Death Before Dishonor is a staple Boston hardcore band that recently released Nowhere Bound on Bridge 9 Records. They’ve been a band for over 20 years, building a fanbase and becoming one of the most consistent bands in the Boston scene.
“I think the record came out great,” says bassist Greg Chihoski. “It sounds enough like DBD without sounding redundant. It’s hard, fast and heavy and people are really digging it!”
Nowhere Bound is the second recording Chihoski has played on. They released a two-song EP, Master of None, in 2023.
“We recorded the album in Western Mass with the Almighty Zeus,” Chihoski says of the making of Nowhere Bound. “Zeus is a pro and makes you work to get everything perfect, then he works his magic. As professional as it was, it was still a laid-back environment and doing the backup vocals was more like a party.”
Chihoski has been consistently playing and attending shows in and around RI since the 90s. A genuinely outgoing person, he quickly made friends with many people big and small in the industry. The connections he made led him to book a lot of punk/hardcore shows in the New England area, with Reason to Fight being his longest-standing band. Many of the shows were with national touring bands.
Chihoski was always a weekend warrior, with Reason to Fight playing as often as possible at any venues that would allow them. They went on one tour down to Florida, but would mostly hit regional areas like New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the New England area. In between playing, Chihoski would attend every show he could and be available to fill in with other bands when needed.
“I joined Death Before Dishonor about six years ago,” Chihoski says. “It was my birthday (September), and I got a call asking if I wanted to join. There were a few shows scheduled for the spring, which gave me plenty of time to learn all the songs.”
He started learning the songs and working on them with drummer Ben Hilton. The two played together in Reason to Fight, so the chemistry was already there.
“About a week later,” Chihoski recalls, “I got a call asking if I could learn the songs in a month and play two US shows before jumping on a three-week European Tour with Terror. I said ‘Hell Yes!!!”
Chihoski and Hilton worked to nail down the bass and drum parts before getting together with the other members to tighten up the set and prepare for Europe.
“That tour was amazing,” Chihoski says, adding that he made it a point to explore the scenery when they weren’t playing venues. “I haven’t looked back since.”
The band returned home and were planning out their next tour when COVID hit, delaying everything. Chihoski continued to rehearse with Death Before Dishonor and Reason to Fight. He booked one of the first national shows in April 2021, when the world wearily started to open up. It was an outside show at Dusk (RIP) headlined by Madball, with his two bands opening.
Death Before Dishonor picked up touring as soon as they could and have been playing consistently since. They’ve toured through Europe, South America and the states.
“I’ve played shows in almost 40 different countries now and have friends all over the world,” Chihoski says.
Chihoski notes that the biggest difference between playing in a national band is the number of shows played. He says that he’s now on the road for as long as a month instead of just a periodic long weekend. He feels that this is an advantage as the crowd at some of the furthest shows can make it feel like a hometown gig.
“Cities like Berlin and Sofia, Bulgaria, feel like a hometown show for us,” Chihoski says. “I’ve met so many people that I now consider close friends from all over the world.”
Chihoski has played all over the world but feels blessed to be a part of the local scenes in New England. Death Before Dishonor is Boston Hardcore that sold out Middle East for their record release show. Reason to Fight is RI-based. They’ve been dormant for a bit, but will play again when the time is right. He recently joined Soulless, based in CT, on guitar and has another band, Old Iron, in the works.
“I consider myself lucky to be a part of all New England Hardcore and Punk scenes. Providence is having cool shows at News Cafe. Bands like Klaxon, Through and Through, Jugg and Can’t Lose are great. The Boston Hardcore scene seems stronger than ever. Haywire, Skinhead, COA, Risk and Street Power are killing it.
As far as Connecticut, Balmora, Crucial Point and Palehorse are still going strong, and Joaquin Gouin at Deadlocked Productions is always booking great shows.
Chihoski and Death Before Dishonor are preparing for a two-week West Coast tour with Haywire in June. That will be followed by an East Coast run with Street Power. They have shows booked in Mexico and Texas and a fall tour in Eastern Europe.
“I’m honestly having more fun with music right now than ever. The shows are wild again, there’s so many great bands and there’s a real sense of Unity that had been missing for years. I love it!”
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