News
5 August 2026 – Initiate Balances Tenderness and Fury on ‘With Love // With Rage’
By Editorial Team - August 5, 2026
Summary
SoCal hardcore outfit Initiate debuts five-song EP With Love // With Rage on Blue Grape Music, led by single Numb the Pain.
Key Facts
- Initiate releases five-track EP With Love // With Rage on Blue Grape Music.
- First major release since 2023 album Cerebral Circus.
- Fronted by vocalist Crystal Pak with lead single 'Numb the Pain'.
- Entities: Initiate, With Love // With Rage, Blue Grape Music, Crystal Pak, Numb the Pain
- Tags: initiate, with-love-with-rage, blue-grape-music, crystal-pak, numb-the-pain, hardcore-punk
Southern California hardcore band Initiate releases the five-song EP With Love // With Rage on Friday through Blue Grape Music in hardcore punk.
It is the group’s first substantial release since the 2023 album Cerebral Circus and explores two opposing emotions that vocalist Crystal Pak recognised while reviewing her lyrics. Some songs resemble letters written with affection, while others carry the force of accumulated anger.
Lead single 'Numb the Pain' introduces a more introspective approach, incorporating melodic softness and acoustic details without abandoning the band’s physical intensity. Rather than functioning solely as a communal hardcore anthem, the track makes space for private reflection and the abrupt emotional changes that accompany difficult periods of life.