Caskets

The Arc of Caskets

The pivots — what forced Caskets to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Captives Blueprint

   Operating under their original moniker, the Leeds five-piece self-released the 2019 EP Ghost Like You to test the waters of modern alternative metal. Tracks like 'Signs' and the title cut relied heavily on traditional post-hardcore dynamics, balancing raw aggression against melodic ambition. The rhythm section of James Lazenby and Lee Horner pushed a standard hard-rock drive that immediately caught the attention of SharpTone Records. It was unpolished and hungry, laying the foundation before industry lawsuits forced their hand.

2. 02

   The Dan Weller Rebrand

   A trademark dispute with an Australian punk band forced a name change to Caskets just as SharpTone pushed the band into the studio with producer Dan Weller. The resulting 2021 debut LP Lost Souls threw out typical post-hardcore screaming tropes in favor of massive vocal hooks, atmospheric strings, and Ryan Smith's razor-sharp mastering. Christopher McIntosh swapped rhythm guitar for bass to steady the ship after lineup shuffles, locking in with new rhythm player Craig Robinson. The record traded basement grit for cinematic low-tuned gloss, putting Flood's soaring cleans dead center.

3. 03

   Collaborative Polishing

   Holed up in Weller's private London facility, the band cut 2023's Reflections by stripping away Flood's monopoly on the lyrical concepts and turning writing duties into an open floor for all five members. Benjamin Wilson's lead guitar lines took on brighter, almost pop-rock textures against slick synth pads, proving the band could write hooks without leaning entirely on heavy breakdown crutches. The production hit an ultra-clean sheen that pissed off purists who wanted heavier riffs. It proved Caskets could command massive festival stages on sheer melodic endurance alone.

Influences

• Linkin Park — Flood has consistently cited Chester Bennington as the primary blueprint for balancing raw emotional vulnerability with stadium-sized pop choruses. You hear it across the soaring vocal arches and aggressive clean belting on tracks like 'Glass Heart'. Bennington showed heavy music that honest melodies could hit harder than constant gutturals.
• Underoath — The band took explicit structural cues from the mid-2000s wave of atmospheric, synth-laced post-hardcore pioneered on albums like Define the Great Line. You can trace the combination of ambient electronics and crashing low-tuned guitar walls on Ghost Like You straight back to that era. It gave them the roadmap for making heavy guitars feel cavernous rather than just fast.
• Saosin — Caskets built their entire melodic philosophy on the high-register, post-hardcore clean vocals popularized by Cove Reber and Anthony Green. The soaring runs on 'Falling Apart' directly mirror the guitar-and-vocal interplay of Saosin's 2006 self-titled era. It proved heavy bands didn't need cookie-monster growls to carry dramatic weight.
• Breaking Benjamin — The band draws heavy structural inspiration from the drop-tuned, polished post-grunge formula that dominated American hard-rock radio throughout the 2000s. The mid-tempo chugs and layered wall-of-sound choruses all over Lost Souls ride the same radio-ready angst. It anchors their heavier riffs to simple, infectious rhythm hooks.
• Holding Absence — As SharpTone labelmates who emerged just ahead of them in the UK scene, Holding Absence laid down the commercial blueprint for emotionally charged, cinematic melodic rock. You hear that theatrical vocal layering and tragic lyrical framing bleeding directly into Reflections. They made dramatic sincerity cool again in a UK scene drowning in generic metalcore.