Crowdkill your way into the weekend by spinning Gel’s new hardcore stomper, Persona

(Image credit: Ian Kelly)

Rising New Jersey hardcore heroes Gel have released new single Persona, the title track of their upcoming EP.

The five-piece – vocalist Sami Kaiser, guitarists Anthony Webster and Maddi Nave, bassist Mathew Bobko and drummer Alex Salter – will put out their upcoming five-song set on August 16 via Blue Grape Music (Code Orange).

Gel were recently named by Metal Hammer as one of the seven bands readers need to keep their eyes on in 2024.

The outfit formed in 2018 and went viral in 2022, when footage of them playing at a fast food drive-thru was published online.

They released their debut album, Only Constant, last year and had it met with critical acclaim.

In an interview with Hammer, Webster explained why the band make music under the banner of ‘hardcore for the fucking freaks’.

“I feel like bands, especially in hardcore, all have their tag,” he said.

“‘Philadelphia hardcore’, ‘Boston hardcore’… we didn’t fit in with any of that. We’re not exactly a hardcore band, we’re not exactly a punk band; we fall in between those things, so we were like, ‘Let’s build our own space.’”

The guitarist also explained Gel’s goals for 2024.

“We’re doing all the big rock festivals this year, but, at the end of the day, we still want to play hardcore shows.

“I think we have to find the balance between those things. I want us to feel comfortable both being a big band and being a hardcore band.”

Gel are currently playing the European festival circuit and recently graced the Dogtooth stage at Download in the UK. Their next stop will be at Hellfest in Clisson, France, on Sunday (June 30).

The band will continue to play across Europe until July, before starting a trek through North America later that month.

They’ll play further North American dates in September and October.

For the full list of upcoming Gel shows, visit the band’s website.

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.