Younger, passionate, thrash blood does not come round usually – shit, it hasn’t for what number of years? – so when there’s contemporary meat on the scene, it is laborious 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 lessons in the course of the weekday.
Vocalist Sean Sterling unable to make our chat alongside guitarist Ethan Kahn resulting from pesky lessons operating over, it has been vital for the band to proceed getting an schooling, regardless of the success Chained Saint sees, with Kahn himself finding out music and enterprise: “I really feel just like the music path in class is so much completely different than the way in which they educate you, , not precisely the way in which I be taught music or type of pursue it. It is just about identical to textbook principle stuff… and I really feel like that limits it from being an artwork type, and extra of a occupation. I really feel like those that go to music colleges, they are usually extra music academics down the road or part of that very same neighborhood.” Nevertheless, it looks like that neighborhood is a bit additional away than one would count on for a bunch of youngsters.
As a result of Chained Saint has seen so much of their brief 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 obtained nods from the aforementioned festivals, radio stations similar to 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 yr, and it looks as if solely the start.
Taking time between lessons 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 high school collectively and me, Sean [Sterling] and Sebastian [De Avila] all attended the identical music faculty a few occasions per week and received to know one another there. Cameron [Cottrell] was in my highschool guitar class, and we instantly bonded over style in music and discovered he was a drummer. The band performed covers in my storage till at some point we determined we wished to write down our personal music. That is when Chained Saint turned a band.
You guys have had so a lot assist in such a brief period of time. What have been some moments from metallic legends which have caught out to you?
One of the crucial important moments final yr was when Rob Halford was being interviewed by Full Metallic Jackie and talked concerning the band:
“I like songs that fly out from completely different bands. I used to be listening to a band as we speak known as Chained Saint from Florida. They simply dropped a observe from a latest 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 yr when this was printed, and I simply keep in mind strolling into the kitchen and my dad and mom 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 position to start with – how has the band been taking up among the recommendation you have been given?
Kahn: William is the consummate position mannequin. He’s a taskmaster and expects everybody within the room to be on the identical degree and up for the problem, and most of all to be ready. He taught us find out how to sluggish issues down, which could sound humorous for a thrash metallic band already taking part in at 1,000,000 beats per minute, however what he taught us was to serve the track, not simply the riffs. He’s prepared to roll up his sleeves and get “within the weeds,” which was most likely 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 stay 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 does not accept something lower than good —no less than as “good” 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 finished establishing and able to do a line test, and had been going to get perhaps half a track sound test when the stage supervisor, Kenny, got here on stage – extra to the Kenny story – and stated we’re in a code pink resulting from lightning and all the things was on maintain, return to the van and shelter in place. At midday, we returned to the stage, they usually had been putting 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 up to now yr in such a significant setting.
Final Might, we had simply completed our sound test 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 test, Jerry Cantrell and William walked on the stage, and Jerry instructed 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 night time. The subsequent morning, as we had been heading to the airport, we obtained 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 night time… Kenny. We’ve 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 all our publicists from Atom Splitter PR, Tori Kravitz, sat with us, gave us a pep speak, and instructed 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 instructed them what had occurred. They had been like “fuck that” and instructed our singer, Sean, they had been going to convey him on stage throughout their final track, “Demolisher,” to sing after which throw down with them. They did not have to do this. There is no 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 assist inside the scene. We shall be eternally grateful to these guys.
[Sterling, post-interview]: It was disappointing studying that our set was being cancelled due to the climate. Nevertheless it 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. Should have been shut to fifteen,000 folks or extra at the moment. Alex was nice and instructed 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 enhance 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 taking part in 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 carrying Chained Saint merch. The most effective phrase to explain it was surreal. The most effective half about it was wanting round and simply having that feeling of attending to do what we love with our greatest mates, which was a unbelievable 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 could possibly be stated about Rocklahoma, which was one other nice expertise, and about getting to fulfill the blokes in Sunami, one other band all of us actually like. We have now video of them rocking out to our set, which was fairly cool too.
So, regardless of your debut being final yr, you guys appear to be you’re 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 night time after night time, battled colds, averted hitting deer in the midst of the night time from Chicago to Kansas Metropolis, and we discovered how vital it’s to have one another’s backs. We ended taking part in 15 cities and had been fully self-contained, appropriately. We actually received tighter as a band, each taking part in 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 stay music, however we powered by way of and might’t wait to do it once more. You possibly can 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 all the assist we have obtained.
So, with 2025 winding down after assist from among the greatest names in metallic, what’s Chained Saint hoping to stand up to subsequent?
Kahn: We’re engaged on new music that shall be launched as an EP at the start of 2026, and we’re releasing a stay present EP in late November, together with the video from that present on the Whisky A Go Go, which came about on August fifteenth.
Chained Saint are slated to take the stage at Warped Tour as we speak – fingers crossed all goes properly for the youngins’ – or hell, we could get one other viral second from the budding thrash band.
