Heavy Emo with a Purpose: Milwaukee’s Snag Returns with All The Cages Holding Us Will One Day Turn To Dust
Since their formation in 2016, Milwaukee trio Snag has quietly carved out their own unique space in the DIY underground. They have quickly become a favorite of listeners hungry for emotional hardcore that delivers far more than just aimless chaos. (another side, 2026)
On All The Cages Holding Us Will One Day Turn To Dust—the band’s third LP and first for Deathwish Inc.—Snag continues to develop their signature brand of heavy emo, expanding melodically and texturally without losing an ounce of their edge.
Turning Inward: Personal Struggles and Physical Cages
While Snag’s lyrical approach has historically focused on broader, universal themes like climate anxiety and apocalyptic dread, All the Cages… shows the band looking inward. Many of the tracks draw heavily on the members’ personal experiences with chronic illness and mental health obstacles.
The central motif of cages weaves its way throughout the record. On the album opener, “Unarrest Me,” the cage is literal: a physical jail cell.
“The song is a POV of a wrongful arrest—the confusion, the panic, and the sheer inhuman reaction from the arrester. This song musically tells an eerie story within itself. It sets off on a journey and ends abruptly at its peak.”
— Samm Szymborski (Guitarist/Vocalist)
Bassist and vocalist Peter Murphy emphasizes the visual and thematic story behind the track’s music video:
“The concept for the video is ‘collective liberation through mutual aid.’ The symbols of zip ties and blindfolds against flashlights and sprints put a finer point on the idea that every free person can help free another person.”
Music as an Action Plan
From the very beginning, acting on their message has been central to Snag’s ethos. Their lyrics aren’t just art, they are invitations to active involvement.
- The Self-Titled LP: Came packaged with a lyric sheet, a book of matches, and an envelope of seeds encouraging listeners to grow habitats for pollinators.
- All the Cages…: Features a partnership with the Florida-based organization Wire of Hope. The record includes individually labeled envelopes addressed to inmates, inviting listeners to become prison pen pals.
“The logic that says a corporation can destroy the planet to extract profit from it systematically is the same basic logic that says humans can be systematically caged for profit,” Murphy explains.
“It’s probably safe to say every person who hears this album is a lot closer to being incarcerated than to being one of the billionaires that seek ever more control. We thought we could make that connection much more explicit with a homework assignment in the record insert—and hopefully foster friendship and connection as well.”
Expanding the Sonic Palette
The intentionality behind the band’s message extends directly into the music. Snag has always been far more than a mere throwback band, consciously pushing boundaries in a subgenre that often struggles to move past the influence of its forebearers.
All the Cages… recalls the dynamic, progressive energy of acts like Majority Rule, Welcome the Plague Year, and Kidcrash, while forging its own distinct path.
“We made a decision a long time ago to simply make the music that we like and to not try to fit into genre conventions. That decision gave us permission to try different instrumentation and stylistic approaches to songs, which resulted in a few unusual moments on this album.”
— Peter Murphy
A Decade of DIY Resilience
A decade into their existence, Snag remains one of the most unique and vital voices in modern DIY hardcore. The band members’ commitment is deeply personal, they need the music just as much as the music needs them. At its core, they simply haven’t grown bored with the artform that captured their imaginations as kids.
“When we started the band we were in some of the most depressive periods of our lives, and it offered an outlet, camaraderie, and hope. It hasn’t stopped since.”
— Wysocki
All The Cages Holding Us Will One Day Turn To Dust track list:
- Unarrest Me
- Debilitated
- Pray for Peace
- Suburn
- Juneberry
- Whisper
- Shelf Life
- Paris, WI
- Foam Cup, Pt 3
- Cages
- Cages (Reprise)
SA Examiner 