FOCUS: HEADCAGE

Newcastle riff-rockers Headcage have just released their debut single, Side By Side, which they describe as “blending enormous riff driven instrumentation with fiercely melodic, emo inspired vocal crooning”. We dig in to find out all we can about their sound…

Who are you and where are you from?

We are Headcage, a hard rock band based in Newcastle.

What is it you do?

We write heavy rock music that’s guitar driven and packed full of riffs. We like to think we bring a blend of an extremely thick and colossal rock sound and intensely melodic vocals that encourage a good sing-along. 

How long have you been doing it?

(Elliot) I remember leaving my old band at the back end of 2019 and feeling pretty low, especially since I had no new projects or musical outlets on the horizon. The one thing that never wavered was my love for hard rock/alternative music and I’d always wanted to be in a band like that since I was 16 years old playing guitar in my bedroom. So I started just writing music at home and about a month into the first lockdown I put out an advert for band members. Adam and Liam responded almost immediately, and I began trading song ideas with Adam that day. I remember feeling so excited straight away and from that point on we’ve been writing and rehearsing music continuously throughout the entire pandemic. It’s been a long process but I couldn’t be prouder of how our first release has turned out and so happy we can finally share an example of two years’ worth of love and hard work.

If you like flying about the mosh pit but also a good sing along and a cry, we like to think we’re the band for you.

What inspires you?

Musically we take big inspiration from the early 2000s bands that made us fall in love with the rock genre. Bands such as Fightstar, Breaking Benjamin, Underoath etc. all played a huge role in our formative years of playing music and they still have an impact on our playing to this day. Equally we love the modern bands making waves in the scene such as Boston Manor, Holding Absence, Architects etc. We all inspire each other as well, not just as songwriters and musical players, but as people too. 

Tell us about your music.

The one thing we all know and agree on, is that the music we’ve written feels right and natural to us. It feels totally authentic to ourselves, the one big lesson the pandemic taught us is that when it comes to dedicating your time to this stuff, you have to embrace what you love. Don’t try catering your songwriting to adhere to what’s on trend. If you like the music, it sounds good to you and you’re having fun with it, that’s all that matters. We make this music because we all love it. To us there’s nothing better in this world than loud, aggressive rock music and we’re incredibly happy we’ve found the people and the space to make it.

What have you got coming up in the future?

We have just released our debut single Side By Side which is available now on all streaming platforms. But we have lots of new music already recorded that will be coming out over the following months, so keep those eyes on us. We are playing our first show at The Head of Steam in Newcastle on Saturday 23^rd July. The show will effectively tie in with the single as the launch of the band and it will be the first show most of us have played in years, so to say we’re excited to play is an understatement. 

Where can people find out more about you?

Despite being a band and working on the music for two years, we have only just launched the band with our first release. So we would love any support that comes our way. You can find us on all of the socials (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc). But the biggest way to find out more, and help us, is to listen to the music, go to your preferred streaming service and listen to Headcage. If you like flying about the mosh pit but also a good sing along and a cry, we like to think we’re the band for you.