WFA: Trunk

Being in a band is hard, being in multiple bands is even harder; But sometimes, you get to be the lucky person who sifts through many of them throughout your life before you find the one that feels most at home, so to speak. This is a fairly commonplace thing almost any musician will experience, especially if they begin performing in their younger years, but even as things come and go, the drive is forever. Today, we feature a band that is made up of people who refused to give up and never keep their mouths shut about what they had to say. Please welcome – Trunk!

Began after the dissolve of former endeavors, Trunk surfaced in 2016, out of Horsham, Pennsylvania, when Ross Cohen assembled a new group of musicians to embark on something fresh for all involved. With the help of Craigslist, a little patience, and finding people as weird and willing to go the lengths to make it work, the band would quickly begin working together thereafter, despite any obstacles or line-up changes it might face. The results have spoken for themselves, as Trunk continue on strong eight years later, having completed a number of tours and making a name for themselves up and down the East Coast and elsewhere since. Needless to say, the current line-up has a unique chemistry that appears to maintain the bond necessary for that continuation.

Ross: ‘Trunk started in 2016, when I was ready to start a band again after my old band, Sovereign, broke up. So, I found a Craigslist ad for our original drummer and went from there. Trunk is currently Ross on vocals, Jeremy on guitar, Steve on bass and Luis on drums. When you’re a musician, you kinda just keep on playing, and when you also have a big mouth, you start a metal band.‘

Having just become aware of the band during a big event, Scum City Slam Fest, of which they and eleven other bands played in RVA back at the end of July 2024, it was easy to find both appeal and entertainment in their live performance. When you hear the kind of riff-driven prowess of a band like Trunk, you don’t necessarily expect their vocalist to hit the stage in a similar fashion as a professional wrestler stepping out with a Creed song playing, clad only in a heart-plastered trunks and shades, doing handstands, cartwheels, and various other stunts that would make Johnny Knoxville jealous – all while delivering superbly intense harsh vocals over the mic. However, the aforementioned and more was just a small hint of the flavor town of chaos experienced from seeing them live, not to mention a blow-up doll dress in their merch getting thrown around the crowd. Bananaslama were also present in the line-up that night, so large inflatable bananas were also amidst the objects tossed around in the pit during their set. Needless to say, it was a party.

Projecting this level of energy (and more) for nights and nights in a row, this was just one of many dates they’d stomp into as part of a tour they embarked on for the summer. Impressed with their level of goofiness tied with some truly sick music, and always being a fan of that kind of dynamic, I knew I’d have to keep them in mind for writing this very article sometime in the future – and here we are now! Another admirable quality with them is, as serious as they take their performance and writing, it’s never too seriously, and there is no question to how much fun each member of the band is visibly having at every show they perform. Trunk embodies everything that makes metal music fun, as well as what it really means to get you and a few of your best friends together to do something both liberating and ridiculous that becomes infectious entertainment for all who get to witness as well.

Ross: ‘I’m a crazy person that loves to cause chaos and make people uncomfortable. The guys in the band do all the real work. We all write riffs, but Jeremy usually comes up with the best stuff, so we help arrange ideas people bring to the table. I would say the biggest influences would be Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Acid Bath, and punk rock mentality.‘

So we’ve mostly covered what to expect of Trunk on-stage, but let’s talk about their recorded material. Their most recent release, Born Dead, shows the band at a primal stage. Songs like “Denied Light”, “Told To Kill”, and “Encased Trinity” amalgamate elements of death metal, grindcore, thrash, and doom metal into an utterly gritty, raw manifestation of crushing riffs and grooves that will catch the eyes and ears of anyone who appreciates the old school death metal energy but with a modern enough take to keep it from feeling like just a nostalgia pull. All 7 tracks of this record will have you ready to start a pit in your office chair, easily. Also, interesting fact found in the liner notes on their Bandcamp page – apparently the recording was done at two different studios, with drums and guitars being tracked at Dullest Studios, and vocals and bass being done at Black Bunny Studios.

So what else sets Trunk apart from your usual death metal acts? Outside of their trademark live performance, punishing songwriting prowess, and even the openness to each other’s ideas in that songwriting process which exudes a special sort of chemistry amongst the band, it’s easy to identify just how DIY-driven they are as well. Having completed a number of tours all by their own handlings, building the connections they have within different scenes throughout the East Coast, and recently signing to the likewise DIY-driven label, Scum City Entertainment, Trunk have a lot going on for themselves. Speaking with the band about their experience in different music scenes as well as what they find most important about doing music, it’s hard not to appreciate the resilient, punk-like, care-free attitude that helps keep them afloat through thick and thin.

Ross: ‘The best scenes we’ve been around have been Baltimore, Maryland area and Texas was super sick. Just play shows. Stop worrying about fitting in and make your own scene. [The best part of doing this is] meeting new people while traveling and just having a release; That’s a positive on our lives and hopefully others’.‘

Trunk have two shows planned for those in Philly in November of this year, as well as a tour planned for 2025, not to mention new music on the way. What are the details for these plans, you ask? Well, this is the perfect time to tell you that the answer is best found by following the band on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! You can also stream, purchase, and download their latest, Born Dead, via their Bandcamp! Whether it be the riffs, something cool to chug beers to, that irresistible long-haired wild man in the heart-covered trunks that yells into the microphone for them, or the fact that the band really just is ‘that good’, do yourself a favor and keep up with Trunk ASAP! It’s sure to be the most demented party of a death metal show you’ll attend for some time…