Gridiron Share “Mascot” Video

GRIDIRON — Matthew Karll, vocals; Will Kaelin, guitar and vocals; Xavier Wilson, guitar; Lennon Livesay, bass; and Tyler Mullen, drums — are pleased to announce their new album Poetry From Pain.

The album arrives May 30 via Blue Grape Music. It will be available on vinyl in several exclusive colorways. Pre-order it here. 

To kick things off, the band, who has been tipped by Stereogum for their “incendiary mosh riffs,” has shared an absolutely baller video for the new single “Mascot.”

Watch the band cruise the mean streets of L.A. in a Rolls Royce in the Dan Centrone-directed video here.

“‘Mascot’ is about people who say they are going to do things and don’t follow through with them, no matter what it is,” says Karll.

Gridiron, which originally formed as a pandemic project and have since grown into a full-fledged entity, features members of Never Ending Game, Simulakra, and Scarab, and connects the Philadelphia, Delaware, and Michigan areas.

Pushing every boundary to a breaking point, Gridiron will go to any extreme and then some. They follow quite possibly the most unpredictable playbook in the game. The band might flood the zone with a corpsepaint-smearing death metal barrage only to double back around for a victory lap narrated by blinged-out and braggadocios bars. Their hybridization of metal, hardcore, and hip-hop wouldn’t be out of place at either OZZfest 1997 or Rolling Loud 2027.

Gridiron were born out of a series of COVID-era marathon Call of Duty sessions, which led to writing and recording together. Their musical pedigree spoke for itself with Will also in Never Ending Game, Xavier in Simulakra, and Tyler and Lennon in Scarab. Given their individual experiences, the guys instantly locked into a creative groove. Following the Loyalty At All Costs EP [2020] and Worldwide Brotherhood EP [2021], they dropped their first full-length, No Good At Goodbyes [2022]. Along the way, they also shared stages with everyone from Missing Link to Trapped Under Ice and have plenty of upcoming touring planned for 2025.

And now, Poetry From Pain is here and it slays.

Gridiron have a bunch of live shows on deck. All upcoming confirmed dates are below.

GRIDIRON ON TOUR:
4/11 — Richmond, VA — United Blood 
5/9 — Chicago, IL — Metro#
5/11 — Columbus, OH — Sonic Temple
5/14 — Virginia Beach, VA — Peabody’s*
5/15 — Columbia, SC — New Brookland Tavern*
5/16 — Athens, GA — Georgia Theatre*
5/17 — Pensacola, FL — The Handlebar*
5/18 — Orlando, FL — Will’s Pub*
5/20 — Raleigh, NC — Lincoln Theatre*
5/31-6/1 — Detroit, MI — Tied Down Detroit

#With Power Trip
*With Sanguisugabogg + 200 Stab Wounds