Southampton based melodic hardcore/metalcore band Placeholder, recently released their debut EP; Grey. Self-released on New Year’s Day of 2018 and consisting of 5 tracks.
Forming in late 2017, Placeholder emerged from the ashes of previous project, Decipher. Despite being together for a short period, Placeholder have quickly, but surely worked to create a powerful selection of songs.
As well as ticking all the boxes for an excellent debut release and showcasing their outstanding talent; Placeholder introduced a guest vocalist, established YouTuber: Christina Rotondo for the track Relief. For a debut release the band are at a professional standard and have already set the bar high.
Placeholder are looking to make 2018 their year, playing shows across the South Coast of England and working tirelessly to broaden their horizons. With the single Relief gaining over 20,000 views on YouTube and Grey peaking in the top 3 of the iTunes Metal charts upon its release, this is a band you do not want to sleep on. Check out Relief below!
We managed to catch up with the band as they talked about their latest release and more!
So how has the release of Grey gone down so far?
It’s gone so much better than we could’ve hoped!
To be honest, we weren’t expecting much… As this was our first release we were just planning to use it to get our name out there! We were fortunate to have Dreambound release our track ‘Relief’ on their channel, which gained us a lot more traction than we could’ve got ourselves this early on.
We released our EP a week later and managed to get to no.3 in the iTunes metal chart, which is definitely a milestone for us.
Can you tell something about the EP nobody knows?
Relief is actually a part 2 to a track by Decipher called Blame Yourself. Decipher is the previous band for myself, Stu and Jason. You wouldn’t notice without reading the lyrics to Blame Yourself. (Calum)
What is your favourite track from the EP?
We all have different favourites. I think collectively it would either be Alone or Relief. Alone is probably the most hard hitting song we have right now, and Relief is the biggest song we have… So I guess they’re the most appealing.
So there are plenty of venues in Southampton such as The Joiners and Engine Rooms, what is your favourite?
The Joiners will always be the king of small venues. We’ve seen so many of our favourite bands play there, and watched so many friends play amazing shows.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
This is another question where each member would say someone different… Personally, I’d get My Chemical Romance back together and work with them… But I won’t get into how much I love them right now. (Calum)
I think for the kind of band we are, working with someone like A Day to Remember would be amazing. We’re on the same kind of lines as they are, we’re just more miserable… We could probably do with some more fun in our songs.
Will you be releasing new music in 2018?
Yes.
Will you be touring at all or any festivals lined up for 2018?
We will be playing at a festival in the South this year, but I can’t announce this right now.
As far as a tour goes, there is possibly one on the cards… But we do only have 5 songs right now, so it’s not a guarantee.
What was the first gig you all attended?
Okay here we go…
Calum – Busted…
Corey – Avenged Sevenfold
Stu – Blue
Ben – Black Veil Brides – K! Tour
Jason – Metallica
No I’m not ashamed that mine is Busted.
Maybe I am a little.
What do you all get up to in your spare time when not making music?
Everyone has a lot going on right now. Stu is getting married, Jason fell down some stairs, Ben is in Uni, Corey has a new girlfriend and I’m watching Netflix…
Basically we all hang out, go see some shows, drink… Do what friends do.