Formed in 2020, Divided blends thrash, metalcore, and hardcore into high-energy, pit-fueling anthems. With intense live shows and relentless songwriting, the band continues to push boundaries in the Hampton Roads metal scene.
1.
Divided was formed in 2020 from the pieces of multiple local bands. How did you
all come together,
and what was the vision when you started?
NICK: The band started to come together after our other band kind of eventually
collapsed. The original members comprised of jamming and writing new and
heavier songs. The original vision for the band was to keep true to the
original members thrash roots but add elements deathcore, death metal,
metalcore, hardcore, and different various types of metal music that we could
blend into heavy yet melodic music.
2. Hampton Roads has a thriving metalcore scene. How has the local scene
influenced your sound and growth as a band?
NICK: Being in an area like Hampton Roads, there is such a melting pot of
different musical talent from hardcore to deathcore to jam band to many other
forms of music. Playing with a lot of these acts allows us to see different
perspectives on how they approach music. For us as a band, taking some these
little different take aways from different bands allows us as divided to
progress forward and push the boundaries of what is possible when writing our
heavy style of music.
3. Your track "Called Out" is a short but intense thrash-fueled
banger. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the song and its meaning?
NICK: The inspiration came from a riff that was laid out at practice and very
simplistic. The idea was to continue writing, but thought it would be a great
beat down style song so we kept it short and sweet. Some of the lead stuff was
added to make it sound different and unique
CHRIS: Called Out the instrumental was written before I joined the band last
February, so I had a pretty broad canvas with which to paint lyrically. I wrote
this song at the same time as I wrote another track, BTK, which is how they end
up as siblings to one another. Called Out serves as a way of calling out our
past lives and holding them accountable and reckoning with things that make us
cringe now. BTK served as the sister track, where those past lives are being
essentially murdered. It’s all a way, for me, to deal with mental health and
approaching that in a meaningful way.
4. You mentioned that "Called Out" is guaranteed to get the pit
moving. How important is the energy of your live shows, and what do you want
fans to experience when they see you perform?
BAND: Our live shows are our bread and butter. When you come to see divided,
you know you’re in for an absolute slug fest. We want the energy to be high and
the pit spinning. As a band, we want anyone in the crowd to go home and
remember the next day, the next week, hell, the next month, that they went to a
divided show. We want it to be an unforgettable experience.
CHRIS: I can speak to this from a unique perspective. I literally was the fan
in the crowd. I saw divided at Virginia DeathFest 2023 and was blown away.
Bought the t-shirt and went home talking about what I saw. Fast forward a year
later and divided is looking for a vocalist. I tried out not thinking I’d get a
“thanks for coming out, you’re not for us” and when I got the call to be in, I
couldn’t believe it.
We want our fans to leave saying, “I want to do THAT!”
5. Your music combines metalcore with thrash elements. Who are some of your biggest influences, and how have they shaped your sound?
NICK: I have a broad spectrum of influences that range from Metallica, Megadeth, Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying and many other bands that have shaped how I approach music in the band. I really consider myself an old soul that grew up with old school rock like AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, and many other genres of rock with southern rock also being a prominent influence in my sound.
NATE: Dave Lambardo from Slayer, Chris Adler from Lamb of God, and Jimmy Pino from Signs of the Swarm
CHRIS: I’m the hippie of the bunch. I will listen to literally anything and try to pull influences from any and everywhere. The single that’s going to follow ‘Called Out’’s structure is entirely founded in a similar structure as ‘Cute without the ‘e’” the old Taking Back Sunday song. With ‘Called Out’ I tried to pull a lot from August Burns Red and Currents in how I did my vocals.
ALEX: I’ve pulled influence from a plethora of sources. The movie “School of Rock” actually got me wanting to switch from cello to bass. My two biggest influences for bass have been Shavo Odadjian from System of a Down and Eugen Kostyuk from Jinjer going after aggressive attack and including a technical punch.
Overall, I pull my influence from bands like Necrogoblicon and Shadow of Intent, both for high energy beat downs and grooviness
6. Metalcore is known for its heavy breakdowns and emotional intensity. What do you focus on when writing songs—lyrics, riffs, breakdowns, or overall atmosphere?
NICK: Typically, my favorite part of writing a new song is to dive into the riff that will identify what the song is gonna say to the audience. The heavier, the sludgier, the technicality of the riff is what drives me to continue to write music.
CHRIS: When I’m writing lyrics and structure, I try to pull from whatever I’m listening to at the time. I saw Wicked and immediately had ideas about what I could do lyrically. When I’m coming up with themes, I pull from things I know and relate to. Mental health is a big theme. I will also dip into current events if I’m compelled to. That I usually try to mask with symbolism and double entendre. I’m a historian by trade so if I see a topic in history that’s relatable to current events, I’ll shape my lyrics that way.
7. What has been your most memorable live show so far, and what made it stand out?
NICK: For me there are two shows that are very memorable that resonate in my mind. Now the early lineup back in 2022, we did a run down to Florida and stopped in Georgia on the way down. The spot we played at was called the Wormhole and it was a very dive place. The show we didn’t start til around 11pm and we weren’t the headliner. The crowd that night there was roughly 35-40 people.When we launched into our songs, the crowd turned into a swarm of piranhas that did not let up until we finished playing. The intensity and movement of the crowd fueled our set and really stuck with me. The other performance was our show back in September when we played with Catharsis and Seasons as they released EPs. Truly an incredible show from all the bands.
NATE: Birthday Show with Left to Suffer.
CHRIS: The Catharsis EP Release Party OR our most recent show at Riffhouse in Chesapeake, Virginia. The crowd was insane. Any time the crowd is fired up, it fires us up even more. Recently, we’ve really been hitting our stride with our live shows.
ALEX: My most memorable show with divided was Seth’s Birthday Show. The fact that it was my fiancés first hardcore show made it a little more special even if she was uncomfortable for most of it. The crowd response was wild, especially the guy nailing out an almost perfect double flip across the pit. Overall, by the end of it, I was on Cloud 9.
8. Being a band that formed right before or during the pandemic, did that challenge your early days, or did it push you to be more creative?
NICK: The fact that Covid happened right as we were starting out as a band, I wouldn’t say challenged us musically but was challenging to play live, which is a big part of what makes us the band that we became to our audience. I think if anything it gave us more freedom to really dial in our sound and really let loose when writing new material
9. What’s the songwriting process like for Divided? Do you jam ideas out in rehearsal, or does someone bring full concepts to the table?
BAND: Nick typically starts with a riff and brings it to the group. Alex and Nate will jump in and they’ll sort of jam it out until they get a solid structure from which to work from. Once the foundation is there, Chris comes in and writes lyrics and we chisel the sound down until we like it.
10. With “Called Out” being such a high-energy track, can we expect more thrash-infused songs in the future, or are you exploring different directions as well?
NICK: To be completely, honest, we will always stay true to our roots as musicians which would include thrash, metalcore, hardcore, and many other forms of metal music. They lay the foundation of what direction we decide to move. Of course we keep trying to push boundaries of what is capable with metal music by mixing in other genres
11. What’s next for Divided? Are you working on a full-length album or planning more singles?
BAND: Virginia DeathFest in Chesapeake, Va. It’s our festival that we put on for local bands. It’s a blast, but next up after that is ‘Quarantine.’ ‘Quarantine’ is one of our absolute best tracks. High energy and technical. It’s a banger. Once we drop that as a single, the plan is to drop one more single, drop an EP, and then hit it hard to release a full album.
12. For someone who has never heard Divided before, how would you describe your music in three words?
BAND: Hit the Pit. When you hear that first riff when we step on stage, you know it’s about to get heavy.
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