Uprising (stylized as UPRISING) is an American hardcore punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed in 2023. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bala Rise, lead guitarist Eve Unruley, drummer Eli Mignogna, and bassist D.B.
Sonically, Uprising's music is a throwback to classic 80's hardcore punk with some modern hardcore twists. They've also delved into alternative metal and crossover thrash. Nearly all of their lyrics have political themes ranging from class consciousness, anti-war protests, and police brutality to queer liberation.
History[]
2023: Formation and The Bala Rise Demo Tape[]
As far back as 2019, vocalist Bala Rise was writing song ideas for an aggressive, heavy, political punk project. That work was all put on hold in 2020 when they joined the upbeat, pop-leaning punk band Understatement and focused all their efforts there. An early demo they made for the Uprising song "Shoot 'Em Down," listed as "'Down' by Bala Rise," was included on the benefit compilation album Helpin' Aht x ADC, released on August 11th, 2022. Following the breakup of Understatement in the summer of 2023, Rise finally completed those political punk songs and made new demos of them to recruit people for the band Bala Rise and the Uprising. They were first joined by Eve Unruley on lead guitar and Devin Gainar on bass, who also made hardcore music with the band Spiral and alternative rap rock under the name Jack Roses. Rise had met both bandmates at concerts earlier that year. Tryouts were held to find a drummer and Eli Mignogna joined, completing the lineup in late August of 2024. Bala Rise and the Uprising had their first concert on October 9th, 2023 at the Rock Room in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their second concert was on October 28th, 2023, where half of their set was Rage Against the Machine covers for Halloween[1]. They have also covered Misfits, Dead Kennedys, and System of a Down[2].
Wanting to focus more of his attention on Spiral and other projects, Gainar left the band after playing 4 shows in the fall of 2023. D.B., another friend met by Rise earlier that same year, replaced Gainar on bass guitar and played their first show with Bala Rise and the Uprising on November 30th, 2023. That same day, the band decided to digitally release on Bandcamp THE BALA RISE DEMO TAPE, a 4-track EP consisting of the demos Rise made over the summer, enhanced with overdubbed guitars and proper mixing by Unruley.
2024: You Made Us Too and name change[]
On March 25th, 2024, the band put out their first proper single, "You Made Us Too." This track was a thrash metal re-imagining of "You Made Us," the final release from Rise's previous band Understatement, which had come out exactly one year prior. The stylistic change was because 80's thrash metal was an early favorite genre of Rise's father, who the song pays homage to. Rise's sister Candrika Rice sings backing vocals on the song, as she did on "You Made Us". The demo of "Rise" was chose as the single's B-side, and a music video for "You Made Us Too" was released the same day. The track was intended to be the first single off of their upcoming album, but because of time constraints to make the March 25th release date, an error they made in recording the drums mono remained and the band would have to re-record the song from scratch. A live version of their song "Great Distraction" was included on the benefit compilation album From the River to the Sea: Pittsburgh Music In Solidarity With Palestine on March 29th, 2024. THE BALA RISE DEMO TAPE was released on cassette with "You Made Us Too" included on May 6th, 2024. Another live recording, "Under Threat," was included on Loud & Proud Music Festival: A Benefit Compilation Coordinated by Gumlock Records on June 2nd, 2024.
Later that June, the band announced that they had finished tracking drums for their album, and were changing their name to Uprising[3]. This was done for simplicity sake and because the band had become far more collaborative from when it started, with D.B. doing lead vocals on some newer songs. On September 6th, 2024, Uprising opened for Sheer Terror at Skid Row Garage in York, Pennsylvania[4].
Band Members[]
Current Members[]
- Bala Rise (2023 – current)
- Lead vocals
- Rhythm guitar
- Eve Unruley (2023 – current)
- Lead guitar
- Eli Mignogna (2023 – current)
- Drums
- D.B. (2023 – current)
- Bass guitar
- Backing vocals
Former Members[]
- Devin Gainar (2023 – 2023)
- bass guitar
Discography[]
Extended Plays[]
- THE BALA RISE DEMO TAPE (2023)
- "Rise (Demo)
- "Property Damage (Demo)"
- "Shoot 'Em Down (Demo)"
- "YDK (Demo)"
- "You Made Us Too (Single Version)" (Cassette version exclusive)
Singles[]
- "You Made Us Too" (2024)
- "You Made Us Too (Single Version)"
- "Rise (Demo)
Music Videos[]
- "You Made Us Too" (2024)
Appearances on compilation albums[]
- Helpin' Aht x ADC (2022)
- "Down" (Credited as Bala Rise)
- From the River to the Sea: Pittsburgh Music In Solidarity With Palestine (2024)
- "Great Distraction (Live)"
- Loud & Proud Music Festival: A Benefit Compilation Coordinated by Gumlock Records (2024)
- "Under Threat (Live)"
Gallery[]
Band photos[]
Cover art[]
Citations[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lllq79D-ENE&t=195s
- ↑ https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/uprising-6be6aa76.html
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Mcuraysrv4KBuAed/
- ↑ https://www.huntingdondailynews.com/local-events/?_evDiscoveryPath=/event/105816977n-uprising-pittsburgh-sheer-terror-w-uprising-felt-side-out-face-the-dark-2sides2die-skid-row-garage-york-pa-