Split Chain

Formed in Bristol, UK, Split Chain operates as a quintet centered on vocalist Bert Martinez-Cowles and occupies a crossroads of alternative rock, shoegaze, grunge, emo and alternative metal. Split Chain builds a dense sound driven by heavily saturated guitars, dark melodies, a vocal delivery that alternates between tension and fragility, and a pronounced taste for contrasts between rhythmic weight and more diffuse sonic layers. Emerging in the early 2020s, the band initially circulated a series of tracks that quickly established this hybrid, at once abrasive and introspective aesthetic within the British alternative landscape. The group developed in contact with the UK’s rock, hardcore and metal scenes, adopting an approach that draws as much on 1990s and 2000s references as on contemporary production. On stage, Split Chain favors a direct, compact and physical formula, where melodic writing remains central despite the thickness of the sound. The band thus occupies a space between heavy shoegaze, post-hardcore and alternative metal without confining itself to a single register.