All Ages
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Kaonashi’s music is difficult to define. It combines death metal growling, unexpected time changes and technical flourishes that bring to mind nineties metalcore legends like Coalesce and The Dillinger Escape Plan. However, there isn’t anything dated about the band’s sound—and in fact, there’s something inherently progressive about the Philadelphia trio’s unique brand of music. This is exemplified on songs like the eerie “Fairmount Park After Dark,” which is as evil-sounding as it is energetic and showcases the act at the height of their powers. Although the act was started by vocalist Peter Rono and guitarist/vocalist Alex Hallquist in 2012, things really solidified for Kaonashi in 2016 when drummer Ryan “Pao” Paolilli joined the band and they started touring all over the country, eventually gaining the interest of Equal Vision Records who released the band’s sophomore full-length Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year in 2021.
The band’s new album, I Want To Go Home. is a follow-up Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year and the second part of a series that started with that album. “‘Confusion in a Car Crash’ and ‘Fairmount Park After Dark’ open the new album and really set the tone for what the album is going to entail,” Rono says of the album’s first two singles, which were released in February and show the band taking their metallic and melodic tendencies to new heights that defy categorization. “[Conceptually], this album answers any questions anyone has ever had about the story,” he continues, adding that the band’s 2024 EP collection The 3 Faces Of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation Of Morgan Montgomery/A Second Chance At Forever: The Brilliant Lies From Casey Diamond, helps further expand on this compelling narrative.
“The new album is the conclusion but we’re taking it from the beginning, Tarantino-style and it’s about Taylor witnessing the catalyst for the entire story, which is the counselor killing Jackie with the blood red Camry,” Rono explains. “Taylor sees that and tries to run away from the counselor in fear and the music was written specifically to reflect that: It was written to be heavy, chaotic and overwhelming.” Correspondingly, the aforementioned album opener “Confusion in a Car Crash” is a moody meditation featured detuned guitars, electronic flourishes and a hypnotic groove while “Red Sink, Yellow Teeth” sees Rono alternately shrieking and screaming as his voices try to keep up with the mathcore-inspired riffing. Although there are plenty of blistering breakdowns on the album, the chaos is tempered by “J.A.M.I.E.” a sweetly syncopated respite from the brutality that features an acoustic interlude and angelic vocals from Anthony Green (Circa Survive, LS Dunes).
Since releasing 2021’s Dear Lemon House, You Ruined Me: Senior Year, Kaonashi have toured relentlessly with everyone from The Fall Of Troy to Protest The Hero, a fact that has made the band sound tighter and more ferocious on I Want To Go Home. “I think [touring] has influenced the record because we’ve been playing further out than we ever have to the most people we ever have and [getting] the craziest reactions we ever had this far from this band,” Rono explains. “I can’t help but take that into consideration when I’m writing because it's really inspired. Before I was just trying to prove to people that we were worth listening to and now we have a dedicated audience, so I want to provide the best music that I can.” That said, it hasn’t always been easy for Kaonashi to be a band that exists on the outskirts of so many genres—and at times they weren’t even sure if their message would find an audience.
“I’ve been saying this a lot on this tour to summarize the band, but people hate what they don’t understand and I think that’s been extremely polarizing,” Rono explains. “It hasn’t been this simple, easy trajectory, it’s been love and hate. It’s been one or the other and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The people who do understand it genuinely support us and the people who don’t actively dislike us,” he adds with a laugh. “So I embrace it and I love it and I’m glad it’s been that way… it’s been equally easier and harder.” While it would be easier for Kaonashi to lean into an established subgenre, I Want To Go Home. sees them further pushing their musical boundaries and expanding their sound in the face of this admiration and criticism.
So what keeps them inspired to continue working toward their unified sonic vision?
“I don’t just go in and write a song, I go into it with aim and intention and try to emulate these things that I love,” Rono responds. “It just so happens that a lot of the things I love are polarizing artists that are creative and expressive for no other reason than just to make music that they like.” Whether it’s guttural screaming or fingerpicked guitars, there isn’t any musical idea that’s off limits to Kaonashi, and that phenomenon is ultimately baked into the DNA of the band. “It really just comes from chasing the same thing I’ve always loved and what got me here in the first place,” Rono continues.”That hasn’t changed and it’s been like a through line of this band from 2012 until now: Extreme art, extreme aggression and originality. I’ve seen the easy way—and that’s just not the way I want to go.”
