Blue Grape Music is thrilled to welcome Southern California’s Initiate — Crystal Pak (vocals), Michael Morales (bass), Draven Carter (guitar), Manning Gray (guitar), and John Hodge (drums) — to the label’s global roster. The band will drop the new ‘With Love // With Rage’ EP on August 8th.
“When I looked back at the lyrics, everything read as a letter, either to another person in my life, my friends, or myself,” reveals Pak. “However, a letter to a friend would be signed off ‘With Love’ not ‘With Rage’. I intentionally wrote these songs, so they spoke to these two opposing feelings: Love and rage. You can tell which tracks spill to which side.” Today, the band has shared the video for ‘Numb The Pain’ – check it out below!
Widening their collective palette, the musicians nodded to inspirations as diverse as Hum, Deftones, Jane’s Addiction, Rage Against The Machine, and Failure as well as longtime favorites Paramore. “We all wondered, ‘What would it sound like if Clairo wrote a Quicksand record?,'” Pak says.
Pak continues: “The song starts off with a callback to our last single, ‘Alone At the Bottom,’ showcasing the ebbs and flows that life can throw at you. Where much of hardcore leans into anthems of brotherhood and sisterhood, this track still embraces those themes, but frames them through a more introspective lens. The addition of melodic softness and acoustic elements makes it clear from the outset that this is meant to land differently — not as a rallying cry, but as something more personal and reflective.”
She finishes: “In a way, it stands apart while still feeling connected to the core of what we do — expanding our sound without losing the heart behind it, and showing that strength doesn’t always have to come through volume alone.”
Initiate will remain on the road for much of 2026. They recently played festivals and headline gigs in Europe and the UK, including a much buzzed-about performance at Outbreak in Manchester. At the festival, Pak joined La Dispute on stage for their set and it was truly a moment that won’t be forgotten. The band will also appear at Warped Tour and then support Senses Fail and Koyo this fall. Dates are below.
‘With Love // With Rage’ tracklist:
01. Burn After Reading
02. Delusions
03. Shadowboxing
04. Numb the Pain
05. Future Saving Grace
Upcoming festival dates:
July 25th–26th — Warped Tour — Long Beach, CA
August 21st–22nd — Warped Tour — Montréal, QC
September 11th–13th — Purple City Music Festival — Edmonton, AB
October 23rd–25th — The Fest — Gainesville, FL
November 14th–15th — Warped Tour — Orlando, FL
Upcoming dates with Koyo & Senses Fail:
November 19th — Belasco — Los Angeles, CA
November 20th — House of Blues — Las Vegas, NV
November 21st — Observatory North Park — San Diego, CA
November 23rd — Crystal Ballroom — Portland, OR
November 24th — Neptune Theatre — Seattle, WA
November 27th — The Depot — Salt Lake City, UT
November 28th — Summit Music Hall — Denver, CO
November 30th — Echo Lounge & Music Hall — Dallas, TX
December 1st — Aztec Theatre — San Antonio, TX
December 2nd — House of Blues — Houston, TX
December 4th — Jannus Live — St. Petersburg, FL
December 5th — Buckhead Theatre — Atlanta, GA
December 6th — Brooklyn Bowl — Nashville, TN
December 8th — House of Blues — Chicago, IL
December 9th — Bogart’s — Cincinnati, OH
December 11th — Saint Andrew’s Hall — Detroit, MI
December 12th — Opera House — Toronto, ON
December 13th — Théâtre Beanfield — Montreal, QC
December 15th — Big Night Live — Boston, MA
December 16th — Theatre of Living Arts — Philadelphia, PA
December 18th — Warsaw — Brooklyn, NY