CARBONSTONE Comes Full Circle With “Standoff”

What’s it like to collaborate with one of your favorite musicians on a song you wrote?  Well, you can ask CARBONSTONE frontman Corey James.  It’s like coming full circle when a talented artist like Corey gets to work with someone he has looked up to and respected and taken some of his own musical influences from.  Corey and his band recently hooked up with vocalist Jonny Santos of Spineshank and SILENT CIVILIAN on a brand new song called “Standoff”.  It’s a heavy-hitting track filled with raw emotion, combining elements that are a reflection of both CARBONSTONE and Spineshank.

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, CARBONSTONE members include Corey (lead vocals and guitar); Eric Dee (bass); Ted Hile (drums); and Steve Junkins (guitar). Corey says he also considers his producer and friend, Tony Correlli of Deep End Studio, as a fifth band member. And of course, we cannot forget the fan favorite, the vampire hype bear, “Frankie Carbonstone”!

It’s been seven months since the last CARBONSTONE release, but there is good reason behind it.  Corey is very careful in how he plans and releases his music.  He is very smart about how he conducts his band’s business, and is always looking ahead to the future – sometimes even into the next year.  There is always something exciting on the horizon for CARBONSTONE, and loyal fans of this band wait patiently (sometimes not-so-patiently) for the nexts release or show announcements.

Jonny Santos is the vocalist of Spineshank, as well as SILENT CIVILIAN and The Less Dead.  Spineshank is making a comeback in 2025 after a long hiatus, and will be performing at two Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) festivals, Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky in September and Inkarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, Ohio in July.  In fact, Spineshank will be at Inkarceration the same day as CARBONSTONE, Saturday, July 19th.  Corey said there might be a special surprise, so any fans attending that day should definitely keep their eyes and ears open.

How did Corey get connected with Jonny to work on “Standoff”?  Well, he told me he has been a fan of Jonny’s work since he was a kid.  In fact, there are electronic similarities that you can hear in CARBONSTONE’s music if you compare it to Spineshank’s.  Corey has definitely gotten inspiration from Spineshank while creating his own music.  Corey said he “took a shot in the dark” and reached out to Jonny about possibly working together.  The next thing he knew, Corey and his wife, Chrystal, were flying on a plane to the West Coast to work on several songs with Jonny in his studio.  Corey admits it was pretty surreal.

Corey wrote “Standoff” way back in 2010. For the version that is being released currently, Jonny Santos wrote the second verse and came up with the Latin-inspired guitar outro.  As with all of CARBONSTONE’s music, Tony Correlli produced the track.  He and Corey are a wonderful team and never fail to create amazing music together.  I asked Corey about why he decided to release this song now.  He told me it was originally released as a demo on an EP called Strength in Silence.  The song was completely organic with zero electronic elements. Corey said he actually has a large catalog of material – demos, etc. -- from back then, and he thought it would be really cool to bring this one back and give it a complete makeover. He shared that this song has always spoken to him, and with things going so crazy for the band right now, “it just felt right”. Corey is so thankful that Jonny dug the song and was willing to add his signature flair to it!

‘Standoff” is so unique and interesting.  It starts out with an intense, raw drum intro that leads right into the fast-paced song.  This track has a gritty, edgy, industrial-metal quality, but also includes Corey’s melodic, passionate singing combined with screams for emphasis.  Jonny Santos wrote the second verse, which he sings and does the hard vocals for.  He also sings with Corey on the hooks and breakdown. In addition, Jonny came up with and played the Latin-inspired guitar at the end of the song.  Corey and Jonny are an amazing duo on this powerful and energetic track.  I can totally picture in my mind CARBONSTONE fans at future shows hearing this song live and jumping all over the place while screaming the lyrics back at the band.

I asked Corey what “Standoff” symbolizes to him.  He said it’s a survivor’s anthem”.  “In a nut shell, it’s about being down at the very bottom in someone else’s eyes, being abused emotionally by them, and finally choosing to stand up and fight back. The core of the song is around the idea that we can all reach a breaking point and finally scream at the top of our lungs towards our abusers, ‘Enough is enough!’ “ There is an angry aggression to the song, but also a sense of empowerment that you feel when listening to it, giving you the confidence that you are strong enough to fight for yourself.

CARBONSTONE has been selected to perform at several festivals this year. The first one is Armageddon Tattoo & Music Festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey Sunday, June 15th.  The day before that, ANOXIA, which is Chrystal James’ band, will be performing.  As mentioned above, the band will be at Inkarceration July 19th.  Other festivals are Northwoods Rock Rally in Glen Flora, Wisconsin Friday, August 15th and Skull House Rock Music and Tattoo Festival in Dundalk, Maryland Sunday, October 26th. ANOXIA will be performing in this festival as well, Saturday, October 25th.  There are more shows being booked and possibly a big surprise coming, so stay tuned to the CARBONSTONE socials!

Corey shared that there probably won’t be any more new songs released this year by CARBONSTONE, but there is A LOT of new music being worked on and the band is waiting on the perfect time to release it.  He says 2026 is going to be amazing year! You can follow CARBONSTONE on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the band’s website.

Written by: Annie Schlottman Photo credit: Beth Starner/Beth Starner Photography