\n\t\t\t\t@noechonet<\/a> |<\/p>\n
\t\t\t6.23.2026<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/xiao-band-live-2026.jpg\")
\nPhoto:\u00a0Kristin Necovski<\/p>\n
When No Echo last spoke<\/a> with Stockholm’s Xiao in 2021, the band was a new presence in European hardcore, blending powerviolence and metallic aggression into a sound that resisted easy classification. Four years on, Xiao have toured across Europe, completed a U.S. run, released another EP, and last year,\u00a0delivered their debut full-length, Control.<\/p>\n “It’s pretty wild that’s the last time we spoke,” guitarist Daniel Pils\u00e4ter tells No Echo.<\/p>\n Much has changed since that first conversation.<\/p>\n Soon after, Xiao brought in a new vocalist,\u00a0Emelie Johannesson, and sharpened the sound. Their 2023 EP, Burn, marked the start of a heavy touring cycle, with five European tours leading up to the writing of Control. “We worked on that for quite some time,” Pils\u00e4ter says.<\/p>\n \n\u00a0<\/p>\n CONTROL by XIAO\n<\/p>\n Released on Twelve Gauge Records in May 2025, Control is the band’s most defined statement to date. Where Xiao’s early work leaned into powerviolence, years of touring and writing have expanded their approach.<\/p>\n “We’ve just developed as a band, playing more together and finding our strengths,” Pils\u00e4ter explains. “We still lean into whatever styles we feel like, but I guess it’s become more metallic and punk than the original powerviolence feeling we had early on.”<\/p>\n The band’s evolution is also evident in their lyrics. With Pils\u00e4ter and Johannesson now handling much of the writing, Xiao’s themes have become more focused and direct. “The lyrics are more direct since Emelie and I started writing, and we try to tie them together within certain band themes.”<\/p>\n Among the band’s recent tracks, their version of Nirvana’s “Tourette’s”\u2014recorded for A HOMELAND DENIED: A Compilation for the Palestinian Liberation\u2014drew particular attention. Some listeners even missed its origins. “It’s funny how many people miss that and credit us for the riffs,” Pils\u00e4ter laughs.<\/p>\n A HOMELAND DENIED: A Compilation for the Palestinian Liberation by XIAO<\/p>\n In 2024, Xiao reached a new milestone with their first U.S. tour.<\/p>\n The tour surpassed expectations. “Almost all the shows were really good, and we played with a ton of good bands,” says Pils\u00e4ter. “Getting to do half of it with Jivebomb, playing with Dry Socket in their hometown, Portland, and all the wild venues were the highlights.”<\/p>\n The tour confirmed what the band had suspected. “There are more bands that we fit in with in the U.S. than here, musically. It was cool seeing that people on the other side of the world got what we are doing.”<\/p>\n International connections now play a bigger role as Xiao define their place in modern hardcore.<\/p>\n Still based in Stockholm, Pils\u00e4ter highlights younger Swedish bands like xSerenityx and Suitcase Nuke, and points to Invader from northern Sweden for their mix of hardcore and death metal.<\/p>\n Xiao\u00a0will spend the summer touring, with festival dates and shows alongside Judge. After the tour, focus returns to new material.\u00a0“We recorded early in the year, and it was probably the smoothest process I’ve ever been a part of,” Pils\u00e4ter says.<\/p>\n ***\u00a0<\/p>\n Control is available via Twelve Gauge Records (US<\/a>\u00a0| EU<\/a>)<\/p>\n Xiao on social media: Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n Tour dates: Tagged: xiao<\/a><\/p>\n \t\tAbout the Author Owner of No Echo, Carlos Ramirez has played in the bands Black Army Jacket<\/a>, Hope Collapse<\/a>, and Deny the Cross<\/a>. Born and raised in Queens, NY, Carlos resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Xiao_2026_Sean_Christiansen.jpg\")
\nPhoto: Sean Christiansen<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Xiao_will_support_@judge_nyhc_in_Germany_this_summer._More_dates_coming!_.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
06\/25 –\u00a0Brussels, BE – Magasin4
06\/26 –\u00a0Rennes, FR – Superbowl of Hardcore
06\/27 –\u00a0Bourlon, FR – Rock in Bourlon
06\/28 – Paris, FR – Le Chinois
06\/29 –\u00a0Stockholm, SE – Kollektivet Livet
08\/02\u00a0– Malm\u00f6, SE – Malm\u00f6 Massacre
08\/07 –\u00a0Cologne, DE – Hammer and Nails
08\/08 – Dresden, DE – Pulse of Chaos
08\/09 –\u00a0Bochum, DE – Die Trompete<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/swedish-hardcore.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/avatar_2_4.jpg\"){kind=avatar}
\n\t\tCarlos Ramirez<\/p>\n