Texas metal four-piece GORE. have announced their new EP, …Then You Cannot Love Me, set for release on October 9 via Spinefarm. The announcement arrives fresh off the band’s summer tour with Kittie and is accompanied by the release of their new single, “Crucified.”
Featuring vocalist Haley Roughton, guitarist Alex Reyes, bassist Devin Birchfield, and drummer Wills Weller, GORE. conceived …Then You Cannot Love Me as the second half of a larger body of work that began with their late-2025 EP, If You Do Not Fear Me….
The two releases were designed as distinct but inseparable counterparts, with even their titles connecting to form a single statement: If You Do Not Fear Me… Then You Cannot Love Me.
“Crucified,” the second single released from the upcoming EP, explores the pull of a relationship in which attraction, temptation and the expectation of chaos become difficult to separate.
Roughton explains:
“This song is about someone who is so seductive that they lead you right into temptation. They have you wrapped around their finger, and they know it. You idolize them.”
She continues:
“You try as hard as you can to resist, but there’s something both painful and pleasurable about their presence, so you give into them and whatever chaos you know they’ll bring.”
Watch the official video for “Crucified” :
Two EPs, One Complete Story
While If You Do Not Fear Me… arrived nearly a year before its counterpart, GORE. always intended for the two EPs to exist together. The ellipsis connecting their titles serves as a deliberate bridge between both releases.
“We always wanted to release it like that,” Roughton explains. “We wanted a more looming, cynical sound in the first EP and as time went on, we wanted to develop the sound towards something closer to what we want to sound like as a band together.”
She adds:
“I’m hoping the fans, especially those who have been with us since day one, can see the evolution and how those two connect.”
Thematically, the two releases operate as foils. While If You Do Not Fear Me… embraces a darker and more cynical perspective, …Then You Cannot Love Me approaches similar emotional conflicts from a more measured and accepting position.
Much of the material examines what the band describes as “irreconcilable” feelings — emotions that remain unresolved rather than producing a clear path toward action. The songs explore unhealthy relationships, power dynamics and the complicated ways fear and love can become intertwined.
“There’s always some form of power dynamic in really unhealthy relationships,” Roughton says. “Women are taught from a young age that if a man doesn’t fear losing you, that he doesn’t love you. Men are taught to be nonchalant and not care too much, and so we just grow up with all these wounds that just show up.”
GORE. Continue Their Evolution
The material that became the two interconnected EPs was developed following the momentum of GORE.’s debut release, A Bud That Never Blooms.
After initially gaining attention through songs uploaded to YouTube, the Texas quartet quickly expanded its audience and received support from artists including Motionless In White, Papa Roach, and Flyleaf.
Rather than releasing the subsequent material as one project, GORE. chose to divide the songs between two releases, gradually revealing different sides of the band’s developing identity.
For Roughton and her bandmates, that evolution is also about avoiding being confined to a particular corner of modern metal. Their goal is to develop a sound broad enough that comparisons or attempts to place them into a single category become increasingly difficult.
The band has since received attention from outlets including Revolver, NME, New Noise, and others as they continue building toward the release of …Then You Cannot Love Me.
…Then You Cannot Love Me Track Listing
- “What You Paid For”
- “Lead Me to the Slaughter”
- “Bones In the Garden”
- “Crucified”
- “Walk On Water”
- “Hallowed Ground”
- “Alone”
…Then You Cannot Love Me arrives October 9 via Spinefarm. Pre-save it
GORE. lineup
Haley Roughton — Vocals
Alex Reyes — Guitar
Devin Birchfield — Bass
Wills Weller — Drums