Swept to Sea is a melodic metalcore band from the bay area of San Francisco, CA (USA). It started out with a simple decision to get back into the game… the music game. Seeking people that would commit to a cause, Jeno Fox, then a fresh college graduate, wanted to find a home for a pack of random riffs he had from his past experience with bands. The catalyst perhaps, was a party during Super Bowl LIV. While having a few drinks with friends at his home, The Kansas City Chiefs won against the San Francisco 49ers, the band was formed, and the rest is history. That was back in January of 2019, and soon after that, the ship of Swept to Sea gradually emerged from the depths of the ocean.
Being diverse in their metal education and personal influences, someone might have received the impression that Swept to Sea weren’t really focused on anything in particular. Nonetheless, they shared the kind of passion that flowed through their veins, and that passion was Melodic Metalcore. Jeno Fox stated, “Growing up listening to bands of the 2000s, bands like Bullet for my Valentine, Parkway Drive, and As I Lay Dying were influential in their own way”. To this day, the band follows those same vibes that kick-started a lot of careers earlier on at the moment of Metal music’s revival.
Throughout their musical journey, Swept to Sea’s lineup remained unchanged however, good things as it came to be, have a knack of ending at a certain point. Fox recalled “Our first bassist was one of my college friends Pedro Salgado Lopez. He joined tentatively while we were getting off the ground but eventually decided to go in a different direction, focusing more on media production and ended up founding his own company”.
The loss of a close friend within the band didn’t rattle the cage, and luckily a replacement was found. Fox said, “In April of 2022 we reached out to one of our friends from High School who has been doing his own thing for a while, Sean Kameny”. Kameny had his doubts at first, but rapidly understood that Swept to Sea was a serious thing that needed committed members. Fox added, “He was a bit hesitant to join and originally wanted to be in more of a supporting role for live shows. Eventually he saw what we were about and where we wanted to go and finally joined as a full-time member”.
Swept to Sea’s stage show shares qualities that are derived from the band’s music, interjecting what each of the members’ hearts feel through the songs. Whether generating destructive mosh pits or causing havoc with a moving crowd, the soul of the band is transferred to their audience right from the opening note. Fox reflects, “We’re just a really down to Earth group of friends, but at the same time we try to make a strong impact with our music and storytelling in one way or another.”
With the band’s name connected to the sea, and the desire to give their listeners a glimpse of the twists and turns in their lives which were quite impactful recently, it was only natural to come up with a title such as Tides for their debut EP. Jeno Fox states, “The roller coaster of the last couple years has really been full of highs and lows and this new EP really embodies all of those ups and downs.” While a lot of bands out there tend to state the issue or problem that they or others have been having, Swept to Sea choose a different path. Along with raising the issue, they also strive to help those in need, taking the listener with them on the same wave right to the solution. There is a light at the end of each tunnel and a glowing beacon as a guide, even in total darkness.
The artwork for Tides displays elements of the sea, but only as a metaphor to welcome the viewer, and listener, into something deeper. It is the turbulence in the band members’ lives, and its effect. Fox adds more to the highly emotional spirituality behind the artwork, “There are visuals of light breaking through the clouds and the sun’s rays shining on an area of the ocean where nothing is really happening. At the same time there is a shipwreck in the dark representing that people might not always see the big picture of what is happening in your life”.
Each song starts out with a riff, that at times has the means to take over the entire feel of a song. What makes it interesting is the next stage of finding the connection to the concept. Fox shares, “We then discuss what direction we want to go with regards to storyline and what we want the listener to take away from the song after hearing it, the biggest direction we knew we wanted to go in was storytelling with each of our songs”. With every song, Swept to Sea make a purpose for themselves, and that was to make an impact on those that heed their calling. Fox finalizes, “Making songs that could potentially have an impact for at least one listener was really important in dictating the decisions we made when writing each of the songs.”
Tides was released by Eclipse Records on December 2, 2022.
.
