Islander
Islander in 2014
Background information
Origin	Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Nu metal alternative metal post-hardcore hard rock
Years active	2011 (2011)–present
Labels	ESLG[1] Victory Outerloop Better Noise
Members	Mikey Carvajal Chris Carvajal Erik Shea
Past members	Ezekiel Vasquez Arin Ilejay J.R Bareis Andrew Murphy Chris Doot Andrew Fleming Eric Frazier
Website	Islander onFacebook

Islander is an Americanrock band fromGreenville, South Carolina, founded in 2011. Their releases include numerous singles as well as two EPs,Side Effects of Youth (2012) andPains. (2013), and four studio albums,Violence & Destruction (2014),Power Under Control (2016),It's Not Easy Being Human (2022), and Grammy Nominated (2024). The band is known for its uniquely dynamic and interactive live performances, as noted in various concert review publications.

The original members of Islander hail fromGreenville, South Carolina,^[2][3] and have been playing together since 2006. The group broke up for a few years and later reunited under the name Islander in 2011.^[4][5][6]

Islander vocalist Mikey Carvajal is a participant in the non-profit outreach organization known asThe Whosoevers. Some members of the organization includeBrian "Head" Welch andReginald "Fieldy" Arvizu ofKorn,Sonny Sandoval ofP.O.D.,Lacey Sturm formerly ofFlyleaf, and motivational speaker Ryan Ries.^[7]

On June 17, 2016, the band released a new song, titled "Darkness", with the lineup of J.R. Bareis (Love & Death) on Guitar, Ezekiel Vasquez (ex-ForeverAtLast) on Bass, andArin Ilejay (ex-Confide, ex-Avenged Sevenfold) on Drums.^[8] The new song, and albumPower Under Control, indicated a mixture onNu-metal,emo,punk rock andalternative metal.^[8] On June 20, 2016, the band released "Bad Guy" from the upcomingPower Under Control, which will be released through the band's labelVictory Records on August 5, 2016.^[9] On August 4, 2016,Alternative Press put out a stream for Islander'sPower Under Control, the album to be released through Victory and produced by Cameron Webb, who also producedViolence & Destruction, at NRG Studios.^[10]

On August 31, 2018,Eleventyseven lead singer Matt Langston interviewed Mikey Carvajal on the Eleventylife podcast and discussed the music industry, growing up in the South Carolina, and navigating band politics.^[11]

In March 2020, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the band released a cover of theR.E.M. songIt's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). The release was dedicated to lead singer Mikey Carvajal's aunt, who had recently died as a result of the virus. A portion of proceeds from the release were donated to the NYC Low-Income Artist + Freelancer Relief Fund.^[12]

Victory Records signed the band in September 2013, and soon released their secondEP,Pains.^[2] Their first studio album,Violence & Destruction, was released the next year.^[13] The music's material was generally well received by critics,^[13][14] as the first single off theViolence & Destruction, entitled "Coconut Dracula", has since been a very successfulactive rock radio hit, as it hit number 23 on theBillboard Mainstream Rock chart. On January 13, the band released a music video for the track "New Wave", the highly anticipated follow-up to the "Coconut Dracula" music video, which premiered exclusively onBillboard.^[15]

In February 2021, the band released a new single, calledThe Outsider. In an interview, lead singer Mikey Carvajal described it as "a song for anyone that feels like an outcast [or] is struggling to fit in."^[16] The song later appeared on the 2022 albumIt's Not Easy Being Human.

The band has received support from many big names within the music community.Sonny Sandoval ofP.O.D. said "New school band with old school soul and passion. Keep your eyes and ears open for these guys!".^[17]Brian "Head" Welch ofKorn andLove and Death tweeted "A new, unique, sick band with a CD full of great songs. You won't regret getting Islander."^[18]Lacey Sturm of the bandFlyleaf tweeted a picture ofViolence & Destruction stating it was her "New Favorite Music".^[19]

On June 28, 2024, the band released its independently produced fourth studio album,Grammy Nominated. The album was fan-funded through aKickstarter campaign launched the previous summer.

The group toured with theMayhem Festival 2014 tour including label actsEmmure,Ill Niño andWretched in the summer of 2014, followed by tours withOtherwise,Nonpoint andPop Evil in the fall.^[20]Islander began a U.S. tour withPapa Roach,Seether andKyng in early January 2015, extending until early February. In 2019, they provided direct support forBlessthefall andEscape The Fate on their joint ten-year anniversary tour. Other acts they have toured with includeP.O.D.,Red,I Prevail, andKorn. They have also headlined several of their own tours, receiving support from acts such as The Funeral Portrait andPalaye Royale. They have played at numerousRock Festivals such asCarolina Rebellion,Rock on the Range, Shiprocked, and Welcome to Rockville, with artists such asMarilyn Manson,Slipknot,The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus,^[21] andLinkin Park.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

Their music is similar toDeftones,Glassjaw,Korn,Papa Roach,Limp Bizkit,Mudvayne,P.O.D., andRage Against the Machine because musically it isalternative metal andrap metal, all the while, having anu metal sound featuring the subsetsalternative rock,hard rock,punk rock, andpost-hardcore.^{[6][8][13][14][27][28][29][30][31][32]}Chino Moreno,Daryl Palumbo,Jonathan Davis,Fred Durst,Chad Gray,Sonny Sandoval,Zack de la Rocha are cited as vocal similarities to Carvajal.^{[6][13][14][27][29][30][32]}

Timeline

• Side Effects of Youth (Independent, 2012)
• Pains. (Victory Records, 2013)

• Islander at Victory Records

• 2011 establishments in South Carolina
• Alternative rock groups from South Carolina
• American alternative metal musical groups
• American Christian metal musical groups
• American hard rock musical groups
• American nu metal musical groups
• American post-hardcore musical groups
• Heavy metal musical groups from South Carolina
• Musical groups established in 2011
• Victory Records artists

• Pages using the EasyTimeline extension
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• Use mdy dates from June 2022
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