Santa Cruz hardcore powerhouse Drain have unleashed their third full-length album …Is Your Friend, marking a razor-sharp new chapter for the Californian trio. Out now through Epitaph, …Is Your Friend aims to do two things, according to the band’s mission statement: capture the unhinged power of their live show on record and create new material guaranteed to send crowds into a frenzy. Mission accomplished.
This record arrives after years of relentless touring, countless stage dives, and rooms full of bodies colliding in cathartic celebration. Drain have been living on the road, and this album wears that mileage loudly. Unlike their earlier releases, which formed before international touring became their daily reality, …Is Your Friend was shaped by hundreds of nights playing to fans across the world, watching real-time reactions and channelling that chaos back into the writing.
Producer Jon Markson, known for his work with The Story So Far, Drug Church and One Step Closer, recorded the album entirely live with real-time drums, no click track, and no digital safety net. The result is a ferocious, serrated and wildly animated sound that feels like standing in the pit as the guitars roar, the drums snap, and the crowd explodes.
Frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro approached vocals in a similarly instinctive way, freestyling large portions of the record based on life lived since 2020’s California Cursed.
In that time he married, turned Drain into a full-time touring force, and experienced the whirlwind of hardcore’s resurgence up close. The highs, the exhaustion, the distance that success can create, and the gratitude that comes with realising long-held dreams are all baked into the record’s DNA. As its title suggests, …Is Your Friend is both a fist-raiser and a reality check, celebrating the wins while acknowledging the weight of the journey.
Across 10 tracks, the band deliver their most hook-driven choruses, wildest thrash runs, and explosive breakdowns to date. From the hyper-charged “Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow” to the mosh-bait blast of “Who’s Having Fun?”, Drain have refined the art of modern hardcore in a way that remains rooted in tradition but tailored for the current generation hungry for connection and catharsis.
…Is Your Friend Tracklisting
Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow
Living In A Memory
Scared Of Everything And Nothing
Nothing But Love
Can’t Be Bothered
Loudest In The Room
Nights Like These
Who’s Having Fun?
Darkest Days
Until Next Time
Drain formed in 2014 when drummer Tim Flegal and local musicians began experimenting across genres in the fertile Santa Cruz DIY scene. Their sound evolved quickly after the arrival of vocalist Sammy Ciaramitaro and bassist-turned-guitarist Cody Chavez in 2015, shifting toward the high-energy crossover thrash and hardcore blend that would become their signature.
By 2016 the band had issued their debut EP Over Thinking, followed in 2017 by Time Enough At Last. A breakout moment came with their electric 2019 performance at Sound And Fury festival, which caught the attention of Revelation Records. Their first full-length California Cursed arrived in April 2020 against the backdrop of a global shutdown, yet still cut through as a highlight of modern hardcore’s new wave.
Live momentum returned with force in 2021, including a guerrilla show in San Jose that drew roughly two thousand fans, and in early 2023 the group toured Australia in support of Comeback Kid. Second album Living Proof landed in 2023, boosting their profile worldwide and putting them on major festival bills and even arenas alongside Blink-182.
From sweaty DIY back rooms to international tours, Drain have never abandoned their mission: elevate the scene, bring friends along for the ride, and ensure every show feels like a community gathering fuelled by unity, adrenaline and joy. With …Is Your Friend, they continue carrying the torch for modern hardcore, building on California’s loud and storied legacy with an energy all their own.
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