Baltimore hard rock band CARBONSTONE has been through some changes this year, but something that has not changed is that this band produces excellent songs and videos. The music of CARBONSTONE is a combination of catchy guitar riffs and passionate vocals that transport listeners into the depths of their souls. The new single, “Echoes”, which was released October 26th, 2024, is the latest in the musical stories this band creates. The music video for the song is one of the best I’ve seen from CARBONSTONE, and I think the song is possibly my new favorite by this hard-working group of musicians.
CARBONSTONE members include: Corey James – vocals and guitars; Josh Provencio – guitars; Eric Dee – bass ; Ted Hile – drums; Steve Junkins – guitars; and, of course, the fan favorite, “Frankie Carbonstone” – the Nightmare Hype Bear. In a recent interview CARBONSTONE did with Kirk and Marianne of radio station 98 Rock Baltimore, Corey told the story of the band’s name. Originally he had come up with the name “Carved In Stone”. But when he told some friends at a party, they thought he was saying “Carbonstone”. Corey actually thought that was badass, so he ran with it.
“Echoes” was written totally by Corey, with producer Tony Correlli of Deep End Studio adding electronic elements. Tony is someone that Corey works with on almost all of CARBONSTONE’S music. He is extremely talented, and he and Corey work very well together as a team. Tony is a former member of the band, so he naturally gets what Corey is thinking and helps bring to life an amazing final product.
The beginning of “Echoes” starts out with a haunting melody, which leads into a chunky guitar riff. It’s one of those songs that makes you bop your head the whole time because the beat is so catchy. Corey’s singing has some harder vocals mixed in throughout the track. His emotions are definitely on display in “Echoes”, and force listeners to ponder their own inner demons and figure out how to battle them.
Like all of CARBONSTONE’s songs, Corey writes from the darkest parts of himself, which is relatable to the listeners because they know they’re not alone in things they are dealing with in their own lives. Regarding “Echoes”, he shares that the song “is about heavily reflecting and looking back at fucked up, tragic events in life – which I call ‘Echoes’ – that ultimately shape us into who we are. Failed dreams, goals, and aspirations, relationships gone bad, substance abuse, and so on. The hook of the song in the chorus is basically about just giving in and submitting to everything, since it’s the only alternative to facing oneself alone.” Corey admits that it’s all from a crazy dark place. In my humble opinion, “Echoes” is the best CARBONSTONE song I’ve heard since I stated following the band in early 2021. It’s definitely getting added to many of my playlists and shared on all of my socials and with my friends in DMs.
The video was filmed and edited by Pink Elefants Media, and the setting was a historic cemetery. I think it’s ironic how dark and creepy it is despite being shot during the day. Corey says they would have loved to do it at night, but it just didn’t work out. The video is perfect nevertheless.
Corey came up with the initial concept for the location based on some of the lyrics, notably “Bury me underground, I’ll lie with you”. That line literally screamed “cemetery” to him. He wanted to use ghosts to help convey the dark imagery and build off that. Corey’s wife, Chrystal James, who is the lead singer of ANOXIA and also created the art for the single, came up with the idea of the red phantom necromancer character, which she portrays. Corey says he died his hair red for the video so it would coincide and complement her red attire. He says he was thinking of the movie “The Sixth Sense”. Of course Frankie Carbonstone plays a prominent role in the video, adding to the creepy factor.
I found it ironic that Corey, who usually wears mostly black, is wearing all white in the music video, and I asked him about that. He told me that since ghosts were the main theme for the video, it seemed right for him to kind of join them as one by wearing white. The main idea was to have him be represented as a ghost walking amongst the dead.
It seems to me that Corey is always working on ideas for new music. It’s like he constantly has a song or parts of a song in his head, and when he has an inspiration he jumps right in so he doesn’t miss the opportunity. Corey says as soon as he writes a cool riff, he’ll record it on his phone, or if crazy lyrics come to mind he’ll type them up in his notes so he doesn’t lose them. Modern technology is a great thing for musicians, because, as Corey does, you can literally demo music on a phone.
Something very cool that happened for CARBONSTONE the last couple of months was being one of the featured artists of Bring Your Own Band (“BYOB”) on radio station 98 Rock Baltimore. The band did an interview at the studio with hosts Kirk and Marianne, as well as performed some of their hits in the studio. It was all filmed and is available online. I’ll include some video clips below. The radio station played CARBONSTONE songs weekly, including the premiere of “Echoes” at the end of September.
I asked Corey about getting hooked up with 98 Rock, and he said they were absolutely honored to be selected, and having them do the premiere of “Echoes” made it even cooler. They have been friends with the 98 Rock team for many years, and the band would perform at radio station events “back in the day” when Stash and Matt Davis were with the station. Corey says those were great times!
Back in May, CARBONSTONE joined forces with Extreme Management Group and Senior Artist Manager Damien Mitchell. Earlier this year, the band was nominated for the Best Heavy Metal Band at the 2024 Maryland Music Awards.
To continue the awesome 2024 that CARBONSTONE has been having, Corey recently announced that in November he will be heading to the West Coast to track vocals for a song with one of his musical idols. Then, he shared that the band was offered two separate deals by two different record labels. Can life be any better for CARBONSTONE right now? I’d say probably not.
There will be a full-length album coming from CARBONSTONE in 2025 called The Absence Of Self. Corey says this is shaping up to be what he believes is some of the best material he’s ever written. He also shares that there will be some “pretty killer guests” appearing on the album.
You can catch CARBONSTONE live with Silvertung, The OddEven, and Absent Habits at Cult Classic Brewing Company in Stevensville, Maryland Saturday, January 25th, 2025. That is the only future show that has been announced as of now, but there will for sure be more exciting things to come.
I have had the pleasure of seeing CARBONSTONE perform several times, and I must say that if you have the opportunity to see them, do not miss it. They bring the energy and fire to the stage and the audience responds and rocks out with the band. Chrystal will come out and sing several songs with Corey, which is always magical and the fans love it. Frankie is on stage with the band the whole time, sometimes just jamming to the music and other times filming on his phone to share live on Facebook. Corey and Chrystal are two of the kindest and most caring people I know. They take the time to talk to their fans, take selfies with them, and genuinely enjoy themselves at shows. They are easy to talk to and make their fans feel like family. I truly believe they look forward to seeing us as much as we do to seeing them. I’m proud to be a part of the CARBONSTONE and ANOXIA family!
Make sure to follow CARBONSTONE on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
PHOTO CREDIT: Beth Starner of Beth Starner Photography
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