Candy

Emerging from Richmond, Virginia's vibrant hardcore community, Candy stands out as a fiercely unyielding group that fuses the rawest punk energy with diverse strains of extreme metal, incorporating subtle touches of electronica and Brit-pop to create a punishing yet varied sonic palette. Their initial releases, the 2017 EP Candy Says and the 2018 full-length Good to Feel, showcased this intense approach most vividly. On the 2022 album Heaven Is Here and the 2024 effort It's Inside You, these components integrated more seamlessly while retaining their visceral force.

The band originated in early 2017 with Zak Quiram handling vocals, Michael Quick and Steve Di Genco on guitars, Cody Mollen playing bass, and Andrew Stark behind the drums. Prior to this, Quiram, Mollen, and Stark had played in Malfunction, Quick had been part of Lost Souls, and Mollen had collaborated with both outfits. They put out a three-song demo during March 2017, followed by the five-track EP Candy Says in November of that year. The provocative cover art on Candy Says helped cement their status within the hardcore underground, prompting tours beyond Virginia's borders. July 2018 saw the release of the single "Studio F12 Demos," which explored noisy psychedelia alongside dance-oriented remixes. On the road, they shared bills with acts such as Fucked Up, Self Defense Family, Terror, Year of the Knife, and Harm's Way. Their debut album, Good to Feel, arrived in September 2018 via Boston's Triple B Records.

This record generated significant attention in hardcore and metal circles, leading to a deal with Relapse Records. Their initial output on the label was the single "Super Stare" b/w "Win Free Love," though extensive touring and the 2020 COVID-19 disruptions halted activities for nearly two years. Returning strongly, they delivered Heaven Is Here in 2022 as their first Relapse LP, now featuring a revised lineup including Zak Quiram on vocals, Andrew Stark and Michael Quick on guitars, Steve DiGenio on drums, and Kaleb Perdue on bass. Following widespread touring, a live studio performance appeared digitally as Candy on Audiotree Live.

Candy's third studio album, It's Inside You, came out in 2024, co-produced by Quick and Uniform's Ben Greenberg. It featured contributions from Aaron Melnick of Nuclae, David Gagliardi of Trash Talk, and Justice Tripp of Trapped Under Ice. Having become a four-piece once more after Kaleb Perdue's exit, Andrew Stark assumed bass duties.