Younger, passionate, thrash blood would not come round typically – shit, it hasn’t for what number of years? – so when there’s recent meat on the scene, it is exhausting to maintain your eye off it. Particularly when the band are each acting at Louder Than Life, Welcome To Rockville, and Van’s Warped Tour, all whereas attending faculty courses in the course of the weekday.
Vocalist Sean Sterling unable to make our chat alongside guitarist Ethan Kahn as a result of pesky courses operating over, it has been essential for the band to proceed getting an training, irrespective of the success Chained Saint sees, with Kahn himself learning music and enterprise: “I really feel just like the music path in class is lots totally different than the way in which they educate you, you understand, not precisely the way in which I study music or type of pursue it. It is just about similar to textbook principle stuff… and I really feel like that limits it from being an artwork type, and extra of a career. I really feel like those who go to music colleges, they are usually extra music academics down the road or part of that very same group.” Nonetheless, it seems like that group is a bit additional away than one would count on for a bunch of youngsters.
As a result of Chained Saint has seen lots of their quick time as a band. Releasing their debut, Blindside, in 2024, guitarist Ethan Khan (18), bassist Sebastian De Avila (19), vocalist Sean Sterling (19), and drummer Cameron Cottrell (19) have already acquired nods from the aforementioned festivals, radio stations reminiscent of SiriusXM’s Liquid Metallic Channel, publications like Guitar World, Revolver, and Loudwire, and legendary artists, Mastodon, Judas Priest, and Alice In Chains – with Alice In Chains‘ William DuVall changing into considerably of a mentor to the band – it has been nearly a 12 months, and it looks like solely the start.
Taking time between courses and assignments, Ethan Khan sits down with Metallic Injection to speak concerning the madness 2025 has been forward of the band’s efficiency at Orlando’s Warped Tour.
So, how did Chained Saint come to be?
Kahn: All of us went to highschool collectively and me, Sean [Sterling] and Sebastian [De Avila] all attended the identical music college a few occasions per week and acquired to know one another there. Cameron [Cottrell] was in my highschool guitar class, and we instantly bonded over style in music and realized he was a drummer. The band performed covers in my storage till someday we determined we wished to put in writing our personal music. That is when Chained Saint grew to become a band.
You guys have had so a lot help in such a brief period of time. What have been some moments from steel legends which have caught out to you?
One of the vital moments final 12 months was when Rob Halford was being interviewed by Full Metallic Jackie and talked concerning the band:
“I really like songs that fly out from totally different bands. I used to be listening to a band at present referred to as Chained Saint from Florida. They simply dropped a observe from a current album. And what it does, a single track can draw you in in direction of the album expertise.”
It was very surprising, particularly a month after our debut album was launched. I used to be nonetheless in highschool final 12 months when this was revealed, and I simply keep in mind strolling into the kitchen and my mother and father asking me if I had seen what simply occurred. It was fairly mind-blowing to know that Rob Halford was listening to our music and liking it. It was like an adrenaline rush of motivation.
With so many big-names taking such an curiosity in you – and William DuVall himself having such a pivotal function at first – how has the band been taking over a few of the recommendation you have been given?
Kahn: William is the consummate function mannequin. He’s a taskmaster and expects everybody within the room to be on the similar degree and up for the problem, and most of all to be ready. He taught us how you can gradual issues down, which could sound humorous for a thrash steel band already enjoying at 1,000,000 beats per minute, however what he taught us was to serve the track, not simply the riffs. He’s keen to roll up his sleeves and get “within the weeds,” which was in all probability his most used phrase in the course of the recording of the “Blindside” album. He’s the one who insisted on recording 100% analog to tape, and we trusted him and trusted that we might pull it off. It actually meant having to make selections on takes and reside with them on the file, as a result of there was no “undo” button. As our engineer, Tom Tapley, stated, “heavy balls.” The very last thing I’ll say about William is that he’s past keen about what he does and would not accept something lower than excellent —not less than as “excellent” as artwork could be.
Not solely has DuVall taken a liking to you, it appeared so did Alex Horrible and Jack Simmons from Slaughter To Prevail, contemplating they invited Sterling on stage throughout Louder Than Life… what occurred that day?
Kahn: We arrived at 9:00 AM for load-in for our 11:00 AM set at Louder Than Life final month. After all, being a brand new band, we get the early slots and we’re grateful to be part of these nice festivals. We had been all performed organising and able to do a line examine, and had been going to get possibly half a track sound examine when the stage supervisor, Kenny, got here on stage – extra to the Kenny story – and stated we’re in a code purple as a result of lightning and every little thing was on maintain, return to the van and shelter in place. At midday, we returned to the stage, and so they had been placing our gear. Our set had been canceled. To say this was disappointing was an understatement, particularly provided that this was the second time it occurred to us prior to now 12 months in such a significant setting.
Final Might, we had simply completed our sound examine at Mohegan Solar and had our banner raised. We had been going to be the one opener for Alice In Chains in an hour, and as we had been ending sound examine, Jerry Cantrell and William walked on the stage, and Jerry informed us the present was being canceled. We had been numb at that second, and there wasn’t a lot to say. Sean Kinney was taken to the hospital, and his well-being was the one precedence at that second. So we went to Johnny Rockets, had milkshakes, and stayed up all evening. The following morning, as we had been heading to the airport, we acquired a name letting us know that the next two exhibits we had been scheduled for with Alice In Chains had been canceled. So guess who the stage supervisor was that evening… Kenny. We have not had a lot luck with Kenny this far. He stated he’ll be at Warped Tour Orlando. The excellent news is we do not assume he is our stage supervisor.
Again to Louder Than Life, we headed to the artist compound and catering, and we hadn’t eaten breakfast but. One in every of our publicists from Atom Splitter PR, Tori Kravitz, sat with us, gave us a pep speak, and informed us to stay optimistic and reap the benefits of the media interviews we had scheduled. We arrived on the media tent, and Tori and Amy Sciarretto had been speaking to Alex The Horrible and Jack Simmons, and informed them what had occurred. They had been like “fuck that” and informed our singer, Sean, they had been going to deliver him on stage throughout their final track, “Demolisher,” to sing after which throw down with them. They did not have to try this. There is not any purpose they wanted to care a few new band like us, however they did, and it had an amazing affect on us: our social media numbers doubled in a single week, and new followers discovered our music. It is a testomony to the tradition of heavy music and the help inside the scene. We can be ceaselessly grateful to these guys.
[Sterling, post-interview]: It was disappointing studying that our set was being cancelled due to the climate. But it surely comes with the territory. It’s the enterprise. Completely out of everybody’s management. We principally went and did interviews and ate some meals and had been simply ready to go to the airport, and Slaughter to Prevail was like “you’re approaching stage throughout our final track.” It was surreal as a result of it was a sea of individuals and essentially the most quantity of individuals I had carried out in entrance of ever. Will need to have been shut to fifteen,000 folks or extra at the moment. Alex was nice and informed me to offer a shout out to myself and our band on the finish. It was the primary ‘viral’ second our band has ever had and gave a giant increase in our consciousness.
Regardless of the expertise at Louder Than Life, how did pageant season go for Chained Saint?
Kahn: We had been all actually nervous earlier than hitting the stage at Welcome to Rockville, because it was our first pageant, and there was the anticipation of enjoying in entrance of such a giant viewers. Our set was nice, and it was so nice to see followers singing our songs again to us and sporting Chained Saint merch. One of the best phrase to explain it was surreal. One of the best half about it was trying round and simply having that feeling of attending to do what we love with our greatest pals, which was a improbable expertise. That was adopted by having the ability to be followers and luxuriate in the remainder of the pageant, and see bands we actually like. The identical might be stated about Rocklahoma, which was one other nice expertise, and about getting to satisfy the fellows in Sunami, one other band all of us actually like. We now have video of them rocking out to our set, which was fairly cool too.
So, regardless of your debut being final 12 months, you guys appear to be you might be no strangers to touring in any respect.
Kahn: We hit the highway final summer time on our first tour after we dropped “1000 Tons,” and it was a superb expertise for us as a band. We did 5,000 miles in a van. Performed in entrance of 8 folks to 100 folks evening after evening, battled colds, averted hitting deer in the course of the evening from Chicago to Kansas Metropolis, and we realized how essential it’s to have one another’s backs. We ended enjoying 15 cities and had been fully self-contained, correctly. We actually acquired tighter as a band, each enjoying our units and spending that a lot time collectively in shut quarters. We additionally had our collection of mishaps right here and there with gear, sound, and issues that occur with reside music, however we powered by means of and may’t wait to do it once more. You’ll be able to try the vlogs on our YouTube. There are six episodes chronicling the tour.
And if I keep in mind appropriately, “1000 Tons” was additionally featured by UFC?
Kahn: [Yes!] UFC additionally featured “1000 Tons” on all of its broadcasts in July and August, which actually gave the only a lift out of the gate. We’re actually grateful for the entire help we have acquired.
So, with 2025 winding down after help from a few of the greatest names in steel, what’s Chained Saint hoping to stand up to subsequent?
Kahn: We’re engaged on new music that can be launched as an EP firstly of 2026, and we’re releasing a reside present EP in late November, together with the video from that present on the Whisky A Go Go, which happened on August fifteenth.
Chained Saint are slated to take the stage at Warped Tour at present – fingers crossed all goes properly for the youngins’ – or hell, we might get one other viral second from the budding thrash band.
