Loathing

COUNTERPARTS HAS ALWAYS SERVED AS BRENDAN MURPHY’S WAY OF DEALING WITH THE STRUGGLES HE’S ENCOUNTERED IN LIFE. WITH A NEW ALBUM SET FOR RELEASE, WE FIND OUT JUST HOW HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF AND HIS BAND HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS.

- Jack Rogers

We all have that special something that helps us to release our emotions when life gets a bit too much. It could be a friend or relative to confide in. A partner to hold our hand and tell us everything will be okay. A session at the gym, a walk in the park, a song played on repeat. We all cope with things differently, and we all find our own way back towards the light when that dark cloud appears overhead.

Brendan Murphy’s special something is Counterparts.

For the last 12 years, Counterparts has been Brendan’s release. As the only original member still in the ranks and with five albums already under his belt, the band has served as his crutch, his diary, his support network and the very reason that he’s still here. When it comes to channeling his innermost turmoil, this is where Brendan turns.

“Counterparts is a direct tool for me to use to be able to speak my mind and let people in a little bit. It helps me get my shit out and let people know exactly how I feel. It’s a coping mechanism. A way to be able to express myself freely,” he says.

“The truth is that I’ve been on a waiting list just to have a proper fucking mental health evaluation since [2017 album] ‘You’re Not You Anymore’ was released. I call them up and I keep getting dicked around. I don’t have anything else to help me, except this. This is all I’ve got.”

For Brendan each Counterparts record represents two years of his life. The blueprint of each song that appears on each album is inspired directly by the experiences and setbacks that he’s come across over the previous 730 days. So when it comes to the band’s new record ‘Nothing Left To Love’, a bludgeoning yet delicate, vulnerable metalcore triumph, it tells the story of two years that have seen Brendan experiencing serious change within his life.