Down I Go
United Kingdom · formed 2005 · last active 2022
Down I Go are a London experimental/progressive hardcore band formed in 2005 by vocalist Pete Fraser, guitarist Alan Booth, drummer Ben Standage and bassist Marek Bereza, known for pairing dissonant, mathcore-adjacent hardcore with brass and orchestral instrumentation. Nearly every release is built around a single narrative concept -- dinosaurs, man-made disasters, robots, historical tyrants, Greek mythology, and Icelandic folklore (the latter partly written during an Iceland residency) -- with 2022's Aum Shinrikyo centered on the doomsday cult of the same name. One reviewer likened the horn-driven chaos to 'Botch with Rocket From The Crypt's horn section,' while Fraser's vocals swing from acidic barks to spoken word to crooning.
SCORE PROFILE
Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.
WHY THOSE SCORES
- Jazzy 3 — Aum Shinrikyo (2022) review notes 'jazz flourishes' woven into the brass-driven hardcore attack (keepitfast.com/down-i-go-aum-shinrikyo).
- Hardcore 8 — Experimental hardcore band from London combining complex song structure/rhythmic patterns with screamed and melodic vocals (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_I_Go).
- Barbershop 3 — Mortals EP praised for vocals alternating between hardcore screams and 'multi-part vocal harmonies' many times per song (echoesanddust.com/2017/08/down-i-go-mortals).
- Technical 7 — Reviewers cite erratic, mathcore-influenced structures and unpredictable vocal shifts creating a 'satisfyingly chaotic' feel (search-aggregated Sputnikmusic commentary, loudersound.com review of You're Lucky God, That I Cannot Reach You).
- Theatrical 4 — Every major release is built around a single narrative theme (dinosaurs, disasters, robots, tyrants, Greek mythology, Icelandic folklore), with Bandcamp genre-tagging its own subgenres like dinocore/disastercore/robotcore/tyrantcore (downigo.bandcamp.com/album/aum-shinrikyo).
MEMBERS
- Pete Fraservocals, woodwinds, pianos
- Alan Boothguitars
- Ben Standagedrums
- Marek Berezabass (founding member, 2005)
- Sam Ewenstrumpet, trombone (contributing)
CONNECTIONS
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