The Quarantined are released their third studio EP, “Aversion to Normalcy,” today, and it’s not the kind of record you put on for background music. Created by Sean Martin, a former airborne infantryman and Iraq War veteran, the album confronts trauma head-on, pulling from his experiences in combat and the disorienting aftermath of trying to rebuild a life once you’re home. It’s grunge-heavy, emotionally direct, and built around the idea that “normal” is just a polite lie we tell ourselves. What makes it work is that Martin isn’t trying to package his experience into something digestible. He’s just refusing to look away.

The album arrives with momentum that’s hard to ignore. The Quarantined have racked up over 30 million views across TikTok, with one clip of “Skeleton Chair” alone hitting 1.1 million+ views. On Spotify, they’ve pulled in 500,000 streams, and their viral reach has sparked conversations about trauma, forgiveness, and what it actually means to heal. For a band working outside the traditional industry machine, those numbers say something about how their message is connecting.

Martin doesn’t soften his subject matter. Tracks like “Skeleton Chair,” “Shadow (on my back),” and “Nemesis (friend of mine)” trace a path through chaos, self-destruction, and the slow, unglamorous work of choosing to survive. He’s not writing from a place of having figured it all out. He’s writing from the middle of it, which is what makes the record feel urgent rather than reflective. There’s no tidy resolution here, just the raw acknowledgment that some battles don’t end when you come home.

The album was recorded at Blackbird Studios and Sound Emporium in Nashville, two facilities known for handling heavyweight rock projects. Producer Nathan Yarborough, who’s worked with Alice in Chains, Korn, Halestorm, and Evanescence, handled engineering and production. The lineup includes Jerry Roe on drums, Luis Espalliat on bass, and Zack Rapp from Dream Theater on lead guitar and violins, with Martin covering vocals and guitar. It’s a setup that balances aggression with precision, letting the songs hit hard without losing their emotional core.

In a Veterans Day post on Facebook, Martin didn’t hold back about what this album means and what it cost. “You know, the things you thank us for today, have lifetime consequences for those who carry the burden,” he wrote. “I always thought if you’re gonna thank someone, better be specific about what and why, otherwise it has no meaning except as a false absolution for yourself.” It’s a pointed critique of performative gratitude, and it underscores what “Aversion to Normalcy” is actually about: rejecting easy answers and comfortable narratives in favor of something messier and more honest.

Martin pulls from punk rock, grunge, and metal, but what ties it together is his refusal to romanticize any of it. This isn’t protest music in the traditional sense. There are no slogans, no clear villains. Instead, it’s an invitation to sit with discomfort, to look at the parts of life that don’t fit into neat categories, and to find meaning in survival itself.

The Quarantined also support the Free2Luv movement, working on anti-bullying efforts, mental health advocacy, and music education for veterans and their families. It tracks with what the album’s already doing: making room for people who are still figuring it out, still fighting through it.

“Aversion to Normalcy” doesn’t offer answers. It offers witness, which might be more valuable anyway. In a culture that constantly demands we move on, heal up, and get back to normal, Martin’s album asks a better question: what if normal was never the goal in the first place?

“Aversion to Normalcy” is available now on all streaming platforms. You can follow The Quarantined on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook at @thequarantined, visit their website here, or stream their projects on Spotify.

There’s a tension in Kaziboii’s music that most artists spend years trying to figure out. How do you make something hit hard enough for the club while still carrying real weight? How do you blend the aggressive punch of drill with the kind of soul that actually means something? For the Nigerian artist now based in the UK, that balance isn’t something he’s chasing. It’s just how he hears music.

Raised between Lagos and Port Harcourt with a mother who kept music constantly playing, Kaziboii didn’t just grow up around sound. He studied it. As a kid, he bought Michael Jackson lyric sheets just to understand how songs worked. That early obsession turned into high school bands, homemade beats, and eventually his first studio track “Carolina” in 2018. That session confirmed what he already knew.

By 2020, he was performing at beer carnivals when Mc Concept (aka Oga Boss) saw him and started booking more shows. He went by Kazola back then, but switched to Kaziboii in 2021, the same year he moved to the UK to study Music Production and Performance at the University of Chester. He wanted to understand the technical side of what he’d been doing instinctively for years.

His sound pulls from Wizkid’s melodies, Timaya’s street energy, and Burna Boy’s fusion approach, but what comes out is distinctly his. Afrobeats meets Afro Drill meets Afro Hip-Hop in a way that refuses to pick a lane. His seven-track EP “BODY TO BODY” dropped on August 19, 2025, running just under 20 minutes with standout tracks “Jemimah” and “Wetin Day Do Me.” The project featured Duncan Mighty and Fiokee, and it showed exactly what happens when you stop treating genres like borders.

Right now he’s working on “Too Late” featuring Qx The Great and “Sideways” featuring Faceless, both international collaborations that continue his approach of turning real experiences into tracks that work on the dance floor without losing their emotional core. For Kaziboii, the goal has always been simple: make people feel something while they move.

That’s the thing about blending drill’s intensity with genuine soul. It only works if both sides are real. Kaziboii isn’t softening the edges or adding emotion as an afterthought. He’s proving that energy and feeling don’t cancel each other out. They make each other stronger.

Follow Kaziboii on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and stream his music on Spotify.

LBE Scar just released two EPs in the same week, handled all the engineering and production himself, and he’s set to open for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on November 29 at Cleveland’s Agora Theater. For the Canton, Ohio artist born Skyler Lewis, those three letters in his name carry weight. Loyalty Before Everything isn’t a tagline. It’s the code he lives by, and it’s what’s pushed him this far.

Fresh off releasing “The Chronicles of Scar, Vol. 1” and “The Chronicles of Scar, Vol. 2,” the 29-year-old father of two sat down to talk about what’s driving him, the upcoming Bone Thugs show, and why he refuses to take handouts.

What does LBE stand for, and why does it matter so much to you?

LBE stands for Loyalty Before Everything. This whole process is personal. It ain’t got nothing to do with music anymore. It’s about staying true to the people who’ve been real with me and cutting off anyone who wasn’t.

You dropped two EPs in the same week. What was the inspiration behind that?

My kids. That’s it. Plain and simple. My daughter Zalaya and my son Junior are the reason I keep going strong. That’s why I gave the world these projects. I wanted y’all to feel me in these songs, like really feel me, without any visuals even needed. I just wanted to paint a picture inside the mind of my audience and fans, and release something that everyone can relate to. My past traumas are what molded me into who I am today. After I did my performance in Cleveland, Ohio, I knew this is what I was destined to be. I’m here to stay. I’m here to make music and give it to the world.

Let’s talk about “Karma” & “Choose You” from Vol. 1. What’s these tracks about?

“Karma” about betrayal and learning who’s really loyal. I tried to uplift people, invest my time and energy, and got burned. The song’s about cutting ties with people who switched up and realizing I had to build everything on my own. I wrote “Choose You” on my 29th birthday back in May after someone I thought was loyal betrayed me. I had to force myself to finish that song. I took that inner pain and turned it into motivation. We can respect the truth, but we can’t respect a liar.

You’ve got some major shows coming up. What’s happening?

In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be in New York doing interviews and performing our set with YBL SINATRA. Then at the end of the month, we’ll be back in Cleveland, Ohio again, opening up for all five members of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (tickets here). I just want to give a special shoutout to my brother SINATRA for staying loyal, plugging me in, and making all this happen.

How’d you connect with YBL SINATRA?

We grew up around the corner from each other when I lived in Cleveland. His real name is Leon McCane aka Young Bone Luxurii Sinatra, and he’s Bizzy Bone’s son. The connection runs deep. These upcoming shows we’ve got together are gonna be huge.

What’s next after these shows?

My tour begins in February 2026. All the dates are dropping on New Year’s Day. I’m also working on a new project with SINATRA and my third EP. Dee Dee Vision’s gonna be capturing everything. He’s a goat with the camera, and he’s gonna be doing a couple visuals for me soon.

Right now, LBE Scar’s focused on proving that building from the ground up, with no handouts, is the only way that matters. The message is simple: stay loyal, stay consistent, and the rest will follow.

Keep up to date with LBE Scar on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud.