I See Stars

About I See Stars

I See Stars carved out a weird little corner for themselves in the late 2000s by smashing metalcore breakdowns into club-ready synths before that particular cocktail became completely overdone. They formed in Warren, Michigan in 2006, which makes sense given that Detroit-adjacent scenes have always had a thing for blending the heavy with the synthetic. The original lineup featured Devin Oliver handling clean vocals and programming while Brent Allen screamed, backed by the kind of dual-guitar attack that every metalcore band had back then.

Their first two albums, 3-D in 2009 and The End of the World Party in 2011, established the template: chugging riffs, guttural screams, and then suddenly you're in a trance breakdown that wouldn't sound out of place between Skrillex drops. 3-D had tracks like "What This Means to Me" that showcased their willingness to go full pop in the choruses while keeping the verses brutal. It was mall-core in the best and worst ways, but it worked for the Warped Tour circuit they were running.

Digital Renegade in 2012 marked the point where they started taking the electronic side more seriously. The production got cleaner, the synths got bigger, and songs like "Ten Thousand Feet" showed they could write an actual hook. Then Brent Allen left, which could have been a death sentence. Instead, they brought in Zach Johnson and leaned harder into the progressive elements.

New Demons in 2013 is probably their most balanced record. Tracks like "Violent Bounce" and "Murder Mitten" found them refining the sound rather than just throwing every idea at the wall. The electronic elements felt integrated instead of tacked on, and the heaviness had more purpose. Treehouse followed in 2016, continuing that trajectory but pushing even further into atmospheric territory with songs like "Mobbin' Out" that felt genuinely experimental for what they were.

Then things got quiet. After Treehouse, the band went through more lineup changes and took their time with new material. Reckless Abandon didn't show up until 2023, and by then the landscape had completely shifted. The album saw them essentially abandon the screaming vocals that had defined their early work, committing almost entirely to clean singing and electronic production. Tracks like "Suicidal Energy" barely resembled the band that made 3-D.

These days they're in an interesting spot. The original crunkcore-meets-metalcore wave they rode has long since crashed, and their newer material appeals to a different crowd entirely. They tour intermittently and maintain a dedicated fanbase that seems split between people who want the old breakdowns and people who followed them into the synthwave-adjacent territory. Either way, they outlasted most of their peers from that late 2000s scene, which counts for something.

Their shows are tight and heavy, with the electronic elements hitting harder in person than you'd expect. The pit gets serious during the breakdowns, but there's usually a thoughtful crowd that actually listens between the harder moments. Fans seem to know every word, which suggests real loyalty.

Known for 3D, The Reckoning, Infected, Tremor, Digital Blackout

See I See Stars Live