One Step Closer has grown larger and larger in the hardcore community since their debut in 2016. Two years ago, the band released their second LP, All You Embrace, on Run For Cover Records. It pushed the band into new directions sonically while still maintaining their hardcore roots. Now two years and a single later, the band has announced their follow-up, Zero.
The first of these two singles was the track “Blue Hour.” Already on this track, you can tell the band is pushing their sound even further than they did on their last record. “Blue Hour” starts mellow with vocalist Ryan Savitski letting his cleaner vocals shine while a good instrumental repeats underneath. Throughout these first few verses and choruses, you can hear the instrumentals build momentum, but the band does a great job of building anticipation by letting it come back down for the second verse and chorus.
A little over halfway through the song, the floodgates open up, and the instrumentals come crashing in. Savitski lets loose and belts out “The price to pay; Is your love this time; Why can't you make me; Feel alive?” This section of the song leans into classic One Step Closer but doesn’t feel like a completely different song. The ending of the song helps with that as the beat from the beginning of the track comes back to close things out.
Once “Was It Ever Enough?” begins its short buildup, you know you’re in for a pit spinner of a track. There isn’t a single moment wasted on this banger. The song leans into more classic One Step Closer sounds, which is not a negative by any means. That sound is perfected at this point in the band’s career. Lyrically, the band tackles being with a person who is no good and is someone who wants to watch your downfall. “All you want comes true; I'm hanging by your noose; I'm broken.” Releasing this track alongside “Blue Hour” was a great decision, as thematically the two songs aren’t that far apart. Both songs deal with love, relationships, and the hardships that can come from them. This was a great decision from the group because it shows how they tackle similar subjects in different styles.
“Was It Ever Enough?” has such great instrumental layering, with layering in the vocals during the tail end of the song from Jon Markson, who has worked with the band since their EP Songs for the Willow. You can tell the two sides have gelled organically since then, and these two tracks are proof that they are only just getting started, and it’s building the excitement for the eventual full release of the album.
Another interesting aspect to come out of this is that “Jinx,” a single put out last year, is not going to be on the album. While this has become extremely common throughout the entire music scene, leaving “Jinx” off the album allows the mystery to build for the rest of the tracks that we haven’t heard yet.
2027 can’t come sooner. Zero is already on the list for most anticipated releases of the year. One Step Closer’s evolution as a band has been amazing to witness. All You Embrace was one of the better releases of 2024 and, even though we have only two singles from this new record, Zero already feels like it’ll secure a top spot for 2027.
