Proudly Endorsed by
TRAWL is:
Sean Matthews - Vocals
Seth McClellan - Bass
Justin Patry - Guitars
Adam Nichols - Drums
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From the murky depths comes TRAWL, a Portland, Maine-based funk metal band with bite.
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With deep grooves and heavy down-tuned riffs, this hard-hitting four-piece has no shortage of catchy hooks. Paired with an in-your-face live show, TRAWL has sunk its teeth into the New England rock and metal scene. For the past 7 years, Trawl has played everywhere from dive bars to arenas and has risen to every occasion to bring their music to all who will listen. The band has supported national acts like Anthrax, Black Label Society, Nonpoint, Taproot, CKY, Black Stone Cherry, Ra, Crobot, and more.
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The band has released 4 EPs to date. Their latest EP, "Tempest," was recognized as the #3 best-selling local release for the year at Bull Moose record stores in 2024 (a network of 11 brick-and-mortar stores across Maine and New Hampshire.
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BAND HISTORY
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TRAWL was formed in June 2018 by bassist Seth McClellan to start a new musical brotherhood between friends and like-minded veterans of the New England music scene.
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The band released its first two singles in 2019, 'Vertigo' (November 1st) and 'Carcharodon' (March 8th). Kevin Billingslea recorded the songs at The Halo Studios in Windham, ME. The band cut its teeth playing live shows across New England right up until the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly thereafter, original guitarist Tom Michaud amicably parted ways with the band.
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TRAWL pivoted during the downtime in 2020 to stay productive. Singer Sean Matthews and Bassist Seth McClellan started a podcast titled TrawlCast that focused on local and regional music discussion and band interviews. All episodes of the Podcast can be found here.
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Once it was safe to get back in the water, TRAWL also began production on what would become their "Shark Pinata" EP, released on March 8th, 2021. The songs for the EP were recorded and mixed by the band’s new guitarist, Justin Patry, at The Cold Northeast Recording Studios in Biddeford, ME, and mastered by Pat Keane at Pat Keane Mastering in Portland, ME.
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TRAWL's "Shark Pinata & The Halo Singles" CD spent 10 consecutive weeks on the Bull Moose local Top 10 Charts with four of those weeks at #1. Beyond the local chart, the CD spent its first week at #5 in overall sales at the Bull Moose network of record stores in the company of artists like Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, and The Pretty Reckless. The digital release was well received, with over 20,000 organic Spotify streams in its first few months of release.
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The band returned to playing live shows in July 2021 at Aura (1000 Capacity) in Portland, ME, supporting local rock giants Murcielago. That summer, TRAWL also collaborated with Yes Brewing in Westbrook, ME, on their own beer, a "Mixed Berry Sour," which was available for a limited time at the brewery and was distributed across Maine.
The band continued to play live shows in support of "Shark Pinata" through 2021 and began writing & recording new material in Winter 2021, which continued through Spring 2022.
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In January 2022, TRAWL supported the legendary Nonpoint on the Hampton Beach, NH date of their 'Ruthless' Tour. Shortly thereafter, the band amicably parted ways with Drummer Gary Marston. In early spring 2022, longtime friend Adam Nichols joined the band on Drums, and the band began working feverishly to prepare for spring shows and recording.
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On August 5, 2022, the band released their second EP, "From the Murky Depths," on CD format. The CD was the top-selling CD at "Bull Moose Music" for 5 consecutive weeks and remained on the charts for 10 weeks. Beyond the local charts, the CD version reached #6 on release week in overall sales at the Bull Moose network alongside Primus, Soulfly and Metallica. The digital release of the EP on August 26, 2022, saw TRAWL gaining traction, most notably with their single "The Gold Standard" on Maine radio and playlists. TRAWL performed shows across New England throughout 2022 in support of "From the Murky Depths," sharing the stage with bands like SUMO CYCO and RA.
On February 2, 2023, TRAWL took on its largest opportunity to date, supporting thrash metal legends ANTHRAX and alongside BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and EXODUS at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, ME. This show helped the band to notably increase its fanbase, which set the course for 2023 to allow the band their own upcoming headlining show at Aura in Portland, ME (1000 Capacity) on June 30, 2023, which ended up being the EP release party for the band's "Cosmic Aquatic" EP.
On June 2nd, TRAWL released the "Cosmic Aquatic" EP, which was the band's second in less than a year, resulting from the lineup feeling a surge of creativity and songwriting amidst the excitement and synergy of live shows in Fall 2022/Winter 2023. The EP was recorded by guitarist Justin Patry and Drummer Adam Nichols, mixed by Jonathan Wyman (The Pretty Reckless, Rustic Overtones, Spose), and mastered by Pat Keane (Murcielago, The Mallet Brothers, Bill Chinnock). "Cosmic Aquatic" was recognized as the #1 best-selling local release of the year at Bull Moose record stores in 2023 (a network of 11 brick-and-mortar stores across Maine and New Hampshire. Beyond the local charts, the CD version reached #5 on release week in overall sales at the Bull Moose network alongside Avenged Sevenfold, Rancid, Roger Waters, and more.
With great momentum from the first half of 2023, TRAWL continued to have a banner year of live shows across New England on both regional and national bills, which included supporting acts like Black Stone Cherry and Polkadot Cadaver for multiple dates on their tours through New England, as well as a sold out show with Taproot a Wally’s in Hampton Beach, NH. In the fall, the band partnered with Lost Valley Brewing for the release of a new beer named the TRAWL "Shark Attack Peanut Butter and Chocolate Porter," which was available for a limited time at the brewery and distributed across Maine.
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In late 2023/early 2024, TRAWL was working on what would become the ‘Tempest’ EP. The band spent the Summer of 2024 shifting back and forth between performing live and recording songs for the project. In that time, the band supported CKY and Crobot for the first time, and Nonpoint (once again) on local dates through New England while the band worked to complete the songs. The drums for 'Tempest' were recorded at The Halo Studios in Windham, ME by Engineer/Producer Kevin Billingslea, guitars and bass were recorded by Justin Patry at the Cold Northeast Recording Studios, Vocals were recorded and produced by Engineer Producer Jonathan Wyman, and the EP was also mixed by Wyman.
On October 18, 2024, TRAWL’s ‘Tempest’ EP was released on CD at all 12 Bull Moose music store locations and online, and on November 15, 2024, it was released on all streaming platforms. This release featured songs of a more serious tone. The project's lead single, ‘SOS’, sparked discussion among fans and reviewers about men's mental health in both the ways it resonated and in the way songs like these and others on the EP were a departure from the more fun and humorous previous works of TRAWL.
‘Tempest’ was recognized as the #3 best-selling local release for the year at Bull Moose record stores in 2024 (a network of 11 brick-and-mortar stores across Maine and New Hampshire). The EP was also well-received digitally by fans, with more than 10K organic streams in the first few months of release.
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The band closed out shows in 2024 with their 2nd Annual TRAWL-O-Ween Party at Portland House of Music (PHOME), a 300-capacity venue in Portland, Maine. The show featured special merch and the first-ever coffee collaboration for the band with ‘Sharks Don’t Sleep’ Coffee Co. to release The El Gato Blend, which sold out at the show.
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2025 has been dubbed the year of shows by the band, as they performed more through the winter months than usual and kept the momentum going through Spring and early summer with no signs of stopping and with many more shows to announce across New England, it’s shaping up to be TRAWL’s busiest year to date. In between shows, the band has begun to write new material. Although there are no plans for a future release at this time, TRAWL remains focused on pushing further creatively and planning for the next chapter.