For Dead Within Days, metalcore is more than a genre. It is a vehicle for resilience, self-expression, and proving that the limitations other people place on you don’t have to become the limitations you place on yourself. The band has earned attention not only for their music, but for breaking down perceptions surrounding disability and accessibility. With blind vocalist Joel at the forefront, Dead Within Days have become a powerful example of what happens when musicians refuse to accept that certain doors aren’t meant to be opened.
Speaking with Joel from Dead Within Days, it becomes clear that the band’s story wasn’t originally built around making a statement. It started much more simply with friends who shared a love for music and wanted to perform together. The awareness surrounding their story came afterward, when audiences began telling the band how inspired they felt after discovering that they were watching a metalcore band with a blind vocalist.
Rather than allowing that attention to define them, the band has embraced it as an opportunity.
“Anything is possible.”
That philosophy has become deeply connected to Dead Within Days’ identity. While their advocacy is important, Robert emphasizes that the band’s primary vehicle for communicating those ideas has always been the music itself. Ideally, disability eventually becomes irrelevant to the experience of simply enjoying a great song or live performance. And that may be one of the band’s greatest accomplishments.
Nothing Is “Set In Stone”
The band’s latest material explores resilience from several different angles, particularly through “Set In Stone.” The title initially suggests permanence, the idea that our circumstances, identities, or futures have already been determined. The song challenges that assumption.
For Joel and the band, “Set In Stone” is about those moments when life convinces you that nothing can change. The lyrics push back against that feeling by reminding listeners that change is still possible, even when it feels completely out of reach. The message became particularly personal when Joel reflected on how far Dead Within Days had come.
There was a time when he believed losing his sight might mean the end of his music career. Yet years later, he found himself standing in a place he had once believed was impossible to reach. That realization became part of the emotional foundation of the song.
“Nothing is set in stone, even if it feels that way at the time.”
It’s a simple message, but one that carries enormous weight when you understand the experience behind it. The band also wanted the song to sound confident without losing touch with reality. Rather than creating an unrealistic message of everything will always be fine, they wanted to capture the feeling of getting knocked down and choosing to stand up anyway.
Living on “The Cutting Edge”
That same mentality continues into “The Cutting Edge,” a song built around pressure, transformation, and the moments when someone reaches a breaking point. Joel sees the title as encompassing all of those ideas. The song asks an important question: Who do we choose to become when we’re under pressure? Sometimes moving forward means leaving behind an older version of yourself. That’s uncomfortable, but it can also be necessary.
“We all are under some sort of pressure.”
For Dead Within Days, that pressure isn’t necessarily something to escape. It can become the force that pushes a person toward becoming stronger, more capable, and more self-aware. “The Cutting Edge” captures that transition; the uncomfortable space between who someone has been and who they are capable of becoming.
“Hypocrite” Turns the Anger Inward
If “Set In Stone” represents perseverance and “The Cutting Edge” represents transformation, “Hypocrite” brings confrontation into the picture. The song tackles hypocrisy as something universal. It’s easy to identify contradictions in other people, but considerably harder to acknowledge them within ourselves. Joel recognizes that reality.
The band isn’t claiming perfection. Instead, they acknowledge that everyone is capable of hypocrisy while emphasizing the importance of trying to live according to the principles they advocate. The song also carries a deeply personal element through Joel’s experiences, particularly within family dynamics. Those experiences helped shape the aggressive energy the band wanted the track to carry.
The result is less about pointing a finger at one specific person and more about confronting a behavior that can affect virtually every relationship.
More Than Five People on a Stage
One of the more interesting aspects of Dead Within Days is how much each member contributes beyond simply playing an instrument. Joel describes the band as a collection of different strengths: songwriting, artwork, merchandise, video creation, business management, technical knowledge, live production, and, of course, their individual musical abilities. Those differences have become part of what makes the band work.
What began with several people coming together over a shared love of music has evolved into something much closer to family. Many of the members met through the band, meaning their relationships were built alongside the music itself. They didn’t simply become bandmates. They became brothers. That relationship has undoubtedly helped Dead Within Days navigate the challenges that come with building something unconventional.
Visibility Without Losing the Music
Being visible as disabled musicians comes with a unique responsibility, particularly when younger musicians may be watching. But Joel doesn’t describe that responsibility negatively. Instead, he calls it “pressure in a positive way.” The band understands that their platform can influence someone who may be questioning whether they belong in music at all. That makes their commitment to the work even more meaningful.
There is a sense of a positive cycle developing between the band and its audience: Dead Within Days inspires fans, those fans give the band additional motivation, and that energy continues outward. It’s not simply representation for representation’s sake. It’s empowerment.
“I Felt the Same Way”
Perhaps the most powerful part of the conversation comes when Joel speaks directly to musicians with disabilities who believe the industry doesn’t have a place for them. He doesn’t offer an empty motivational statement. He starts by admitting that he once felt the same way. The difference was that he refused to accept the thought as his reality.
His perspective is beautifully simple: if you have the ability to convince yourself that you can’t do something, then you also have the ability to convince yourself that you can. There will be setbacks. There will be moments when getting back up feels exhausting. There will be people who doubt you. But Joel believes trying is ultimately more valuable than wondering what might have happened if you had.
“I’d be happier knowing I tried then knowing I never did.”
That philosophy perfectly captures what Dead Within Days represents. The band’s story isn’t about pretending obstacles don’t exist. It’s about refusing to let those obstacles write the ending.
Through “Set In Stone,” “The Cutting Edge,” and “Hypocrite,” Dead Within Days explore permanence, pressure, contradiction, anger, and resilience, but underneath all three songs is the same fundamental idea: You are not finished just because life knocked you down. And perhaps that’s the most important thing Dead Within Days can offer not simply a powerful metalcore record, but a reminder that sometimes the greatest act of defiance is simply getting back up and continuing forward.
Anthony latorre – Drums
Robert Pepe – guitar
Matthew Chinkel – guitar
Thomas Bove – bass
Joel Sofia – vocals
Leave a Reply