Hamilton, ON · melodic hardcore · melodic-hardcore

Counterparts

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Melodic hardcore at its most emotionally scoured — Brendan Murphy's voice permanently at the edge, and a Canadian scene institution because of it.

Before settling on their name in 2008, the band went through two earlier identities, Brigade and briefly Sharia, with an original lineup of Murphy, guitarists Jesse Doreen and Curtis Washik, bassist Eric Bazinet and drummer Ryan Juntilla. The name Counterparts comes from the Alexisonfire song "Counterparts and Number Them."

Their 2010 debut album, Prophets, came out on Verona Records, a label run by Silverstein frontman Shane Told, who had signed the band; Murphy returned the connection by guesting on Silverstein's song "The Artist." The drum seat changed hands repeatedly in this period, passing from Juntilla to Chris Needham and later to Kyle Brownlee.

Their second album, The Current Will Carry Us, arrived in 2011 on Victory Records and drew strong reviews from Rock Sound and Exclaim!, both crediting the record with reenergizing a genre many had written off.

The band now consists of Murphy, guitarist and bassist Tyler Williams, Jesse Doreen, and drummer Kyle Brownlee. Their most recent two albums, released on Pure Noise Records, again earned praise from Rock Sound and Exclaim!, and alongside Hundredth and The Ghost Inside, Counterparts are counted among the acts leading the 2010s metalcore revival.

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