stillframe Music Provides Glimpses Of Hope Through Turmoil

Written by: Annie Schlottman

Photo credits: it’ll be Ezra Ferguson, Austin Scherzberg, stillframe

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love discovering new, up and coming bands and new music. I’m always looking for something different and exciting. I often find new bands because of others I follow – either band members working with other projects behind the scenes or recommending music they enjoy.

In the case of stillframe, I discovered them through a band I have become very fond of these past two years, metalcore band ENOX. The band's lead vocalist, Michael Guevarez, is stillframe’s producer, and other ENOX band members have contributed on their releases. When I heard stillframe for the first time, I was immediately intrigued by the creativity. I knew right away that this band was special and I was excited to follow them on their journey!

Based in Athens, Georgia, stillframe is a progressive metalcore band consisting of Dominic Bielli, guitarist and songwriter, and Alexander Harshaw, vocalist and lyricist. The band has released four singles so far, but there’s a lot more to come. When I interviewed the band, you can tell they’re really excited for the future of the project.

The background of how stillframe began is interesting. Dominic told me he left his previous band in 2024 for various reasons. He was looking for a change creatively and wanted to be able to write and release music that truly excited him. Ultimately, this led to him creating the first few stillframe demos in his bedroom.

Initially, Dom was writing for his own solo project, but he connected with his original vocalist Levi through social media and they decided to work together to create the beginnings of stillframe. As time went on, though, they realized that they didn’t see completely eye to eye with their visions for the band, so they eventually parted ways.

After that, Dom was hunting for a new vocalist, and found Alexander (who also goes by Zander/Xander) through a friend in the scene, Marcos Cruz, who recommended him to Dom, Ironically, Zander had sent Dom a direct message on Instagram two years earlier looking to start a project. For whatever reason, Dom had completely missed that original message until he was looking for a vocalist for his new project.

Zander shared with me that he had reached out to many people including Dom and actually did an audition for another band at the time. He ultimately decided it wasn't the best fit for him. Fast forward five months, when Dom was searching for a vocalist, and he reached out to one of the members of the same band Zander had auditioned for. That band member suggested Zander.

Dom finally saw Zander’s previous DM that he had originally missed, and they met at a run-down strip mall in between where they both lived. They hit it off right away and plotted their future course. They recorded vocals for the first time together in October of 2025 and have been grinding ever since.

I was curious about the band’s name, “stillframe”. Dom explained that to him and Zander, the word represents a frozen moment in time, and that can be whatever you want or perceive it to be. Often as growing young adults we look back on times when we were younger and feel a strong sense of nostalgia. Music, pictures, and memories will ignite those feelings. The word stillframe encapsulates all of that for them.

As far as the name being in all lowercase letters, that is a fully stylistic choice on the band’s end. It’s moreso to have things take a uniform look together. But Dom admitted that they may not always do things that way, they may be bold and eventually start using capital letters.

The songwriting process for stillframe is pretty simple and streamlined. They usually have an overall vision for their songs and what they’d like to include in them instrumentally and thematically right from the start. It all starts in Dom’s bedroom, where their demos are written and recorded.

The demos are fully-structured instrumental compositions. Dom composes the songs with his guitar, usually starting with structure or riff ideas, then adding other instruments such as bass and drums, then synths and ideas for special effects, etc.

Writing lyrics has become a more collaborative effort between Zander and Dom. The goal is to have a fully-written song, lyrics and all, before going to the studio to record it through nicer equipment. Once they make it to the studio with the song, they collaborate with their co-producer, Michael Guevarez, and get his take on what they have and go from there. Usually in the studio they fine-tune things, add extra layers, synths, etc. They may change or add lyrics as well depending on the song.

Michael and Dom are stillframe’s producers. Michael has mixed and mastered all of the songs they’ve released thus far. He is known in the scene as lead vocalist in the metalcore band ENOX, but his work behind-the-scenes with up-and-coming bands is impressive.

The band has been lucky to have a couple friends who are also talented bassists track on their songs. Roy Beatty of ENOX recorded/performed bass on “takeaway”, and he also has a few more performance credits on upcoming unreleased songs. Jack Swinks recorded/performed bass on “apathy”, “stained”, and “possessive”.

John Capparelli, who plays guitar in ENOX, was featured on their song “stained”. He plays an Animals as Leaders-style thump riff on the track. Dom said John has been a great friend and inspiration to him for a while, so it was awesome having him play on a section of “stained”. “JCap” also appeared in the “apathy” video performing drums.

Original vocalist Levi Miller was a contributor to lyrical content on “apathy”, “stained”, and “possessive”.

I was interested in how stillframe got hooked up with Michael Guevarez. Dom shared the story with me, which is somewhat amusing and also ironic. They actually met because of the grocery store Publix. In 2023, one of Dom’s previous bands that no longer exists was looking for a place to record some songs they had written. One of the bandmates, Luci, worked in the deli at a local Publix, right around the corner from where some of the ENOX band members live in Athens. Luci recognized Michael from the band after seeing him come in and out of the store over time to get groceries and pub subs. They sparked up a conversation, and later that week they all got together to talk music. Dom then tracked guitars with Michael. That’s where their friendship and bond as musicians began.

I asked where the inspiration for stillframe’s songs comes from. Dom shared, “It’s very motivating and exciting to be able to have the opportunity to share our creations with the world. It’s inspiring to think that there may be people out there going through the same things as you, who could benefit from your music, and have something to relate to.”

He continued, “There definitely are topics that we focus on lyrically, such as battling mental health, loss, personal flaws, toxic relationships, and so on, and, on a more positive note, glimpses of hope through all of the turmoil. Things can get very dark, and we like to write about that a lot because it allows us to really express those emotions we feel as a result, but we are also inspired to write about the moments in our lives that uplift us out of that darkness.”

There is a really great music video for “apathy”. It was directed by Dom and Zander, shot by Anthony Neil Cook, and edited by James Perry of Nativ Ghost Visuals. The actor in the video is Jp Lambert, who is the vocalist in Surface The Sun and Kumiko.

Like the song, the video is very powerful and emotional. I asked the band about this. Dom told me he and Zander came up with the full concept.

Dom explained the meaning behind both the song and the video. “The idea behind the song ‘apathy’ is dealing with the mental turmoil and struggle from traumatic past experiences, relationships, and failed ways of life. We wanted to try and encapsulate that the best we could in a video storyline format.”

Regarding the video, he told me, “The idea behind the storyline for the video is an individual who is alone in a home, which symbolizes his isolated mind. He is surrounded by memorabilia in the house -- family photos, documents, and pictures from his childhood -- and is traumatized by the images that remind him of his past, which spark dark memories and anger. The anger and mental trauma lead him to destroy and leave no trace of these triggers.”

I noticed that stillframe’s social media pages all have a description of he band as “serene disarray”. I was curious about this, and Dom explained it to me.

“So that’s a broader phrase I just use to describe the sound (or at least the intention or goal behind it) for the band. Basically, it’s another way of saying it would be beautiful chaos, having elements of both. Sometimes it’s dialing it way back, but of course it includes chaotic and heavy elements too.”

When I’m listening to music, I love when I can get lost in it. I just want to take a break from the world and listen to it on repeat because it transports me to a different reality. This is how stillframe’s music affects me. Every song is different, and there are varied elements within each one that makes it a very interesting listening experience. From heavy to melodic, from the clean vocals to the screams, the ebbs and flows keep me on my toes. It's definitely a combination of beauty and chaos -- or, as the band describes their style -- "serene disarray." I absolutely cannot wait for more music from this talented band!

We can expect a lot more to come from stillframe. The band has four songs they’ve released so far, but they are sitting on even more unreleased music that they plan to put out when the time is right. In addition, behind the scenes, they’re working on getting a full lineup together so they can begin planning live shows. They want to pay attention to detail as much as possible when it comes to their music, media, and performances, so they want to make sure they find the right people that share their vision.

Make sure to follow stillframe on their socials for announcements regarding shows, new music, and other surprises to come! You can find stillframe on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and the band's Linktree.

At the end of our interview Dom shared, “We just really enjoy making and playing music and hope to make a positive impact on the lives of other people for as long as we can.”