Hardcore Band Coliseum Return With First Single In Nine Years 'You Might Be Dead'

Today, celebrated hardcore band Coliseum — feat. members Ryan Patterson (vocals/guitar), Kayhan Vaziri (bass/backing vocals) and Carter Wilson (drums/backing vocals) — release its first new single in nine years titled “You Might Be Dead.”

Following the release of Infinity s, an acclaimed full-length co-release between Auxiliary Records and Equal Vision Records under the moniker C.L.S.M., “You Might Be Dead” was written and recorded in Patterson's studio in April 2024 during rehearsals for the band’s 20th anniversary shows taking place this weekend in Louisville, KY.

“As we played together and revisited songs from our back catalog that meant so much to us, we were inspired to write a new song that channeled those feelings and that energy,” Patterson says. “We had an incredible time making our C.L.S.M. side project/offshoot album that was released last year, but ‘You Might Be Dead’ connects directly to the sound and trajectory we forged when we solidified our identity as a band throughout ‘House With A Curse’, ‘Sister Faith’ and ‘Anxiety's Kiss’.”

The lyrics to "You Might Be Dead" approach some of the recurring themes in Coliseum songs since day one; forging ahead in a life outside the lines, never giving up on your passions and missions, watching everything around you constantly shift as you dig deeper and deeper into your own creative world. It is also a tribute to musicians whose lives and art touched the band and who are now gone. Whether they were family, friends, or inspirations whose music they loved, they are missed, and they will continue to sing their songs and hang on as long as they can. 

One of the quintessential underground bands of the early millennium, Coliseum was founded in 2003 by singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter Ryan Patterson. After releasing their debut album in 2004, Coliseum blazed an unrelenting trail of scorched earth across the globe, playing just shy of 1000 shows and releasing five full-length albums. Coliseum went on indefinite hiatus in late 2015 not long after releasing their fifth album, Anxiety’s Kiss.

In the years since the hiatus, the three members of Coliseum focused on their separate current bands. Patterson went on to form post-punk group Fotocrime, Kayhan Vaziri continued with grind metal act Yautja, and Carter Wilson fronts slowcore band Null. The trio remained close friends and their desire to make music together again led to secretly working on a new album. While Coliseum’s later albums were post-punk and noise rock-influenced post-hardcore, the new batch of songs Patterson began writing were raw hardcore punk that harkened back to Coliseum’s early D-beat days but with even faster tempos and more raging riffs. 

The band’s latest under its C.L.S.M. moniker, Infinity s, was never intended to be a Coliseum album because it didn't feel like the next stylistic step after Anxiety's Kiss, but it was the three of its members and undeniably part of the same DNA. Mysterious and a bit confusing, C.L.S.M. succeeds in reflecting the new project’s intent: just as the music is faster and leaner, so is the name. 10 songs of blistering hardcore with unhinged vocals that deal with the chaotic insanity of everyday life in a world overrun with greed, self-infatuation, instant gratification, and ever-deepening class divisions, Infinity s is the perfect punk record for this moment and a hammer that shatters the facade of our daily reality. Stream the album on all digital platforms HERE, and purchase the LP on clear black smoke, which is limited to 100 units, through the Equal Vision store HERE.