Reviews on the Real: Thieves and Tyrants EP by Gnashing

Nicole Brice

Feb 4, 2025

Gnashing is carving out a space for themselves in the heart of NOLA’s dynamic music culture.

Sometimes, music comes onto our radar long after it has been released. It’s the nature of the business these days, with the market being oversaturated with new original music. Today, we review Thieves and Tyrants, an EP released by New Orleans-based band Gnashing on September 15, 2023.

Thieves and Tyrants EP by NOLA-based Gnashing — Released September 15, 2023 - Click to listen

Formed in 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gnashing's sound is a unique blend of old school death metal, thrash, and black metal. As one of the newer bands on the scene, Gnashing has been steadily booking shows since its inception. The band has performed at Creepy Fest in New Orleans in 2022, The Marsh Room in Metairie, the Intracoastal Club in Houma, Siberia in New Orleans, and many other venues, and the band shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

New Orleans has long been known for its rich musical heritage, and at the core of Gnashing’s appeal is their ability to balance melodic dark beauty with a sense of tension and discomfort. Lyrically, Gnashing explores themes of inner conflict, isolation, and the pursuit of understanding in an increasingly fractured world, creating a layered experience that invites interpretation for each playthrough.

Recorded, Mixed, & Mastered by James Whitten of HighTower Recording in New Orleans, Thieves and Tyrants is a rollercoaster ride of melodic death metal with a little groove and thrash thrown in.

Gnashing is Chris Lilly (vocals/guitar), Taylor Hinkel (guitar), Erik Haley (bass), and Brennan Ledet (drums).

Let’s dive into these tracks, shall we?

Metamorphosis – starts heavy straight out the gate—an excellent opening to this EP. Head nodding abounds. Assertive guitars and vocals. It's a great tune to crank up to eleven.

The Befallen – nice crispy opening with crunching guitars—this one has a slightly faster pace.

Rush to Judgment – my favorite track on this EP. This high-energy song delivers a potent punch to the gut with a blistering pace of aggressive, distorted guitar riffs and pounding drums.

Grandiosity rounds out the EP and is a little slower, but once the vocals hit, it puts you in a trance. The song builds and picks up the pace, maintaining this steady vibe of aggression.

Thieves and Tyrants is an EP that hits both musically and thematically. We had a few questions for the lead vox of Gnashing, Chris Lilly, and he was kind enough to speak with us. Check out our conversation below.

NOLA-based band Gnashing — Credit: Facebook

MaM: How did you come up with the sound for Gnashing? What led you to play the type of music you play?

CL: We never really chose the style we were going for. It just happened organically. I grew up listening to all of the music of the 90s, but it was thrash metal in particular that I found myself very drawn to as a child. As I grew older, I started to rediscover that kind of music and became even more of a melomaniac. From there, I listened to more extreme genres and was heavily influenced by bands like Skeletonwitch, Stormlord, second-wave black metal, and especially Chuck Schuldiner of Death. The rest of my bandmates have similar influences, so our sound was created naturally and unforced. There's something about the darkness of extreme music that I find very intriguing, along with the concept of good versus evil. Within this kind of music, you'll find stories told in ways like no other, and I think there's a beauty in the ugliness of life, which makes for great art and is all a part of the human experience. An appropriate amount of pain, heartache, and suffering is necessary. Just as love, happiness, and joy is as well. The yin and yang concept.

Chris Lilly of NOLA-based Gnashing — Chris Lilly of Gnashing (credit: Facebook)

MaM: Walk us through the creative process for your EP Thieves and Tyrants. How did you approach writing each song, and is there a formula you follow when writing music? The title is fitting with all that is happening worldwide currently, right?

CL: One of the first songs (titled The Befallen) I wrote for this project was written before I had any members. I was always writing material and hoping to put together a band one day, and once I met our drummer, Brennan, we started the writing process. We clicked right away, and after the first practice, I knew he was the right person. Our bassist, Erik (former bassist of Drug Money), was recommended to me by a mutual friend, and our guitarist, Taylor, was recommended to us by Erik, his stepfather. I was the primary writer for those songs, but every member had input, including some parts, such as Taylor's solo on the Metamorphosis track. It's been a group effort putting this EP together, and I would say having good chemistry with your bandmates is a must for a good formula for writing material. It starts with the riffs and how to combine each riff to see what works. Our drummer has helped with the arrangements as well. Yes, the title for our debut episode fits today's world and throughout history.

MaM: Do you have new music in the works, and if so, what theme are you finding is a dominant force in your writing these days?

CL: We have new music written and hope to record it this year. We have some work to polish the already-written songs and finish writing new ones. A dominant force of the subject matter would be mostly medieval-themed.

MaM: You have quite a few shows coming up in the coming months, but what are your main goals for 2025?

CL: Our main goals are to finish the new material, record it, and work hard to ensure our performances are to the best of our abilities.

MaM: What key message would you like fans to take away from your music?

CL: I don't know that we ever really had a key message for people to take away from our music. It's mainly been a very therapeutic and creative outlet for us, but I hope it will provide the listener with the same enjoyment we get from creating and performing the music.

As Gnashing continues making their mark on the local music scene and beyond, they stand poised to dominate with an unwavering dedication and organic approach to making music. We look forward to what the future will bring for Gnashing, so be sure to catch them live near you soon so you can experience the sonic abyss of sound only they can create.