Confessions of a Traitor

Confessions of a Traitor (COAT) is a British Christian metalcore band from London. It was formed in 2015 by vocalist and frontman Stephen MacConville, guitarist Jack Darnell, and bassist Tony Nagle. The band was later joined by drummer Sebastian Olrog and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Jacob Brand. They released their debut album, Guided, on Sliptrick Records in 2019. Their second album, Punishing Myself Before God Does, was released in 2022 on Facedown Records.

History

Confessions of a Traitor was formed in 2015 by vocalist and frontman Stephen MacConville, lead guitarist Jack Darnell, and bassist Tony Nagle. The band was joined later by drummer Sebastian Olrog and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Jacob Brand.

The band garnered label interest following tours in the European Union and United Kingdom tours supporting Upon a Burning Body and I Set My Friends on Fire. They signed to Sliptrick Records in 2016 ahead of the release of their 2017 EP, Illuminate.

Following the release of Illuminate, Confessions of a Traitor toured Europe and Russia to support Caliban, Crazy Town, Trapt, Feed Her to The Sharks, and Architects, with subsequent appearances at large European Festivals, such as Rockstad Extreme Fest in Romania and ZaxidFest in Ukraine.

In early 2019, the band went viral after a video of them playing a show in a Denny's in Romania was posted on UNILad Sound's Facebook page. As of December 2023, the video, entitled "Titled Heavy Metal Band Shows up at Café", has 2.5 million views.

Later that year, Confessions of a Traitor released their debut album, Guided, on 18 October through Sliptrick Records. The album features Fit for a King's Ryan Kirby and Bleed From Within's Scott Kennedy.

Throughout 2021, the band released four singles as a part of the Press Start to Play EP, which debuted on 4 June. The EP was a concept record with lyrics based on the video games: Halo, Bioshock, Control, and Life is Strange.

In April 2022, Confessions of a Traitor signed to Facedown Records and subsequently released their debut single "Peacekeeper". They are the first British band to sign to the California-based Christian metal label. In total, five singles were released off the 10 track album ahead of launch.[citation needed]

The band released their sophomore album, Punishing Myself Before God Does, on 16 September 2022. The album charted on four separate Billboard charts: Hard Music (#40), New Artist (#69), and Indie Label (#137). It charted highest on the US Top Christian/Gospel Albums chart at number 12.

In 2022, the band performed at Takedown Festival and Download Festival in the United Kingdom, as well as and Brainstorm and Blast of Eternity Festival in Europe.

During 2023, they completed their first North America tour as main support on "The Aggressive Worship Tour" with Convictions in August 2023. They were supported by Facedown Records' bands Bloodlines and Cultist.

The band released their third studio album, This Pain Will Serve You, on 16 May 2025.

Band members

Current members

• Stephen MacConville: lead vocals (2015–present)
• Jack Darnell: guitar (2015–present)
• Sebastian Olrog: drums (2015–present)
• Jacob Brand: guitar and vocals (2017–present)

Former members

• Dominic Pool: guitar (2015-2017)
• Chris Wallace: guitar and vocals (2015)
• Tony Nagle: bass (2015–2023)

Discography

Singles