INTRODUCING: Burdened

It’s rare to find a band that bare all, in a manner that isn’t purely for performance. To truly be real, and to not put a front on for everyone, but to embrace that there are struggles is no easy thing. Four piece BURDENED unleash their honest brand of hardcore on the world with their debut track 33. Filled with stonking vocal roars, beats to pound you into submission and utterly brimming with hooks, with dynamic riffs aplenty, you’ll be captivated from the off.

The band broadly herald from the north of England, “from Sheffield to Newcastle”, and formed back in the summer of 2018. But aside from location, what is the origin of BURDENED? “We know each other through mutual friends. I was looking to write music after leaving my last band and I happened to find these guys along the way.”

“The idea behind the name was purely down to me really,” vocalist Liam recounts, “I was going through some hard times and started writing about my problems, making up rhymes. That turned into songs. So, the idea is I have burdens and this is me writing about them.”

There’s a lot of emotion and heart behind the ferocity of 33. It’s a solid start and a great demonstration of their talent for creating something important out of something difficult. “Lyrically I was touching upon the idea of “demons”; for me that was more anxiety,” Liam honestly clarifies, “You know going out in a public place and feeling comfortable with who you are! It’s something I struggle with today. There’s a part in the song where I say ” you say you can’t see any scars on me but when I look in the mirror that’s not what I see” that’s me saying you say you can’t see what’s wrong with me but when I look at myself, I’m not happy and this an issue whether its mentally or how I appear.”

Taking these deep issues, that often aren’t confronted in a world that expects men to be stoic beyond their humanity, it’s refreshing to see a vocalist and a band embrace personal issues in a way that helps others, as well as themselves, process mental health struggles. “For the music side of it we want to make an impact to go with what Liam is trying to put across in 33,” Joe adds. “When we tracked 33, we had a feeling it was going to be a debut, the main reason is it sets in stone what the band is about. And like I said with it being our first release we want it to make an impact, and hopefully people can see it that way.”

As for their sound, from this debut track alone there’s clearly a personal and grounded connection to what makes BURDENED special. We considered what exactly it is that inspires and motivates the group “That’s a tough question; there’s two ways I look at it. Number one is the drive I get being on stage,” bassist Joe explains, “I can’t see myself not performing or writing music with close friends of mine. As for where the inspiration for where we achieve our sound? We like to stay original as possible. Liam has written everything and when he started writing we had a chat on the phone and mentioned that we wanted to look at bands like GIDEON and STICK TO YOUR GUNS for inspiration. But even then, when you listen to 33 it still has that original feel to it. We all listen to bands day in and day out. So, it’s really hard to pin what we take inspiration from.

In terms of new music, those who’ve heard the track are already eagerly awaiting more, with the first twenty-four hours racking up more than 5000 views. “The recording process is still on going, but it has been an amazing process so far. We have been recording with Mike Bennet who is in Liam’s old band at FoxHound Studios. Mike has been an amazing producer, he always makes sure we bring our A game to the studio, and has given us great advice on our music.”

Clearly the dynamism of BURDENED is almost palpable. In terms of preforming, and that stand out quality, both Liam and Joe clarified in no uncertain terms what makes them stand out “The energy and the release. Spreading a story you have to tell! For me it’s an escape. A chance to appear confident which is a complete contradiction to who I actually am.”

“We enjoy doing what we do. And we hope we can spread this story on to everyone and hopefully they will enjoy what we have to bring to the table.”

Like BURDENED on Facebook