As Roman Candle hits the stage at American Legion Post 8, frontwoman Piper Ferrari demands immediate movement from the crowd, and the bodies gathered in close respond. As the circle swells into motion, whether you’re in the moshpit or on the sidelines, keeping still is not an option.
As the set progresses, Ferrari aggressively stomps back and forth onstage, one hand pressed against her back as she belts out lyrics—periodically lending her mic to the crowd and creating a swarm of fans rushing for a turn to scream along.
“I’m pouring my heart out, and I think it’s hard to be up there without connecting with people on that level,” Ferrari later tells the Weekly. “We were just talking about this at band practice yesterday—it’s cathartic for us.”
The four-piece Roman Candle has amassed a following since releasing debut EP Discount Fireworks last October. From a backyard set going viral, to cross-state gigs, to being recruited and now managed by a music agency, the Vegas band is surging.
Discount Fireworks is a five-song, 14-minute frenzy packed with melodic, heavy riffs, complex drum sequences and piercing vocals. Its sound hearkens back to late-’90s screamo, its bite-sized tracks chug hard into breakdowns, shift tempos and even experiment with spoken word.
Lyrically, each cut contains a separate story. Opener “Oh, Dreamer,” for example, touches on finding a home away from home, asking, “What is a home/If not the first place you ran from?”
The release was well-received by the local hardcore scene, and in a few short weeks people were singing along at shows. Explosive online recognition soon followed, when a live video went viral.
Shot from a bird’s eye view, the clip finds Roman Candle performing “Oh, Dreamer” in a waterless pool. Members of the sardine-packed audience holding one-another back so they don’t crash into equipment while moshing and screaming their heads off. The clip has drawn more than 50,000 views on TikTok alone.
And since? “Going viral literally changed the course of our lives,” Ferrari says.
The video landed on the Twitter feed of Jeremy Bolm, frontman for LA post-hardcore faves Touché Amoré, which led to a conversation between Bolm and Ferrari. Before long, Roman Candle was supporting Touché Amoré’s 15-year anniversary show at the Regent in LA, a huge exposure boost for a Vegas act born just last year.
Roman Candle emerged from the remains of a previous project, Sowithout, which featured both Ferrari and guitarist Jonas Vece. That group called it quits after two singles and one EP, but its successor carries forth a similar spirit.
Joining Ferrari and Vece in Roman Candle are drummer Bryson Drace (formerly of Glee Club) and bassist Nico Borgia (who also plays in Dissociate). All four members come from the hardcore realm, making for an ideal collaboration.
Fans are anxiously anticipating a full-length album, with Drace hinting that listeners should expect a heavier approach. In the meantime, Roman Candle has been busy with out-of-state runs and merch drops, with an upcoming cross-country tour being planned.
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