SNAG join Deathwish Inc., announce new LP ‘All The Cages Holding Us Will One Day Turn To Dust’
- Jason Hesley
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Since their formation in 2016, Milwaukee trio Snag have quietly carved out their own unique space in the DIY underground, quickly becoming a favorite of listeners hungry for emotional hardcore that delivered more than just aimless chaos. On All The Cages Holding Us Will One Day Turn To Dust, the band's third LP and first for Deathwish Inc [pre-order], Snag continue to develop their brand of heavy emo, expanding melodically and texturally without losing their edge. “Musically, the album is punishing at moments; fast and heavy but also soft and beautiful,” says guitarist and vocalist Samm Szymborski. “We wanted to write something that spans all things musically that we are interested in. We wanted to write an album that goes straight to the point and represents Snag as a whole.”
Working with engineer Nick Elert, the album was tracked live over the course of three days in July 2025, adding vocals a month later after experiencing an unexpected power outage at the studio. Compared to the band's prior output, All the Cages... is a little more spacious in its production, with Elert introducing a touch of ambiance into the Snag sonic world that’s a welcome addition. The frantic start and stop tempos, the panic-stricken screams and melancholic chord progressions are all still there, but the album displays plenty of growth as well. Throughout its 11 tracks, Snag exhibit the expansion of their sound in both directions-at times more melodic and others more aggressive than their previous releases.
Snag’s lyrical approach has often been more universal, focusing on broader themes like climate anxiety and apocalyptic dread. Many of the lyrics on All the Cages... show the band looking inward, drawing on the band members’ personal experiences with chronic illness and mental health obstacles. “After going through some mental health struggles this past year, and being in a relationship with someone who is chronically ill, being part of writing this album has helped me through some of those struggles,” says drummer and vocalist Bryan Wysocki. “The album is an odyssey through all the cages one may be trapped in whether it be physically, mentally, as a product of society or as a product of our own being.” The theme of cages weaves its way throughout the lyrics of the album; on first single “Debilitated,” it’s the cage of one's own body.
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