A Different Shade Of Blue
Knocked Loose
A Different Shade of Blue is the second studio album by Kentucky band Knocked Loose, released on August 23, 2019 through Pure Noise Records and produced by Will Putney. Running about 38 minutes across 12 tracks, it builds on the metallic hardcore of their debut Laugh Tracks with a sound that merges hardcore punk, metalcore, heavy hardcore, and sludge, often brushing up against the tones of Swedish death metal and groove metal. The record features the core lineup—Bryan Garris (vocals), Isaac Hale (lead guitar, vocals), Cole Crutchfield (rhythm guitar), Kevin Otten (bass), and Kevin Kaine (drums)—with guest spots from Emma Boster of Dying Wish on A Serpent’s Touch and Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die on Forget Your Name. Songs like Belleville, Trapped in the Grasp of a Memory, Mistakes Like Fractures, In the Walls, Guided by the Moon, and Denied by Fate showcase the band’s penchant for squalling feedback intros, lurching tempo changes, and breakdowns that emphasize dissonance as much as heaviness.
Lyrically, A Different Shade of Blue dives into themes of death, mental health struggles, self-loathing, personal accountability, and the exhaustion of living in what one reviewer described as a “fucked world,” with Garris’s high-pitched, throat‑shredding scream carrying a sense of desperation that rarely lets up. Critics have called the album a “focused cacophony”: wild, unhinged, and noisy, but anchored by strong rhythmic hooks in both riffs and vocal cadences, which keep songs distinct and memorable despite working within a narrow, beatdown‑influenced sonic palette. Compared to their earlier work, it is widely viewed as a step up in both intensity and songwriting, with more and bigger breakdowns, faster parts, and a heightened sense of malice and unease, helping to propel Knocked Loose from basement‑show favorites to one of the most visible and influential bands in modern heavy hardcore and metalcore.
A Different Shade Of Blue
Knocked Loose
A Different Shade of Blue is the second studio album by Kentucky band Knocked Loose, released on August 23, 2019 through Pure Noise Records and produced by Will Putney. Running about 38 minutes across 12 tracks, it builds on the metallic hardcore of their debut Laugh Tracks with a sound that merges hardcore punk, metalcore, heavy hardcore, and sludge, often brushing up against the tones of Swedish death metal and groove metal. The record features the core lineup—Bryan Garris (vocals), Isaac Hale (lead guitar, vocals), Cole Crutchfield (rhythm guitar), Kevin Otten (bass), and Kevin Kaine (drums)—with guest spots from Emma Boster of Dying Wish on A Serpent’s Touch and Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die on Forget Your Name. Songs like Belleville, Trapped in the Grasp of a Memory, Mistakes Like Fractures, In the Walls, Guided by the Moon, and Denied by Fate showcase the band’s penchant for squalling feedback intros, lurching tempo changes, and breakdowns that emphasize dissonance as much as heaviness.
Lyrically, A Different Shade of Blue dives into themes of death, mental health struggles, self-loathing, personal accountability, and the exhaustion of living in what one reviewer described as a “fucked world,” with Garris’s high-pitched, throat‑shredding scream carrying a sense of desperation that rarely lets up. Critics have called the album a “focused cacophony”: wild, unhinged, and noisy, but anchored by strong rhythmic hooks in both riffs and vocal cadences, which keep songs distinct and memorable despite working within a narrow, beatdown‑influenced sonic palette. Compared to their earlier work, it is widely viewed as a step up in both intensity and songwriting, with more and bigger breakdowns, faster parts, and a heightened sense of malice and unease, helping to propel Knocked Loose from basement‑show favorites to one of the most visible and influential bands in modern heavy hardcore and metalcore.