My obsession with Glassjaw is ongoing. It has not wavered, not even a little bit, not once since the year 2000. I am mildly embarrassed by it. No grown man should be this into anything. I love them. So much. I really do. It’s a one-sided love affair but I’m content with it. I accept it as is, although at times I feel like a fucking stalker.

I can pinpoint the moment of discovery. Factor was responsible. My dude Max, whom I love dearly, and truth be told he put me on to quite a few bands such as The Murder City Devils, At The Drive-in and Red Roses For A Blue Lady. Drunk in the back of Denis’s Mustang 5.0, Max popped the CD of Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence and I immediately dismissed them as a Deftones copy cat. Factor took offense, rightfully so. The similarities are superficial.

I found myself thinking about the record days later. It must have left an impression. A copy was copped for me at Coconuts in Bayside and that was it. Many relationships that myself and my friends were engaged in at the time mirrored some of the themes on the album. Young love gone awry and seemingly life ending catastrophic heartbreak. It viciously connected to me. Immature and overly sensitive, though sometimes I’m not certain if much has changed, everything felt massive and as cliche as it is to say, the band seemed to speak directly to me.

I already loved bands like Faith No More and Vision Of Disorder and Glassjaw seemed like a cross pollination of those bands, and probably a ton of other influences peppered throughout their catalog. They are a polarizing band. For sure. People like myself obsess over them and others can’t stand them. While I love the urgency and the instrumentation of Daryl’s voice, it can also be the part of the puzzle that turns some people off. It’s not for everyone, and honestly, I like that, I prefer it. Some things you don’t want to share.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang dropped on an imaginary label owned by a friend of theirs in 1997 before I was aware of them. I have an OG copy of this cd gifted to me by an old friend and one of the few cds I held onto after tossing my collection into the trash rather handing it over for pennies. The songs seem dated now, but I have an appreciation for them. There are also a handful of demos that I had on cassette which can easily be found on YouTube. Recording quality varies but the amount of nostalgia I feel for those tracks permit me a smile.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence dropped on May 1st, 2000 on Roadrunner Records. This. Shit. Is. Classic. Ross Robinson, signed the band supposedly after hearing one song in their rehearsal space and produced this record, comprised of songs that the band had been kicking around for a bit, though that does nothing to hinder the impact at all. While Robinson is noted for his work with Korn and Slipknot, it is his work with Glassjaw, The Blood Brothers, and ATDI that matter to me. Glassjaw would catch beef with Roadrunner Records, a label that notoriously fucked over bands, which led to them to jump ship to Warner Bros. Worship And Tribute dropped on July 9th, 2002, also produced by Robinson, which the band grew more mature and cohesive on their epic sophomore effort. I never seem to get tired of these two records. They are always in rotation. Stranded on an Island type shit.

After a lengthy hiatus and line up changes, Glassjaw released an EP, Our Color Green (The Singles) January 1, 2011, though some songs were written as far back as 2005 and each song was released as a single a month apart beginning on August 9th, 2010. The pattern being 8/8, 9/9, 10/10, 11/11 and 12/12. The song “Stars” was a revised version of an older song off of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The EP was recorded and produced by Glassjaw and Jonathan Florencio and self released.

Coloring Book was another EP they released on February 13th, 2011, which CD copies were handed out after shows for free during their Feb/March tour of that year. I received my copy at the Nokia Theater show in NYC, which I gave to a friend for her birthday. It was produced by Ryan Siegel and Jonathan Florencio, and self released on different formats, and only began streaming on February 15th, 2021.

Material Control dropped on December 1st 2017, their third full length after fifteen years following Worship and Tribute. This album was written entirely with the core of the group, vocalist Daryl Palumbo and Guitarist Justin Beck, who handled all the instrumentation except for the drums. They enlisted Billy Rymer of Dillinger Escape Plan to records drums, which he did for all tracks except for “Strange Hours”, which their current touring drummer, Chad Hasty, was behind the kit for that one. The album was produced by Daryl and Justin and released by Century Media.

Glassjaw can do no wrong. At least they haven’t thus far.

On March 25, 2022 I hopped onto the Long Island Railroad and ventured out to Huntington to catch the first night of two sold out shows at the Paramount, each night Glassjaw played an album in its entirety. I met up with Denis and SMH, and sadly, Trator was supposed to be with us, and we caught the EYEWTKAS set, followed by an Our Color Green encore. It was supposed to be a 20th anniversary tour, but pushed back due to the pandemic, which is why it was rebranded a 20+ year anniversary. The show was great, the trip home not so much. Glassjaw did not disappoint and I got to spend some quality time with my bros so I can’t complain.

I was hyped about getting the triple vinyl collection, limited edition tricolor release. I had nothing on vinyl from Glassjaw, surprisingly, so to grab EYEWTKAS, Live At The Forum (A W&T heavy set with a B-side, all of OCG, and Siberian Kiss), and Worship and Tribute in one fell swoop was big for me. It’s selling on Discogs for as high as $250 and $400 on Ebay. Not that I’d ever sell it.

I’m curious what they will do next, but Glassjaw doesn’t have to do anything at all. The legacy is cemented. The songs are timeless. They locked it up.

Thank you, Factor.

Also, I still want a proper recording of “Midwestern Stylings”. Make it happen.