AVAILABLE VIA EQUAL VISION RECORDS ON JANUARY 17, 2025, MUSIC VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE ‘BY YOUR SIDE’ A SONG THAT DISCUSSES SUICIDE PREVENTION AND THE NEED FOR SUPPORT.

Legendary independent New York-based rock label Equal Vision Records and Shutdown are excited to announce the Friday, January 17, 2025 release of ‘By Your Side’, the New York City hardcore institution’s brand new, six-song EP. On the heels of last year’s ‘Still… Against All Odds’ EP, ‘By Your Side’ is a collection of passionate songs that are fueled by the same fiery intensity of the band’s youth, but imbued and inspired by an outlook, worldview and wisdom that only comes with age and time. At the same time, however, this EP easily transcends the genre and shows how effectively the band can write songs that appeal beyond the confines of the scene. Leading the collection is the titletrack, an uplifting and positive song that ruminates on the need for support and, more importantly, listening to people when they are going through something that is really impacting their lives, negatively. With suicide prevention and mental health education at the core of its message, song was inspired by the many people who struggle with the belief that someone will always be by their side. ‘By Your Side’ is also dedicated to the memory of Regina Morley, who fell victim to suicide. The music video filmed and directed by Jerry Farley. There are some bands that are just like old friendships — even if you haven’t spoken (or written music) for a while, you can pick up right where you left off. It had been an incredibly long time since New York hardcore outfit Shutdown had written a record together — 24 years, to be precise — but one listen to ‘By Your Side’ and it’s almost as if that time has never passed.

‘By Your Side’ EP tracklisting:

Our Time
By Your Side
Untouchable
Is This The End
Another Day
What Are You Thinking

Formed in Brooklyn in late 1994 as a bunch of teenagers, the four-piece quickly settled into their own skin. They solidified the line-up — Mark Scondotto on vocals, Steve Della Croce on guitar, Dion DeNardo on bass and Jimmy McCormack on drums — and, after a handful of EPs and split 7”, released their debut full-length, ‘Against All Odds’, in 1998. An EP called ‘Something To Prove’ came out the next year, followed by a second full-length, ‘Few And Far Between’, in 2000. Though young, the overriding sentiment of those songs was one of positivity despite the circumstances, and the band channeled that optimism and defiance through their raw and breathless take on hardcore. Straight edge and no bullshit, the four-piece soon became a known name in the scene… but then things slowed down and eventually just came to a stop. Life, as life does, got in the way. “That positivity is just how we roll” DellaCroce summarizes, “because it helped us when we were angry teenagers. To this day, when we write songs, we write them for us and whoever likes it likes it, but obviously it speaks to a lot of people and it’s helped us survive this long as humans. So it was essential to keep that message going with this EP.” “There’s a lot of hope on this release” adds Scondotto. “I really think that’s what the world needs right now.” Given the state of the world right now, the community, optimism and hope these songs offer is not just important, but truly revolutionary and necessary. True to its title, it’s a companion, a friend, something to turn to when things get tough — because things always get tough. These six songs are a vital reminder that they also get better.

“We never officially broke up” says Della Croce. “We needed to stop touring, and we started doing a few other things. We all tried to play when we could, but it wasn’t consistent. A couple of us had side projects going so we could keep playing, and we would write some Shutdown songs once in a while, but we realized we needed a plan of what we wanted to do and what the band should sound like. We’ve talked a lot over the past couple of years about how we’ve evolved and grown as musicians and songwriters, and we wanted everyone to hear what we were talking about.”