find your own voice.”

The band of five childhood friends, who now call both Las Vegas and Los Angeles home, brandish a hyper-charged, relentless, and adrenalized style. They combine the exuberance of bands like Knocked Loose, the versatility and uncompromising creativity of Code Orange, and the heady depths of Gojira. Like Turnstile, they’re masters of melodic perseverance. And their breakdowns are harrowing AF.

Live shows are at the heart of why they make music. Over the last 18 months they’ve been tearing through the innards of Las Vegas venues and along the way picking up support shows with Escape the Fate, Dragged Under and ripping up stages on festivals such as Rockville and So What! Witnessing the fervent energy that transmits from the stage, you sense the electricity rippling through the room. Word of mouth is spreading. Each show, busier than the last. “Our live set is relentless from start to finish, we want our audience present and as much a part of the live show as they possibly can be,” Hill explains. “If they know the lyrics, they’re at the front of the stage with a microphone in their face. If they’re new fans, we make sure to leave a lasting impression that resonates turning them into lifelong fans.”

From screen printing their own merch to shooting and editing unique visual components, Imperial Tide built themselves in the hardcore-punk DIY tradition. “We have so many influences when it comes to music and just the different kinds of people we are as individuals,” notes Schoenbeck. “We pull from all those things and put ourselves into the music and energy we express.”

A “no rules” attitude informs their songwriting process. Sometimes Schoenbeck may start with programmed, hip-hop-style beats, or they’ll key in samples. The goal is to make something nostalgic and familiar to audiences, equally inspired, fresh, and distinct from what everyone else is doing.

“Existence In Crisis is the reflection of the world around us, and our space we create in,” he continues. “The songs are a breath of fresh air without re-writing the history of the band. We put the songs together over a period of time that was filled with unrest, personally and socially. We had to say something about what we were seeing and the issues that were so blatantly present. At our core we aren’t afraid to ask questions or push back on the things we don’t agree with. The EP is our first step into pushing ‘Tide’ in a way that separates us from the standard product that our genre seems to revert too.”

For the six songs on the EP – “King of the Gutter,” “Off the Leash,” “Slip,” “R.A.T.,” “Blood in the Streets,” and “Malice in the Palace,” the guys threw different phrases and keywords onto a whiteboard. “As much as we were free flowing, we tend to write with a direction in mind,” Hill says.

“Slip,” the first song unleashed from the EP, is a reaction to the world around them and a call to action from the band. In the crackling-with-intensity “Off the Leash,” Hill says, “all bark, no bite,” targeting those who merely talk about what they want, whereas Imperial Tide is about taking action “with nothing left to lose.” The music video, shot by the band themselves, is glamour and glitz free, visceral, and raw. All six songs demonstrate a commitment to emotional bombast, hooks, and riffs.

The EP cemented around the title phrase first offered up by Schoenbeck. “We write a soundtrack of how we’re feeling, the emotions we want to get across, and that became a general theme,” he explains. “Existence in crisis: the world crumbling politically, socially, environmentally, the list goes on. That’s the space we were living in, and that’s the music that came out of it, lyrically and sonically.”

“R.A.T.” is the third track taken from the EP. “This track echos the sentiment of the entire record, “..if I light the match, I can set the fire”. This is our spark before we set the world ablaze,” he adds. “The chorus’ riff rips, while the punk influenced verses bring a consistent energy that makes you wonder what’s next. The song culminates with quite possibly the heaviest moment on the EP, our guitarist Keene’s vocals bring a level of grit we haven’t touched yet.”

Produced and mixed by Michael Sahm (Crown Magnetar, AngelMaker, Extortionist), Existence in Crisis is a musical mission statement and opening salvo from a band determined to shake things up. After all, punk rock is rooted in radical self and social change, and metal is, by nature, confrontational.

“When I came into it, I was a fan of System Of A Down and Rage Against The Machine, who were very politically driven,” Hill says. “Then, during the MySpace era, many heavy bands became ego- and image-driven. As much as we are products of that style of music, Imperial Tide is a place for very introspective opinions. I can’t write about anything other than what I see and what I know.”

Imperial Tide in 2023 is very much a product of evolution. A decade ago, they were rebelling against everything they’d known as they developed into young adulthood. Today, they still don’t take themselves too seriously, but the creative expression of the band is certainly no joke. Most importantly, Imperial Tide is without restriction.

“Much of rock has become cookie-cutter, bland, safe, and boring,” Schoenbeck laments. “We’re just trying to put our own spin on it and have fun with it while, at the same time, saying something.”