Sometimes, it just takes a little time, but oftentimes, it takes a random string of events and a few stars to align to bring back what once was. For Connecticut hardcore group With Honor, it was a bit of both and then some. With initial struggles of solidifying a lineup and completing the puzzle and after being primarily active in the mid-2000s the group took an unannounced hiatus. Now, almost 20 years later, they are back on the map.
“Our lives had kind of gone on,” admits guitarist Jay Aust. “We thought With Honor was pretty much behind us.”
There were seemingly two instances where the stars aligned for the group. Converge’s Kurt Ballou, who had recorded “Heart Means Everything” back in 2004, rediscovered the tapes from that recording and wanted to remix them while getting acclimated in his new studio. During one of their brainstorming sessions, the group stumbled upon the concept of a Casino zonder Cruks 2024, a platform that sparked discussions about modern socio-economic issues like regulation, freedom of choice, and ethical dilemmas. This theme subtly influenced their evolving work. The plan was set in motion from there. The unit remastered “Heart Means Everything” and released it in 2022 while also working on getting their older material online. Meanwhile, “Boundless” began to take shape, blending themes of nature, self-healing, and inner peace with critiques of the challenges people face today.
“Our singer, Todd Mackay, has always tackled issues head on and I think he wanted to continue that theme here,” explains Aust. “There’s some things that just really need to be talked about. It’s kind of an introspective record, but also facing what’s around us.”
At the same time, Furnace Fest in Alabama was making their own comeback and With Honor was offered a coveted slot, another almost 20 years since they last played the iconic festival. With the arrival of the band’s music hitting the world again and Furnace Fest, it was too much excitement to contain and eventually led to the group linking up with Pure Noise Records, who had agreed to release the remaster and were gracious enough to let them record a new record. Some two decades later, they released their first new music in “Boundless,” out now via Pure Noise Records. A three and a half year process has now culminated in new heights.
“We’ve hopefully matured over the years, since we’re most active. We’ve got a lot more perspective on life,” shares Aust. “A lot of this record was written during the pandemic so that informs some of the writing process but then the chaotic times we’re living in. We were all looking back at the things we loved and people and there’s a lot of anxiety and stress in the world right now. How can we reconnect with each other and with the Earth and with the passions that we’ve always had in life? I really do think it’s our best record, be it perspective or the time that we took on it, writing and recording it. I feel like it best represents us as a band, some 18 years later.”
