The Blossoming of Alternative Rock: The Deadly Blooms
Blossoming into the local Houston alternative and post hardcore music scene comes The Deadly Blooms who captures your attention like a venus flytrap with its dangerous and highly attentive attributes and renowned power for its sharp instinctive qualities with their new debut and thought provoking EP release, “It Can Only Be This Way”.
Photography by Kinley Erin (Kinleyerinphotos on Instagram)
The Houston based four-piece alternative progressive rock band is formed by Logan Gill (lead vocals, guitar), Keenan Descartin (drums), Chandler Weber (bass), and Trey Riedle (guitar). The band originally started off as a side project until a brief halt causing the members to part ways to expand their musical and creative talents into other works before reuniting once again with a vengeful power. The Deadly Blooms has become a rising commodity within the scene as they have shared the stage with bands like Bipolar Joyride, Junkyard Cat, and Zegovia. If you're a fan of the heavy metal or hardcore genre, The Dead Blooms presents the sounds similar to those of Deftones, Bring Me The Horizon, and Spiritbox.
The band recently released their anticipated debut EP, “It Can Only Be This Way” on February 20, 2026 featuring 5 brand new tracks totaling into a 23 minute arrangement of a killer experience. The Deadly Blooms are not tied down to one specific genre but rather sow their seeds of drop dead greatness into a variety of soundscapes to create their own blossoming mark. Just like every rose has its thorn, “It Can Only Be This Way” shows its sharp and prickly spikes that cuts deep and is unforgettable with its razor knife sharp thrills of guitar riffs, biting bass, a percussion that digs deep into the root of a barked up tree, and vocal performances with massive venomous vocals that grows into a deadly bouquet of withered roses. The Deadly Blooms are not a force to be reckoned with as they continue to evolve and work consistently with producing new music and starting a riot with their live performances.
“It Can Only Be This Way” is a direct callout and a stunning impressive debut EP that encapsulates the high energy chemistry of the band that balances their loud and gritty post hardcore sound that is executed with its raw intensive production and showmanship. Being a newly independent band, the record is a constructive piece of work that sonically pieces bits together into an expansive listen with their musical range. “It Can Only Be This Way” is an exhilarating and deafening EP that shifts your perspective with its mournful and deeply personal songwriting that has a belting voice of expression that could raise the dead. The thematic elements of the record surround solemn and grave experiences dealing with overwhelming emotions. It forces you to sit and process the looming energy and come into terms of reality.
The opening of the EP begins with slashing guitar shrieks and a piercing shrill from Gilles, ‘Midas’ that turns the intensity up into a maximum volume with its racing drums and overpowering bass that fully drenches you full with a harshful and fury attitude that’s been dormant in a sleepless slumber. The insane and melodic guitar riffs showcase the skillmanship of both Gills and Reidle that incorporates the track into another level. This is an incredible track to start off the band’s debut with a demanding presence and intrude into the mind of the listener.
Next up, the second track, ‘New Motive Power’entrances you with a sly and possessive theatrical guitar line that lures your attention with its more progressive nu metal sound that introduces a bouncy bass line that seamlessly intertwines with the build up of the cinematic heavy and dark instrumentation. It's a slithering and almost bitten mark in search of a taste of blood keeps you on your toes hoping not to step into a massive trap. This is one of the most developmental and progressive songs on this EP as it weaves different elements within the rock genre and transpires it with transitional soaring melodies.
The third song on “It Can Only Be This Way” is called, ‘Wait’that illusions you as a serene ballad rock song in the first minute that immediately turns you upside down with its reverse psychology as it blows up into a million pieces with a vicious attack that comes up from behind. It strips down to a gritty guitar and bass lines that is reduced to showcase the true intensity and rawness of the band’s internal dialogue of such descriptive and unsettling lyricism of calling out to a higher power to unleash their torment and ungrateful riddance. This track is full of heavy ambiance that matches the intensity of the band.
The following fourth track on the EP is ‘Who Have I Been Praying To?’ takes a step back with its slightly slower yet drenched instrumentation. The songlooks inwards with its songwriting as the narrator questions their religious or lack thereof in belief of something holy. The picturesque lyrical writing sets you into a time piece of the longing and wishful thinking to overcome such sadness and ghostly feeling of emotions. The draggedness of the guitar creates a sonic texture of sharp spikes that will prick your skin. The vocals on the track feature layered harmonies that extend into a hallucinatory effect as it establishes a sense of someone calling out from the other side. The track is filled with disruptive and distorted tones that alludes to its obscurity of an unknown presence above the skies who never dares to be seen.
The closing final track on the EP, “It Can Only Be This Way” is ‘Bethlem Royal’ is a beastly predator of a song that is all laid out completely with its raw and unpredictable cadence that wraps around a vine leaving a mark. There are elemental stamps of a shoegazy and indie sound with its guitar tones until it quickly shifts. As the song progresses it is filled with aggressive and deathly heavy melodic riffs that make your heartbeat stop and race at the same time. However, the tempo and pace of the song picks up astronomically during the last verse with plummeting drums, deep vibrating bass that makes you shake, and a high pitched guitar riff that cascades up and down the fret boards that ascends the listener as if they are levitating. The chaotic breakdown in the middle of the song disrupts the track into a full blown meltdown of pure filth and fury. This track is the one of the most foundational and groundbreaking songs thus far for The Deadly Blooms. The extensive and almost climatic instrumentation shifts from a more pop influenced hook into a more deathly and robust metal-core element, dragging it into a muddy and explosive filled atmosphere.
For The Deadly Blooms, “It Can Only Be This Way” is the beginning mark of an era that cannot be tamed by any means of willpower. With their experimental and progressive sound, it's unlikely that they will stay in one place. As they blossom their roots into different directions, they will eventually take over the scene and mark their territory. The Deadly Blooms operate at a high intensity level to be overlooked as their beauty is marked with the elegance of their powerful musical performances and ability to transform their composed yet complex sound into an experience to behold.
We had the chance to be able to interview The Deadly Blooms for With The Band Magazine. Thank you so much to the band for taking the time out to collaborate with us. You can read the full exclusive interview below!
WTBM: "It Can Only Be This Way" features dark and existential lyricism that deals with the finding of a hope outside of yourself and into something bigger. What is something you're still figuring out within yourself or recently overcame?
The Deadly Blooms: “I (Logan) think "It Can Only Be This Way" true to its name, is a record about NOT solving your problems. Some things aren't ever going to change, so you just learn to coexist and move on. I write almost every song about relationships, and not in a romantic way: they're about dynamics between people. I dress it up with metaphors and allegory, but a lot of the personal things that inspired those songs are ongoing, active, everyday parts of my life. Lyrically, I've had a couple of those lines in my back pocket for almost a decade! I'd love to say I overcame some obstacle in making it, but that's not really the hope the record is about; the hope is that I learned to be happy without having to fight.”
WTBM: The Deadly Blooms took a brief hiatus for two short years in the past. As you all reconnected once again for the love and passion of the music, what led to decision of a reunion? What characteristics or newfound knowledge did each individual bring to the band this time around?
The Deadly Blooms:“This really only began as a side outlet for Logan's musical ideas that didn't have a home in other projects at the time. And on it's own, that somehow made us stand out enough in our first couple live appearances to be invited on to some pretty big shows in the early, post-pandemic era of local music. That paired with the chemistry we already share made the decision to pursue it more seriously as obvious as it was natural. Each of us returned much more mature and experienced in the collaborative space of a band than we were when we all first met, which we think played a huge part in our ability to complete a project like "It Can Only Be This Way".”
WTBM: From your latest EP release "It Can Only Be This Way",what song do you currently resonate to the most and what meaning or emotions does it hold for you?
The Deadly Blooms: “"Bethlem Royal" is a really special song for us. It's a narrative-heavy piece about two people who keep meeting each other during repeat visits to a mental hospital, and the comorbidity of their relationship as time goes by. Logan had the concept for it sketched out long before any music was written; it was based on a comment one of his friend's made about waiting for their boyfriend "like a sickly Victorian woman looking out the asylum window." So much time went into sculpting the lyrics and the arrangement, stacking up harmonies and strings and synths. It feels like a lot of us made it onto that track. And the bridge, when the instruments are screaming full blast and everything starts barrelling towards the end, is probably the most cathartic thing to play that we've ever written.”
WTBM: As a band you're constantly writing new songs and ideas for new concepts, are there any unreleased tracks in the vault that you hope will see the light of day soon? Is there a song that you're constantly pushing for?
The Deadly Blooms: “No matter how much we like something, we live by the idea that "we have yet to write our best material." We've already racked up a few demos since the EP dropped in February! We try not to repeat ourselves, and our recent stuff treads very different ground than "It Can Only Be This Way" Right now, we've been experimenting with stripping back some of the frills and fiddly bits and working more on clean, focused songwriting, and it's been a blast! The new material is relentlessly catchy, and we're stoked to work it into our live sets. As for old songs, we have a huge back catalogue of "stuff that almost became a thing." There's footage floating around out there of songs that didn't make the cut, but who knows. We've brought stuff back from the dead before! (see, "Midas")”
WTBM: The Deadly Blooms is a rising band coming out of Houston. How does the diverse culture and underground scene influence your approach in terms of building a fan base community and partnerships with other local bands?
The Deadly Blooms: “It's given us the privilege of playing with a lot of different artists and a lot of different crowds, that's for sure. We've made friends with bands from the metal scene, the punk scene, the indie scene, the hardcore scene, and even a handful of rappers! Being exposed to all those different niches has affected how we approach songwriting and live shows as well. We can't rely on genre tricks because that'll only appeal to one crowd, so we try to create musical moments that can capture every audience we play to.”
WTBM: One of the most important aspects of a band is the live performances and the energy you want to create and show off to the public. Are there any hurdles you've faced or moments that have clicked together as a group when doing a show?
The Deadly Blooms: “Being an energetic live band was much easier before we started taking the songwriting as seriously as we do now. We pushed our abilities with the songs on this release, and now we have to push our abilities every time we play them live! Going forward, we're working on finding a healthier balance between writing material that satisfies our artistic ambitions without compromising our ability to perform. We're happy with how these songs translate live, but we're looking forward to playing some material that us and the audience can really tear through!”
WTBM: What's coming up next for The Deadly Blooms in the future? How is your newfound alignment going to shape the direction of the band going forward?
The Deadly Blooms: “More music. A LOT more music. We want to write so many songs that our next project will have to be "narrowed down" instead of "filled out". We also managed to take ourselves on tour across Texas in the past year and are looking to go even further. "It Can Only Be This Way" was our first step into having a real release cycle that'll only grow bigger and better every year.”
Connect with The Deadly Blooms: Instagram / Youtube / Spotify / Tiktok / Soundcloud