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Since its earliest days, modern metalcore has found a welcoming home within the American South. Countless strip mall venues are scattered off the exits of its seemingly endless, interconnected network of freeways, and down dimly lit backroads can be found church basements home to waves of hardcore dancing. Even as live music has become less accessible to the average mainstream music fan, local hardcore and metal scenes continue to thrive and an increasing number of outfits within those genres are breaking through to national stages.
Census, an outfit hailing from Central Arkansas, is poised to make that leap. They've concocted a precisely synthesized blend of soaring melodies, electronic and hip-hop touches, and crushing metalcore inflections since their debut Peaceseeker EP. Their 2025 project Rip My Heart Out is a brilliant culmination of the group's evolution to date, whether it's the crunchy breakdown on "Insatiable Me" or the chorus of its anthemic, title-track closer.
Rip My Heart Out is also a breath of new life personally and creatively for the band. After vocalist Ben Carey survived being struck by a drunk driver on the way to rehearse for a Census tour in 2024, they were collectively faced with an obstacle that could make or break a band and led to a domino effect of losing their booking agent and ceasing writing music. Yet against all odds, Ben and the rest of Census persevered and penned their best work to date.
We spoke with Census about emerging from the Central Arkansas scene, their evolution as creatives, thriving in the face of adversity, and much more.
Can you talk about the earliest days of Census? What was the Arkansas alternative scene like at the time and how has it evolved from your perspective?
The three of us grew up in the Central Arkansas hardcore and metal scenes. One thing we love about Arkansas is that people here are big on community. I think that aspect of the music scene has remained the same, but it’s evolved to be even more inclusive. We’re starting to see younger bands and musicians hit the scene again, and bands of all different genres love to collaborate and throw shows together.
Can you take me through the creative process of Rip My Heart Out? What was your approach on this record as a songwriter?
Our last EP everything falls apart was somewhat polarizing for Census fans. We love every song we wrote on it, but we intentionally ventured away from some of the heavy sounds and darker themes that Census was built on. Going into this last EP, we knew we wanted to come back to some of those original core Census elements, but we still wanted it to feel like something that was brand new and interesting for us. “Overthink It” was the first song we wrote on the album. We ended up taking the song to our friend Blake Goodwin, who is a great producer and master guitar player, and he elevated the song to a whole new level. The guitars sounded big and heavy, but the tone and hookiness of the vocals still felt like classic Census. We continued experimenting with this type of sound for songs like “Spiral” and “Insatiable Me.” Funny enough, the remaining three songs were all written on a week-long writing trip we took to West Palm Beach where we wrote “Outta My Head,” “Nightwaves,” and “Rip My Heart Out” alongside Blake Saul and Paul Spirou. After we ended up with a collection of six heavy-hitting, catchy songs, we felt good about these songs representing the next era of Census.
Your music finds that sweet spot between heavy tones and melodies – how do you strike that balance so precisely as a band?
One thing we all three have in common is that we love heavy music, but we also have a love for electronic, pop, and hip hop music. Listening to such melodic genres, but having a core love for heavy music, it just comes naturally to us to merge the two worlds. Ben and Jarrod are both producers, and we love to layer melodic and rhythmic elements in our songs to create a full, dense mix. Something Ben does often when writing vocals is strip the songs away to nothing but the chord progression. Then, he uses a piano or acoustic guitar to write the vocal parts in a way that focuses solely on how catchy the melody and rhythm of the vocal part is.
How would you evaluate your evolution as artists from everything falls apart to Rip My Heart Out? I imagine a lot of growth happens in two years between EPs.
Definitely. So aside from knowing we wanted to delve back into the heavy and dark elements of the band’s roots, another massive event that took place between the two EPs was Ben’s car accident in September 2024. He was driving overnight from Hot Springs, AR to Nashville, TN to rehearse with Jarrod for an upcoming Census tour. During the drive, he was hit on the interstate by a drunk driver going 150+ mph. Ben sustained multiple brain injuries, a fractured scapula, and lost his car and everything in it. So to be completely honest, it slowed our band way down. We had to drop the upcoming tour. We lost our booking agent. We stopped writing. Ben also experienced the deepest sense of anxiety and depression he ever has in the aftermath of the wreck. It took a lot of resilience for Census to bounce back from all that, but we all love this band and each other, and we always knew we would try to keep going. Especially after the writing sessions that wrote songs like “Outta My Head,” I think those songs and experiences breathed new life into our band. We’re so excited to create again and believe we’re only just now scratching the surface of our growth and potential as a band.
Why is it important for Census and other bands throughout Arkansas to partner with a nonprofit like End Overdose?
I think it’s important because nonprofits are community-driven passion projects, and that’s exactly what the Arkansas music scene is all about. Every band should strive to partner with like-minded individuals and lift each other up. We love End Overdose because the education and resources they provide are especially helpful in communities like local music scenes. By partnering up, we’re able to strengthen our community.
What’re your plans for Census on the heels of Rip My Heart Out as we head into 2026?
Rip My Heart Out was the last collection of songs we released under our record label, which means now we’re independent! We haven’t been independent since 2019, and we’re so excited to hit the ground running and release as much new music in 2026 as we can manage. We’re releasing a heavy pop cover of “Blackout” by Breathe Carolina on December 19th, and we’ve got plans for a lot more singles to be released in the new year!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We love End Overdose, and we also love and appreciate everyone who reads this article and supports our little band! <3