Formed in 2019 when the members were in secondary school, Rare Breed is a band from the North East of England. Combining an aggressive, fast paced style with emotional vocals and catchy melodies, the band plays a unique mix of emo, hardcore punk, grunge and metal along with influences across many other genres.
Give us a potted history of the band
Alex
The band started in 2019 in Stockton-on-Tees when our original lineup all met through practicing
in our school’s music room when we were around 13-15. We would spend every day practising at
school and playing some local gigs for a few years. It was a very interesting era pre-2022 because
at that time, our drummer, Patrick, was also the singer.
In 2023, we decided to take the band seriously rather than just as a hobby. We released our first single and started booking our first out-of-area shows in Newcastle and Sunderland. At the end of 2024, our original bassist, Dan, left, and that’s when Adam (Nero) joined. We all knew Adam before this from our local scene, and also from the rest of us previously being in a band called Checkmate with him.
Since Adams’ arrival, we have opted to completely change our sound from the pop punk direction we were headed in to move to a much heavier alt metal direction so we could experiment with some new sounds. We have released two singles under this new lineup and have toured across the country with Dead Air at the start of the year. We also played Stockton Calling festival in April and are looking towards our biggest headliner yet at the Garage Attic in Glasgow this month!
Who inspired you to start making music
Alex
I’ve wanted to be a musician since such a young age that I can’t even pinpoint the exact moment that I knew that’s what I wanted to do. However, every time I go and see a band I love or when we play a show, it reminds me that there’s nothing else for me that I want to do more than music
Adam
It’s hard to narrow it down to a single artist or band, but I remember the day The Big Weekender came to Middlesbrough and seeing so many of my favourite artists, I knew at the time that there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do
Jack
Nirvana were my first influence for making music and a lot of grunge further directed me to knowing that’s what I wanted to do. Getting into metal, I discovered a lot of musicians in genres such as hardcore that heavily influenced our current sound.
Patrick
I also couldn’t pinpoint an exact time frame when I decided that music was for me. I’ve always loved playing shows and writing with the lads, and music has always been a massive thing for me. I guess the moment I started to take the band seriously was the same time that I had a realisation and a push in self-belief that made me think that we could make something of this if we really pushed ourselves.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
Alex
All Killer No Filler – Sum 41 was the first album that got me into more punk leaning music and made me want to just play music with my friends. Even after 6 years, it still gives me the same feeling when I listen to it as it did when I was 13.
Adam
Louder Now – Taking Back Sunday is a massive inspiration to me, as a lyric writer, the way that album paints a picture through metaphors and similes blows me away.
Jack
Bleach – Nirvana + Kill em All – Metallica were my biggest inspirations when making music and finding my feet through writing.
Patrick
Take Off Your Pants And Jacket – Blink 182 + Disgusting – Beartooth. Originally, when we first started the band, I was hugely inspired by Blink 182 and it’s through playing their tracks over and over that I’ve become the drummer that I am now. More recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Beartooth, and they were my initial driving influence when we first started to come into this new genre.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone who’s never heard you, what do you say
Alex
Our new sound is basically if you put the WWE Smackdown Vs Raw soundtrack and the Tony Hawk Pro Skater sound track in a blender and then made it listen to every Taking Back Sunday, Beartooth and Heart Attack Man album for a week straight. A mix of Alt Metal, Emo and Hardcore Punk with elements of some other stuff in there.
Tell us about your new single
Our new single is a track called “Hellbound”, it’s a song I wrote about struggling with a dependence on alcohol, whether moments were happy, sad or indifferent, it seemed to be the first place my thoughts would go. So I decided to write it in the metaphor of a failing relationship between the protagonist and alcohol, and the pain and toxicity that it can bring.
Where can we get hold of it
“Hellbound” is available on all major streaming platforms now!
Tell us how you write
Writing for us always starts with an instrumental from either Jack, Alex or Adam. Once this is sent, we get to work on lyrics, these are written by a different member of the band every time, regardless of who sings them, it all just depends on who has an inspiration that they’d like to write about that fits the vibe of the song. When we have a catchy hook, it then paves the way for us to start adding drums, bass and lead guitar parts.
We love experimenting with our vocal arrangements from song to song, coupling the very different gritty and clean tones that Adam and Alex possess in different ways for a catchy and unique sound. After all that, we get in the studio and get it recorded in-house before adding the finishing touches like synths and other ambient sounds to fill out the track and complete it.
Tell us about your live show
Our live show tends to be very chaotic, our members tend to bounce around the stage in any which direction. I’ve been told that I spend more time jumping off the stage than I do actually on it haha. We try to involve the crowd as much as we can, making everybody feel involved and as much a part of the music as we can. Our dream gig would be if we got to play a stage at Slam Dunk Festival that would just be a dream come true!
What can we expect from you in the near future
Its safe to say we have a lot planned in the Rare Breed camp for this year, from constant releases to more tour dates. We would love to get back on the road around the country again later this year and get to more new places, so on that one we will have to get our heads together with our awesome manager Jay and see what we can pull together on that front. We can definitely promise more heavy bangers and some great shows so stay tuned on our Instagram (@rarebreed.band) for more info on that!
Tell us your favourite records that are rocking your headphones/tour bus/stereo
Alex
Knocked Loose: “You won’t go before you’re supposed to”, Heart Attack Man: “Fake Blood”
Jack
Anything by Silverstein is on my playlist at all times
Patrick
Beartooth: “disgusting”, Architects: “the sky, the earth and all between”
Adam
Fontaines DC: “Romance”, Taking Back Sunday: “Louder Now”
Check out the bands new single, below:
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