Heartsick’s Dark Nu-Core Is Delightfully Unpredictable

At this point, being a band influenced by the nu-metal era comes with a list of must-hit qualities (you know, sort of like how nu-metal was before it stumbled off the cliff of its own popularity). You’ve got your bounce riffs, your electronic elements, and your occasional emotional breakdown. But what’s cool about Heartsick from Lansing, Michigan, is that they never quite exist within those boundaries. Instead, the band have a style of energetic, emotional metal that both embraces the parts of the late ’90s and early 2000s that worked, while always remaining hard to pin down.

One only has to listen to the band’s 2019 album Sleep Cycles to get what we’re talking about with Heartsick. A track like “Bridge Burner” is some classic, anthemic nu-stalgic radio metal. But opener “Affair” is a grinding, chaotic slab, while “Hate Anthem” is a Chimaira-ish sonic wrecking ball that’s super catchy but never sugar-coated or soft. Meanwhile, the band’s 2021 single “Thrill of the Hunt” is a straight-up rap metal track with incredibly dark lyrics about being pursued, captured, and tortured by a killer. You’re never exactly sure what you’re going to get here, and that’s something we love in a band.

Describing Heartsick’s music, vocalist Alfonso Civile says the following:

“Over the course of their career Michigan’s Heartsick have cultivated the kind of loyal underground following usually reserved for bands like Deftones and Slipknot. 

“With their DIY ethos and energetic live shows It’s easy to see what has allowed this band to win the hearts of bands and fans alike.”

Check out Sleep Cycles below, and keep your eyes peeled for more Heartsick in the near future!