ten56.: Coming Out Stronger
TEN56. have always had a tendency to be completely true to themselves, even from the very beginning. It is now three years since the French metalcore five piece started their musical journey and it has been a roller-coaster to say the least. Themes that the majority of musicians would shy away from have influenced TEN56.‘s sound from the start. Tackling potentially controversial and dark subject matters such as drug use, the band have always clearly used music as a crutch somewhat, helping to deal with some previously unmanaged and uncontrollable emotions from their past.
Vocalist Aaron Matts was obviously inspired by what other musicians had bravely gone through in their own lives and was determined to do the same. “The meaning behind the name TEN56. is an American police code: 10-56 – Intoxicated pedestrian/Suicide. The inspiration for this originally came from hearing it in a song by a band formally known as VILLAINS based out of Chicago, a music scene that has influenced my musical taste enormously over the years, it’s a well fitted homage for the themes depicted in our music.”
Even though the band would initially describe their sound as metalcore or deathcore, TEN56. are inspired by a lot of different types of music which happens to influence their own personal musical style. “This is always a tricky question as there are so many, most of which come from the world of drill and trap music, with its rhythms and production values; but there are of course underlying influences by metal bands that have changed the way aggressive music sounds today, not direct influences but undeniably influential like EMMURE, MESHUGGAH, SWORN IN.”
Despite their already evident and painful struggles, TEN56. took it upon themselves to create their brand new musical project right in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic which was a battle in itself. This period of time was ultimately devastating and unforgettable for Matts on a personal level, after loosing some of his loved ones due to the rampant disease. Even though this was understandably one of the hardest moments in the singer’s life so far, the band used this time as a coping mechanism of sorts giving themselves the space to grieve during the creation of their debut EP Downer Part.1, released back in 2021. TEN56. themselves describe the experience as therapeutic, allowing total creative control and freedom along the way.
“As insensitive as it may be to speak of a pandemic in which thousands of people, including myself, lost their loved ones; it was a very therapeutic time for us all, the pandemic put all artists on an even playing field and allowed us to sculpt the project whilst avoiding any outside pressures concerning release dates, or upcoming tours etc. It also gave us something to stay focused on which is a blessing in itself.”
It seems that even in the last couple of years since the release of their debut, TEN56. have come to some realisations. Since the release of Downer Part.1, the group have learnt a lot from the creative process going into the production of Downer Part.2 earlier this year. They have ultimately gained the confidence and drive to push their current sound even further, whilst still maintaining the same musical inspirations as their debut. “I wouldn’t say they have changed, though the things that we achieved in Part.1 made us realise that we could push certain elements of our music even further on Part.2, and the same will undoubtedly apply to our next effort to create a continuous evolution of our sound.”
It is also evident from this that both the first and second EPs are a solid continuation of one another, with TEN56. gaining various influences from their debut, therefore feeding into the next. However, it seems as though their own musical inspirations fluctuate over time with the band expressing that no particular artist helped to create Downer Part.2. “It’s hard to say that any artist in particular helped shape the sound, the second EP is heavily influenced by our first, the change in sound is something we had planned during the pandemic.”
It is also no secret that TEN56. use visual imagery to their advantage to produce some very emotive and raw accompaniments to go with their tracks. No stranger to doing this by themselves, they have since enlisted the help of some fellow creatives to bring their visions to life with their recent single Saiko. “The process was very different to what we’re used to, up until now, the process has been for us to write a synopsis around the theme of the track, and then to film in a cold metal hanger in the middle of nowhere from dusk to dawn over the space of one or two consecutive nights. This time we put our full confidence in the talented Danny Louzon and Fle0 Visuals to come up with story board and filming schedule; it was a nice change of pace to film over the course of four days, at normal people hours [laughs].”
Finally, talking about the distant future, TEN56. express that they are always working on new projects and can’t wait to reveal them soon. “We have very exciting plans in the pipeline concerning both touring and other, nothing we can speak of yet, but just know that the machine never stops moving and we are more gassed up than ever!”
Downer Part.2 is out now via Out Of Line.
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