Incendiary are one of the best kept secrets of New York's heavy music scene. Drawing their distinct '90s sound from NYC legends like 108 and Snapcase, the Long Island unit began to garner real attention with the release of their excellent 2013 LP Cost of Living. The five-piece have kept a low profile, maintaining Incendiary as a part-time venture. As they prepared to drop their latest full-length Thousand Mile Stare, out now on Closed Casket Activities, their profile has recently been given a huge and unexpected boost — they recently composed the new theme music for WWE wrestler Aleister Black.
"The duo responsible for producing all of the WWE's music, John Alicastro and Mike Laurie — we've been friends with them for years," guitarist Rob Nobile tells Exclaim! "[For Aleister Black] WWE had a certain tone they were looking for, so John and Mike thought of us. We ended up going to the studio and doing something that we'd probably have done just for the fun of it anyways. It became really great — the reaction was way bigger and more positive than any of us were really expecting."
Singer Brendan Garrone agrees: "Aleister the wrestler is legitimately into hardcore, so he wanted vocals in a somewhat similar style. It was definitely different and interesting because it was a theme for a wrestler and not a hardcore song necessarily. It's been cool to see people who've never listened to hardcore finding our stuff, like 'Hey, came here because of the Aleister Black theme song.'"
Regarding the making of Thousand Mile Stare, the two explain that their new spin on old sounds has been the key to their band's success so far. "I always joke that in [heavy music] there are only so many ways you can play a breakdown, but we're not trying to reinvent the wheel," Nobile says. "We're trying to progress within our own style. Just doing things and writing riffs in a way that's different from how we have in the past. It's fresh to us."
Keeping the project low-key has actually helped their creative ambitions. "We decided early on not to try to make this band our career," Garrone explains. "It's just something that we haven't wanted to do. One of the most incredible freedoms is that we can do whatever the fuck we want all the time and don't have to try to make something cool solely for the sake of advancing ourselves. We can play because we love playing and the passion that goes along with this kind of music. So it's extremely liberating. We don't feel any sort of pressure whatsoever to 'have to' do anything."
"The duo responsible for producing all of the WWE's music, John Alicastro and Mike Laurie — we've been friends with them for years," guitarist Rob Nobile tells Exclaim! "[For Aleister Black] WWE had a certain tone they were looking for, so John and Mike thought of us. We ended up going to the studio and doing something that we'd probably have done just for the fun of it anyways. It became really great — the reaction was way bigger and more positive than any of us were really expecting."
Singer Brendan Garrone agrees: "Aleister the wrestler is legitimately into hardcore, so he wanted vocals in a somewhat similar style. It was definitely different and interesting because it was a theme for a wrestler and not a hardcore song necessarily. It's been cool to see people who've never listened to hardcore finding our stuff, like 'Hey, came here because of the Aleister Black theme song.'"
Regarding the making of Thousand Mile Stare, the two explain that their new spin on old sounds has been the key to their band's success so far. "I always joke that in [heavy music] there are only so many ways you can play a breakdown, but we're not trying to reinvent the wheel," Nobile says. "We're trying to progress within our own style. Just doing things and writing riffs in a way that's different from how we have in the past. It's fresh to us."
Keeping the project low-key has actually helped their creative ambitions. "We decided early on not to try to make this band our career," Garrone explains. "It's just something that we haven't wanted to do. One of the most incredible freedoms is that we can do whatever the fuck we want all the time and don't have to try to make something cool solely for the sake of advancing ourselves. We can play because we love playing and the passion that goes along with this kind of music. So it's extremely liberating. We don't feel any sort of pressure whatsoever to 'have to' do anything."
