A New Beginning For Who They Fear

Change is not always easy, especially in bands.  Goals and visions for the band can change for some members, and sometimes members will leave to pursue other opportunities.  It’s up to the remaining band members to decide how to proceed going forward.

This was the case for Baltimore-based metalcore band Who They Fear.  After some members stepped away last year, founding member Michael Dunn had some serious decisions to make about what the future of the band would be. Well, it has now become clear – to keep making awesome music.

The current members of Who They Fear include vocalist Michael; bassist Nick Springer, who has been in the band just about from the start; and the newest member, vocalist Trevor Lloyd. The band is slowly in the process of adding a guitarist and a drummer to complete the lineup.

Who They Fear has been around for about four years.  Michael came up with the band’s name when he was playing a video game called Doom.

The new clean vocalist for Who They Fear, Trevor, is also the vocalist of In Shallow Seas. That’s actually how Michael met him, when they played a show together a few years back, and they have been friends ever since. When Michael asked him to sing in Who They Fear, Trevor immediately accepted the offer.

Michael worked with studio producer Jacob Lizotte to bring “Backstabber” to life.  Jacob, owner of Dark Cabin Studios, wrote the instrumentals.  Lyrics were mostly written by Michael at first, and then edited and improved by Trevor later on. Instrumentals were the primary focus before any vocals were tracked.

Trevor did all tracking of the vocals and Jacob did all instrumentals, including mixing and mastering of them. Hayden Calhoun, the guitarist in If Not For Me and a talented producer and owner of Darkside Audio, did all vocal production and the mixing and mastering of vocals.

“Backstabber" is basically about the fact that at any point people can let you down and turn their backs on you. Despite this, you can find your strength in walking away and starting over, not dwelling on the past, but rather looking towards the future.

I’ve been following Who They Fear for a couple years now, and have enjoyed their previous music very much. Their Sovereign EP, which was released in May of 2024, was very good.  The Sound 228 added “Monument Of Misery” off that EP to the rotation, and the song reached Number Two on The Sound’s weekly Dirty Thirty countdown.

There’s something different about “Backstabber”.  It’s fresh and edgy and has a vibe that will appeal to listeners of different genres.  Yes, it’s metalcore, but it actually has a very post-hardcore feel to it as well. Michael’s hard vocals are powerful.  He’s been working on refining them, and you can tell because he sounds great. Trevor’s singing is crisp and clean and his range is stellar. He’s a beautiful vocalist.  The tempo is upbeat and energetic. This is a fun and catchy song. Fans of Who They Fear are loving it and talking about it a lot, and I think this track will do very well for this band as they look to the future.

Who They Fear is currently working on a total of nine songs. They have two more to drop this year. More information will be revealed about those closer to the release dates. Michael teased that as for music videos, we’ll have to “wait and see”.

Everything is still being finalized, but this October Who They Fear will be going on tour with Telltale, The Wise Man’s Fear, and Execution Day.  Stay tuned for more details on that to come!

Follow Who They Fear on all of their socials for announcements on new music, shows, and new merch.  You can find them on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Written by: Annie Schlottman Photo credit: Fab Lopez