“Nick Zinner was like, ‘They gave me this pedal that’s not out yet.’ It was the original POG. That was the first time I ever heard something like that”: From Blood Brothers to Evil Island’s horror-surf, the wild ride of hardcore hero Cody Votolato

Evil Island guitarist Cody Votolato is covered in theatrical blood and pictured against a wall with his black Rickenbacker.

“This record feels like the accumulation of everything that I wanted to do with hardcore music, because it also incorporates pop music.” Evil Island guitarist Cody Votolato is reflecting on the musical path he’s taken since he was a teen in the ’90s.

Over the years, that progressed from making surrealist, scream-imbued punk with Washington state quintet the Blood Brothers, to slinging brutalist riffs alongside Yeah Yeahs Yeahs’ Nick Zinner in Head Wound City, to co-writes with Against Me! and more. He now calls Terraform the Afterlife – the debut release from Evil Island, which reunites him with two other Blood Brothers – his “guitar dream.”