A Dirty Dozen with QUINN McGRAW from PARIAH – February 2026

According to a recent press release: “Born out of exhaustion and quietly defiant hope, PARIAH is the sound of one last attempt at a dream that has taken everything. After years spent pouring time, money, and belief into bands that stalled out or never left the ground, vocalist / songwriter Quinn McGraw reached a breaking point—and chose to document it instead of walking away in silence. Swansong, PARIAH’s debut EP, is that document: a raw, unguarded chronicle of what it means to stand at the edge of quitting and still go all in one more time. Anchored by the emotionally devastating title track “Swansong” and preceded by singles “Pendulum,” “Wanderer,” and the meditative “Infinite Hologram,” the EP traces the arc from disillusionment and spiritual collapse to a fragile but hard-won sense of purpose in the present. Where earlier songs introduced PARIAH as “the sound of refusing to surrender,” Swansong widens the lens, revealing the cost of that refusal in stark detail. It is not a victory lap; it is a confession, a reckoning, and a line in the sand. With Swansong, PARIAH offers a hand to anyone standing at their own crossroads—tired, disappointed, and still unable to fully let go of what they love. The EP is a reminder that you can always decide how (and IF) your story ends. It is for the people who create because they have to, who keep showing up even when the dream feels like it never loved them back, and who are ready to live honestly, even if it means starting over as someone new.” We get Quinn to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

My debut EP Swansong was a collection of songs I wrote shortly after selling all of my instruments and being ready to walk away from music completely. A fan on their first pass might not notice how I’ve spent about 20 years working at this before these songs came to life (but you can comb through some of my social media posts and put that part of the songs together). Additionally, I wrote an accompanying short story called The Sound that weaves the songs together with a loose narrative, pulling on some of the lyrics and world-building phrases I throw around here and there (“Find Him”, “Keep Seeking”, etc.). I’m trying to build a world and inviting people into it, and that might become more obvious after I release a few more records and you can follow the breadcrumbs I’ve sprinkled across my entire catalogue.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Probably like most kids, but listening to bands like Linkin Park and Slipknot back in the day haha. Coming of age and seeing these massive heavy bands take the global stage was so incredibly inspiring. Admittedly, the first time I started learning an instrument I hated it (not counting that time my parents tried to get me to learn the recorder). I was learning bass guitar as a young lad and my teacher told me to change notes. It felt so intimidating that I left that day in tears and didn’t think I’d stick with it. Fortunately, I persevered and started playing in bands around middle-school – the first of those bands was called At Risk (with Lonny Eagleton from Black Veil Brides on guitar). It was game over from that point on!

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

My dad grew up during the original punk movement back in the UK, so growing up he’d always be playing punk, rock, grunge and stuff with a rock-bent to it in the truck. That planted the seeds that would be later watered by bands like Linkin Park, Slipknot, Korn, and all of that fun stuff. I ‘learned to sing’ mostly by belting along to Chester Bennington, and later Dallas Green. Those two largely inform a lot of my style to this day.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Ooof. That’s a tough one. This answer changes quite regularly for me, but currently I’d love to have Eddie Berg from Imminence on a song. The Black is one of my all time favourite modern metalcore records, and to collaborate with him would be a dream come true. If you’d asked me this four or five years ago, I would have said Claudio Sanchez from Coheed & Cambria haha.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

I’m a big fan of tabletop games, rock climbing, and breathwork. A chill day for me might start with some breathwork and meditation in the morning, go bouldering or hit the gym, sit in a sauna for a while, then curl up with a good book or play some board games with my wife. That said, I very much love songwriting and find it’s also a place of rest for me, so there’s a chance I might pop into the studio and play around with some demos.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I said this as a joke once, but I would describe it as something like, “if Architects and Sleep Token dragged their demons out into a field and beat them with a baseball bat.” I haven’t had any that are particularly cringe, but I get a healthy amount of metal elitists reminding me that my music or metalcore ‘isn’t ‘real’ metal’ a fair bit in the comments (you wouldn’t think, but here we are). So, I’m turning it into a death metal t-shirt just to throw it back at them haha.

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7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

The first EP was written entirely online with a pair of collaborators (Landyn Taylor and Alex Sevigny), so none of those things! The new stuff we’re writing is getting filtered through a couple friends of mine in town this time (Bronson Wheeler and Mickael Wilkinson), but generally speaking most songs are written at our own houses.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

About a month ago, I made a silly video that blew past 1 mill views on instagram. It was essentially me explaining the Killswitch Engage vocalist lore to my wife ‘after 3 beers’ haha. The video made its rounds and Jared Dines, Blessthefall, and even Brian from Shadowsfall jumped into the comments. But, amidst that frenzy, I ended up having a brief conversation with Scott Lewis from Carnifex in my DMs. I used to blast “Lie to my Face” as a kid, and it was so cool to chat with him a bit and even get his feedback on my song “Infinite Hologram” – I was on cloud nine for a couple of days afterwards!

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Being able to create something that invites people into the mystery of our existence. Music is so incredibly powerful, and I often think of it as a doorway into the Divine. Making something from nothing, releasing it into the world, and connecting with people because of it continually inspires me and gives my life meaning. If I couldn’t write music, I’d likely pick up being a writer again – anything that builds worlds (sonically, visually, or literarily) is what I love most.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I’m not sure! I’m so new to the world of interviews (specifically for this project) that I don’t have any expectations at this time. That said, I’ve been asked about why I chose my band name a handful of times already, but I imagine that will slow down in the future haha.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

There are many, but I can’t change the past. If I had to choose…probably quit partying a lot earlier in my life and focus more on my dreams instead of squandering my ambition in the bottom of a bottle or in a back alley somewhere. But, no sense in dwelling on it haha. It is what it is.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I know there’s a documentary, but to be in the room while they produced Dark Side of the Moon would be a sight to see. When I was 14-15 I got really into the psychedelic rock era, and the worlds they would build with soundscapes in an analog era still impress me so much (let alone how immersive the listening experience can be!). The Gilmour era was a pivotal time in my life, and was my gateway into the world of prog rock.

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Category: Interviews