Video Premiere: Common Wounds – ‘Phantom Limb’

Introducing Common Wounds, a new quartet here to remind you that “real emo” and post-hardcore are not dead and are, in fact, very much alive on their debut EP, also called Common Wounds. The band formed when bassist Matt Martinez (ex-Landmine Marathon) and guitarist/vocalist Ian Lanspeary (ex-Run with the Hunted) got together as the two were at the end of their bands’ respective lifespans. Originally active from 2016 to 2020 as Dead History, Martinez and Lanspeary returned from the pandemic as Common Wounds, with a sound heavily inspired by ’90s noise rock and post-hardcore.

“We formed the band as both of our previous bands had wound down after exhausting and fulfilling lifespans,” Martinez says. “We found ourselves coming into sounds that were rooted in post-hardcore and early emotional hardcore… filtered through the ultra low tunings that my instruments were already set up for.”

Today, Decibel is premiering “Phantom Limb,” the first taste of Common Wounds’ new sound. In this case, “emo” doesn’t translate to “weak” or “scrawny.” “Phantom Limb” is pointed and burly, pulsing with the honesty of emotional hardcore and the swagger of noise rock and post-hardcore. Speaking to what drives the core of Common Wounds as a band, Martinez spoke about that energy:

“Phoenix has always influenced creativity, with this band and every creative endeavor that I have been involved in. There’s the desolation of the desert—the brown and hazy texture of the landscape creates a dismal tone. The heat tends to elevate tension all around. I think this lends itself to the abundance of ‘pissed-off’ bands that have come from Arizona. Furthermore, we suffer from a literal physical disconnection from other cities. San Diego, LA and Vegas, the closest cities, are a journey. And within our city, sprawl, masked as progress, creates a homogenization and lack of culture that causes creative people to lash out, in the best way. There are a lot of young kids working hard to make things happen here. A new generation, driving things their way. We adapt and thrive in the desert. Much like the wildlife. We are tough and resilient.”

It won’t be long until Common Wounds release their EP via Protagonist Music—March 10, to be exact—but the video for “Phantom Limb” is streaming now.