By Staff | April 26, 2026

Hailing from the UK, The Heretics are an alt-rock collective that masterfully blends the nostalgic pop-punk influences of the late 90s and early 2000s with a modern, high-energy edge. After initially forming around the solo work of Christian Smith, the group evolved into a collaborative powerhouse known for pairing melancholic, emotionally resonant lyrics with anthemic riffs. Their debut success with Relentless even saw their music reach the shelves of HMV, a milestone that cemented their transition from cutting their teeth to becoming a recognized name in the industry. As they move through 2026 with their DIY cinematic single Tidal Wave, the band remains committed to the physical music experience, pressing their work to vinyl to stay true to their roots.

Your sound pulls from bands like Taking Back Sunday and The Gaslight Anthem. With the release of Tidal Wave, how have you balanced that nostalgic alt-rock DNA with the new energy you’ve found touring over the last year?

As a collective these are some of our core influences for sure, however as individuals we all bring our own flare from different inspirations. We’re definitely aiming for that kind of aesthetic though! As we’re all from the same generation, we’re all quite rooted in the late 90’s/ early noughties pop punk/ alt rock era so naturally these traits rub off in our music!

Relentless saw quite some success, even landing on the shelves of HMV. Does the pressure of that national and international acclaim change the way you approach writing a new single, or do you try to block out the noise entirely?

As Relentless was our first release as a band we were mainly cutting our teeth on what we want to write and how we wanted to be perceived in the industry, the success that’s come from it is amazing and we’re grateful to everyone that’s been a part of making all these things happen!

Maybe there’s an element of pressure that creatively we always want to exceed our previous work – I think that’s natural for all artists, but so far we’re just enjoying the process of producing new material and the writing is coming easier than we possibly expected.

You’ve shared stages with international acts like The Thomas Nicholas Band and The Anti-Queens. What is the biggest pro tip you’ve picked up from being the main support for global artists that you’re now applying to your own headline sets?

Again, growing up in the noughties, just opening for Kevin from American Pie is pretty cool and we can’t wait to link up with The Anti-Queens again ... but yeah, I think mainly seeing bands of that kind of calibre and the approach they take with the crowd is really eye opening and might subconsciously influence how we engage with people. I know that seeing the types of technologies they use on stage has definitely made us up our game in terms of what equipment we hone our sound with. Seeing some bands using amp sims as well as a mental amount of pedals really opens your mind to what you can achieve.

The 2025 album was credited to Christian Smith & The Heretics. How has the collaborative dynamic within the band shifted or solidified as you move into a new chapter under a new banner in 2026?

I think initially as we started out with me (Christian) as a solo artist looking to realise a collection of songs, we started working together to flesh them out as a band and naturally started working on a live set together from the process. Really it was from there that we started to become more collaborative and hone our songwriting and production, developing our own kind of workflow that started forming what we’re now producing.

Critics and fans love the melancholic lyrics paired with high-energy melodies. When a new song starts, which usually comes first: the emotional weight of the words or the energy of the riff?

Well yeah, who can go wrong with melancholy wrapped in an anthem?!

It definitely varies, sometimes Christian will come up with some lyrics (Ash H) and then we’ll work on an instrumental to accompany it or sometimes I’ll write a riff and work in the reverse. We’ve even written full songs during what was supposed to be a practise and all contributed collectively. It really does just depend on the time, and yeah, the themes/feel of a song can change depending on who started writing it.

In a digital-first world, why is it important to The Heretics that fans have a physical piece of the music to hold in their hands?

That’s definitely a ‘stay true to yourself’ thing!! Not meaning to keep touching on nostalgia but growing up when we did, we’ve kind of been through the best of all the different types of music media. To be able to press RELENTLESS to vinyl definitely felt like an achievement for all of us because vinyl records have been put on such a pedestal and felt so out of reach, but I guess now with streaming being the main way people listen to music, those things are more of a novelty than the key aspects of our collections as they were, plus it’s pretty cool that our fans get to have something physical of ours, hey!

With the summer of 2026 looking busy and a history of playing spots like Cambridge Rock Festival, Balstock and Deepdale Festival, what is the one essential item in the band’s tour van that keeps you sane during a long UK festival run?

A tricky question, depends which member of the band you ask. Ash J can’t survive a car journey without a cold Red Bull and hard rock playlist, Ash H can’t even leave the house without half his wardrobe! I think really as long as there’s something good to listen to on the drive and some banter to keep everyone chill then we’d probably be alright. Just the thought of playing festivals alongside bands that we listen to is great in itself!

A single titled "Tidal Wave" suggests something massive and overwhelming. Without giving too much away, what can fans expect from the visual aesthetic or the music video for this track—is it as cinematic as the title suggests?

A tidal wave definitely is massive and overwhelming! That’s why the song is a message of resilience in the times that feel like tidal waves and to ‘take it all or nothing’ when you’re going for something, I think that’s a kind of ethos that we’ve grown to live by really.

Ah yeah, I’m not sure when this is going out, but we’ve definitely been working on something that we feel is pretty cool to go alongside the track! Completely DIY too! Can’t wait for everyone to see it!

Anyone you'd like to thank?

All of our wives/partners for putting up with our reckless ambitions for so long! Haha, no, but seriously, their support definitely helps, and of course the fifth Heretic ‘Paul Bruce’ who captures all our antics, the same for everyone that keeps listening to and supporting our music! As cliché as it is, it probably would end up being a bit pointless without them doing so!

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