Adorn With the Metal GODCHAIN: An Interview with Chicago’s Heretic Metal Band

On August 8th, Zumiez, the infamous nationwide skateboarding & clothing brand, hosted a hardcore lineup of bands in Chicago’s Daley Plaza – featuring one band in particular, GODCHAIN: a household name in our community. 

GODCHAIN’s 4 members – drummer Kyle Clark, lead guitarist Luis Montanez, bass player Kyle Ritchey, and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Jacob Campos – are staples of this scene. Loud, fierce, and unapologetic, they have gathered dozens of fans over the last year – to the point where they are so undeniably notable in the scene. Every show of theirs comes with a message, and one that has undoubtedly managed to span across the masses of Chicago. I mentioned this as my opener, and Campos led with this.

“I generally think of it as I like writing and I like performing, just politically charged,” he replied. “And it’s not always political. I wish it didn’t have to be. But generally, it’s, ‘I made this’. I made it for myself. If someone else likes it, beautiful, and if people want more of it, then I’m happy to write more.”

GODCHAIN has made an insane mark on the scene, from performing at DIY venues to skateparks to our very own, locally infamous hardcore venue Casa Cafe – a very popular vessel for the local music community. They are unapologetically metal, punk, and themselves. I asked where such a strong confidence in who they are and what music they make came from; Ritchey then chimed in next.

Kyle Ritchey, the bass player of GODCHAIN, recalled memories of his dad introducing him to ska punk – where icons like Goldfinger & Reel Big Fish were mentioned for having a huge impact on him growing up. The progression to creating GODCHAIN’s unique Chicago ‘heretic metal’ sound was natural for many of the members, as heavy metal, punk, and hardcore crept into their lives and consumed their music taste, for most, very early on. Campos and Montanez spoke about their experience growing up in households of color, Campos burning CDs and all blasting their favorite music – no matter the critique or the judgment. We spoke about the cultural phenomenon of families of color being against or conflicted about the widespread love for hardcore, then conversely, about how the new generation of punks are still big fans of their parents’ favorite music.

“I’ve kind of forced my family to accept it because they know they can’t not listen to it. But it was never, like, a case of, like, ‘turn that shit off,” Campos shared. 

“My dad  – all he liked listening to was soul music. So as a kid, if it wasn’t anything Mexican, it was James Brown. But then I moved to California when I was a kid – and over there is where my uncle introduced me to all this new stuff: my first introduction to Linkin Park, Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera.”

A massive, very irreplaceable part of this music in general is individuals of color. The Chicago hardcore scene is undeniably constructed on the foundation that generations of punks of color have laid, but somehow even more incredibly, the culmination of how all of our cultures intertwine to weave the niches that we now find ourselves so comfortable in. Alternative backgrounds and so many different journeys, but all of them led to this scene, where we all stand as a collective.

GODCHAIN is the perfect example of this. People of color; varieties of cultures up on stage – fiercely driven by the combination of their unshakable love for music and the craving to be loud.

“Just because it’s already been said by other people you play with, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say it anymore,” Campos noted. “You come to a GODCHAIN show, you’re going to see two brown men. You’re going to see a Mexican man singing and a Mexican man playing guitar. You’ll see a white man playing bass and a white man playing drums. And you see these people because we all were together on whatever it is we want to say.” 

I see lots of young people in the crowds of GODCHAIN shows. I wish I could capture the energy in a photo. I see so many identities being formed, so many people having fun; dressing the way that they want and smushing themselves between fellow fans as the music plays. We are the new generation of music; we are the new generation of hardcore, and this is my recognition of a band that is every part of that. There is an obligation to uphold when you have such an expressive platform – a platform where young people are listening – an obligation to deploy your feelings on what matters to their ears. GODCHAIN gigs depict what they are as a band both creatively and morally every single show.

“There’s so much screaming. To the point where you’re ‘screaming’ the message every time,” Montanez expressed. “Sometimes screaming, sometimes preaching, but every single time, we are persistent.”

GODCHAIN has a song out on platforms now entitled “The American Dream:” a song that Campos explained is about nuclear weapons, race, protests, and the criticism of religion. He explains that there won’t be a single GODCHAIN song where they’re not attacking a certain injustice or speaking out against a certain wrongdoing. It is innate within the message of GODCHAIN to be deliberate yet always heard, and is unequivocally a huge part of the culture they create at their shows. Unrest lies within the scene, and GODCHAIN does not forgive that. 

Voice forward, brave, and so metal that it hurts. In a world so dark and mortifying, GODCHAIN is the band that uses that fury to create art. Art that can be aware of the injustices in the world – and even address them – but still manages to cultivate such a beautiful climate for scenegoers to feel safe and understood. There are metal bands, and there is GODCHAIN; woven within their quilt are needles, but none that cannot be removed. Ones that are then used to create new quilts, which allow the new generations to rest before rising up. 

GODCHAIN can be found at @godchainband on Instagram, GODCHAIN on Spotify, and you can watch a snippet of their show filmed by @worldrenownfailure on Instagram at THIS LINK. cover photo credits to @lovelostina.hailofgunfire. show photo credits to @yeezus.walks312