The Black Map #107: Transients from Reading!

Traveling the short distance from Oxford to Reading and squaring the circle of bands who appeared at The Wheatsheaf for the Metal 2 The Masses quarter final for a place on the New Blood Stage at the 20th Anniversary of Bloodstock, it’s time to talk about Transients.

Referring to themselves as a Melodic Metalcore band and citing influences in the likes of Killswitch Engage, Architects and Misery Signals, the quintet, who now consist of vocalist Joe Knipe, guitarist duo Simon Lawson and Nick Howlett, bassist Josh Sparkes and drummer James Cross debuted single “Dark Days” in November 2018. Roll on three months and February 2019 saw them destroy all in their wake with their debut EP “Enemies Within“, a six track, 26 minute affair that opened doors a plenty and allowed them to share stages with such talents as Holding Absence, Vexed, In Depths and of course Arcaeon. They’ve gained something of a reputation for their live show in these parts with bassist Sparkes loving every minute of every show. That’s not to say they haven’t been without their fair share of drama in their time, with a couple of enforced line up changes, but to that pain, no one is immune. Fortunately they decided not to call it a night and with their raw emotion, brutal honesty and integrity at their core, they resurfaced with “The Infinite Escape” in March 2020. Transients are a band we want to hear more from.