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Knocked Loose Leave It All in the Parking Lot at the Palladium
Hardcore’s reigning kings, Knocked Loose, turned Worcester’s outdoor stage into 72 minutes of chaos, with a little help from Denzel Curry
Article Contributed by Michael Riley. Edited by LJ Portnoy, Editor-in-Chief.
From Oldham County to the Top of Hardcore
The current kings of hardcore showed up to Massachusetts on Friday, October 9.
Knocked Loose is a hardcore band from Oldham County, Kentucky, formed in 2013 and signed to Pure Noise Records. Oldham County sits about 20 miles outside Louisville. The lineup is vocalist Bryan Garris, guitarists Isaac Hale and Nicko Calderon, bassist Kevin Otten and drummer Kevin “Pacsun” Kaine.
The band built its name the hard way. They released their debut EP, Pop Culture, in 2014, and relentless touring earned them support slots for Counterparts, The Acacia Strain and Stick to Your Guns. Their 2016 debut album "Laugh Tracks" gave them “Counting Worms,” and 2019's "A Different Shade of Blue" pushed them into heavier, more challenging territory. Their 2024 album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To includes the Grammy-nominated “Suffocate” featuring Poppy, and the band performed that song on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Third Time in Worcester, Biggest Room Yet
The Palladium in Worcester holds a special place for Knocked Loose. They’ve played here three times: first in the 500-capacity upstairs room, then in the 2,500-capacity room downstairs, and on Friday, outside for a crowd of 8,000. Everyone knew they were in for a treat.
“MASSACHUSETTSSSSSS!”
When the stage went dark, all you could hear was distorted, dissonant guitars wailing as if they were crying. It felt like you were about to meet your demise.
As the intro to “Deep in the Willow” played, Bryan Garris walked out and held his signature fist in the air. Everything stopped for a moment. Then: “MASSACHUSETTSSSSSS!”
That was all it took to start the night at a 10/10 energy level.
Where Hardcore Meets Hip Hop
The whole evening was chaos. For an hour and twelve minutes, the parking lot was nothing but crowd surfing and moshing, and security at the barricade worked overtime.
For us, the best part of the night came when Knocked Loose brought out Denzel Curry for “Hive Mind.” The song came out in February 2026 as the band’s first new music since You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, and its music video was filmed at David Armstrong Extreme Park in their hometown of Louisville. Curry is a longtime student of hardcore and metal who made waves with his 2019 cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade.” Garris has said the band always knew that if a collaboration like this was going to work, it had to be Denzel, because he understands the genre.
Live, you can hear why. “Hive Mind” sounds like a hardcore song until the drums suddenly switch to a hip hop beat. Denzel comes in with his double-time flow and rides the song from a distinct rap sound into a recognizable hardcore two-step. Rap and hardcore have crossed paths since the ’80s, but Knocked Loose and Denzel Curry take that relationship to a new level and mash the two genres together seamlessly.
The Wall of Death
Bryan reflected on the band’s history with Massachusetts and seemed genuinely grateful to the state for holding a special place for Knocked Loose. Then they played their most famous song, “Counting Worms.”
As the night neared its end, the band wasn’t finished. Guitarist Isaac Hale ordered everyone from the barricade to the soundboard to split in two.
Oh boy. The infamous wall of death was coming.
The parking lot split 50/50, and as the ending of “Everything Is Quiet Now” played, both sides smashed together like a car crash.
Don’t Miss the Next One
Everyone, Knocked Loose included, left everything in the parking lot on Friday night. This tour grew out of “Hive Mind,” with Knocked Loose and Denzel Curry co-headlining across North America. If you haven’t caught it yet, make sure you get to the next one.
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