Every Time I Die was Buffalo, New York’s most ferocious musical export of the 21st century — a metalcore band that spent 24 years pushing the boundaries of heavy music with wit, fury, and relentless creative ambition. From their formation in 1998 to their acrimonious split in early 2022, the band released nine studio albums that collectively redefined what hardcore punk and metal could sound like when driven by genuine literary intelligence and Southern-fried swagger. Their loss was felt acutely in the heavy music world, and their legacy in Buffalo is permanent.
Buffalo’s Loudest Sons
The band was founded in 1998 by brothers Keith Buckley (vocals) and Jordan Buckley (guitar), along with guitarist Andy Williams. For most of their career, the core lineup also included bassist Stephen Micciche and drummer Clayton “Goose” Holyoak. They emerged from the same Buffalo underground scene that produced Cannibal Corpse a decade earlier, but their sound — described as metalcore, hardcore punk, and post-hardcore with elements of Southern metal, mathcore, and sludge — was entirely their own invention.
After a decade on Ferret Music, during which they released defining albums like Hot Damn! (2003) and Gutter Phenomenon (2005), the band signed with Epitaph Records in 2008. The Epitaph era produced their most acclaimed work: New Junk Aesthetic (2009), Ex Lives (2012), From Parts Unknown (2014), Low Teens (2016), and their final album Radical (2021), which many critics hailed as the best record of their career — a cruel irony given what followed.
Critical Darlings of the Heavy Music World
Kerrang! credited Every Time I Die with having “shaped the cutting edge of modern metalcore.” Their live shows were legendary — chaotic, physical, and genuinely dangerous in the best possible way, earning them a reputation as one of the most intense live bands in heavy music. Keith Buckley’s lyrics brought a literary quality rare in the genre, drawing on Southern Gothic imagery, dark humor, and unflinching personal revelation. His published novel, Scale, demonstrated the same writing talent outside the context of music.
The band’s breakup in January 2022, driven by a public falling-out between the Buckley brothers, devastated their fanbase and robbed heavy music of one of its most vital acts at the peak of their powers. But their nine-album catalog stands as one of the most consistent and daring bodies of work in 21st-century heavy music, and their impact on Buffalo’s musical identity — as the city’s loudest, most uncompromising band — endures. Andy Williams has continued performing with new projects, and Keith Buckley has focused on writing, but the void left by Every Time I Die in the heavy music landscape remains unfilled. They were one of a kind, and Buffalo was lucky to have them. Their annual holiday shows at Town Ballroom became some of the most anticipated events on the Western New York concert calendar, and the energy those shows generated is still talked about years later. In the annals of Upstate heavy music, Every Time I Die stands alone.