Fox Lake

Sometimes potent musical projects emerge from a serendipitous confluence of events, and sometimes fortune favors the prepared. Such is the case with Denver rage rockers Fox Lake, a blistering trio composed of vocalist Nathan Johnson, guitarist Brandon Kemp, and bassist Zach Swafford who fuse elements of nu metal, metalcore, and hardcore into their rowdy sound. Their debut full-length album New World Heat, their first for MNRK Heavy, ups the ante on aggro energy and topical lyrics that address urgent social issues that emphasize both the personal and the political. Amalgamating genres into their heavy sound, Fox Lake doesn't fall neatly under a simple banner. The band's 2020 debut EP Silence & Violence had more straight-up rapping and featured two boom-bap inspired instrumentals. To avoid veering into the pitfalls of trap-hop territory, the band doubled down on their hardcore and nu-metal elements for the 2021 EP Lady Luck as well as the 2023 follow-up Fear & Loathing. Fox Lake has continued blending the sounds on New World Heat, staying true to the base tenets and sonic foundation built over their career thus far while pushing the limits of what each genre contains.