Dark Below shut out the world and Make Believe on their hard-hitting, high-powered new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
On the latest preview of their upcoming debut album, the Missouri modern-rock power trio construct a massive wall of sound with the help of award-winning producer Malcolm Springer (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Fear Factory). The song was recorded at East Iris Studios in Nashville. Dark Below are influenced by acts like Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin and 10 Years — and that heavy alternative sound shines through on this new release.
Singer-guitaritist Josh Campbell says “Make Believe is a song about the power of imagination. I grew up without any siblings and spent a lot of time on my own — so I think it was inevitable for me to become a really imaginative person. What I learned is that your imagination has the ability to bring you out of really dark places… But it also has the ability to put you back there, if you aren’t careful.”
The video for Make Believe was filmed by Tyler Gramke of Tygr Creative at Rose Music Hall in the band’s home town of Columbia. Campbell explains, “We’ve played a lot of shows at Rose over the last couple of years. We ended up doing two different shoots — one was just us playing along to the song and recording the video and the other was actual footage of us playing the song live a couple of weeks later. We love the energy we get from our home town fans, and we feed it back to them.”
Indeed, what began as a humble trio making music for their friends in the Midwest has grown into a promising force on the national scene. Dark Below’s current lineup of Campbell, bassist Josh Grove and drummer Quin Koldan have been together since 2016. It all started with a Craigslist post Campbell made in search of musicians for a hard rock band. Grove, originally a guitarist, was friends with the musicians — but after hearing Campbell and the original drummer talking about needing a bass player, he volunteered for the job. He wasn’t the only one leaving his comfort zone. “I didn’t really want to sing originally but we couldn’t find anyone, so with me singing and playing guitar, Grove on bass, and the original drummer we started playing shows in the Columbia area,” Campbell says.
The band released their self-titled EP in 2017, followed by the single Halo in 2019. They vaulted onto the national scene with the release of Tense in July of 2022, with the track landing it into the Top 20 of the Secondary Market Rock chart. They wrapped the year with the groove-heavy Hate Being Human, which made it into the Top 20 at rock radio and was featured on streaming playlists.
Dark Below have toured for the past six years, opening for Buckcherry, Saliva, Pop Evil, Smile Empty Soul, The Veer Union and more. They are working on an album with producers Jason Schrick and Springer. The band are also announcing new tour dates, beginning with a mid-July show at Rose Music Hall. Starting in September, the band will be supporting Rehab and Scotty Austin (former lead singer of Saving Abel). They will be playing live throughout the fall, with more shows being announced this summer. See tour dates below.
Watch the video for Make Believe above, stream it at your preferred service HERE, check out more music from Dark Below below, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
Dark Below Tour Dates
July 14 | Rose Music Hall, Columbia, MO
Sept. 1 | Diamond Music Hall, Saint Peters, MO
Sept. 15 | The Majestic, Fort Smith, AR (w/ Rehab)
Sept. 16 | Foxhouse Bar & Grill, Palestine, TX (w/ Rehab)
Sept. 22 | Sam’s Place, Crowley, LA (w/ Scotty Austin)
Sept. 23 | Fat Daddys, Mansfield, TX (w/ Scotty Austin)
Sept. 24 | The Deadhorse, San Angelo, TX (w/ Scotty Austin)
Oct. 7 | Mulligan’s Bar, Owensboro, KY
