Leveling Up: Set For Tomorrow’s Journey from Richmond Roots to Thriller Records
Photo Credit: Ian Bell
Leveling Up: Set For Tomorrow’s Journey from Richmond Roots to Thriller Records
Fresh off their signing to Thriller Records, Set For Tomorrow is proving that persistence, passion, and a little bit of “Diet Weird” can take a band to the next level. Frontman Eyker Cruz sat down with us to talk about the band’s Richmond roots, the inspiration behind their latest EP ARCS, and what it means to grow alongside friends who double as creative collaborators. From late-night karaoke encounters to full-circle moments opening for Crown the Empire, Eyker shares how Set For Tomorrow has carved out their own lane in the modern metalcore scene. With new music on the horizon and a family-like bond with their labelmates, the band is ready to level up — and they’re inviting fans along for the ride.
Where’s your band based out of, and what’s the local music scene like there?
We claim Richmond, Virginia as our home base, though we’re kind of spread out. Our drummer lives in Pennsylvania, our bassist is in Baltimore, Maryland, both guitarists are in Richmond, and I’m about an hour north of Fredericksburg, Virginia — right in the middle of everyone. But Richmond has been our stomping grounds for a while now.
We’re all pretty involved in the local scene. Brendan shoots music videos, I teach vocal lessons and do design work, and Mikey is a full-time producer for a lot of local bands. Mikey also used to work at some of the venues we’ve played, so we’ve built strong connections there. The scene itself is super welcoming, which is sick. We’re there often, and it really feels like home.
The big news is your signing to Thriller Records. How did that all come about?
Honestly, it’s been a slow burn. We’d been sitting on the news for a while before it was announced. When I first joined the band, we released a song called Like Murder, and their A&R, Nico, found it pretty early on. That’s how we got on their radar.
From there, they kept an eye on us, watching what we did over time. We talked on and off until things eventually lined up. Mikey and I went out to Nashville to work on new tracks toward the end of the ARCS EP, and Thriller Records loved what they heard. They told us, “If you guys are available, we want to set something up.” We were like, “Yeah, let’s do it.”
After some negotiations, everything fell into place. We’re stoked to be working with them — honestly, we’re over the moon about it.
Someone Lonely by Set For Tomorrow
Let’s talk about your new single, Someone Lonely. What’s the story or concept behind it?
The lyrics came from the idea of being really comfortable — maybe even complacent — in your living situation. It doesn’t have to be toxic or bad; it can just be everyday life. Then suddenly, something happens, like lightning, and it’s all gone.
You’re left figuring out how to rewire your brain, how to manage this change, and how to live in a new reality. Your day-to-day gets flipped on its head, and you have to decide whether to accept it and move forward or just complain about it. The song is about choosing acceptance: life happens, things change, it sucks, but you wake up and everything’s different. Someone Lonely is me saying, “Here’s me accepting it, here’s me figuring it out.”
Another song I really like from ARCS is CTRL. Tell me about that one.
That song wasn’t directly about my own past, but more inspired by family members and friends I’ve seen go through similar situations. A lot of the album references relationships and struggles, not always from my personal experience but from things I observed and drew inspiration from.
CTRL is about wanting to leave a relationship but feeling stuck because it’s comfortable — you can’t imagine life without it, so you keep running back. The chorus, “I don’t want lose a grip on my reality, every time I try to pull away from you, I wanna run back to you.” That’s what the entire deal of that chorus is. So I kind of wanted to make that as present as possible.
The breakdown is written almost like two people talking to each other. One voice is being very gaslighty, saying things like, “No one’s going to love you like I do,” in a sarcastic, dramatic way. The other voice is just over it. That dynamic really captures the theme of the song.
Select any other song off ARCS and tell me what inspired the lyrics.
The body of work on ARCS was around that time, my dad got a new job and he and my mom moved to Colombia. They had been living just 15 minutes away, so suddenly they were gone. On top of that, my significant other and I split up after a five-year relationship. My entire living situation flipped upside down, and I had to figure out how to maneuver through all of it.
That’s why I decided to get really personal on the EP. Songs like Do You came from the idea of being so focused on work that you disappear from your family life — something military families or people who travel for business might relate to. Counterfeit leaned into living in the same four walls, and how that can weigh on you.
So while each song had its own inspiration, the overarching theme was about change, loss, and figuring out how to move forward. We chose the title ARCS because Brendan (our bassist) and I are really into anime. In anime, characters often go through a “training arc” — they disappear for a while, work on themselves, and then return stronger than ever. We wanted this EP to be our training arc: us working on ourselves, leveling up, and coming back better than before.
Photo Credit; Blurred Moment Photography
The first song Set For Tomorrow released on Spotify was What Made You Say in September 2020 during the pandemic. Were you in the band at that time, and what was it like to release music then?
I actually wasn’t in the band yet. Set For Tomorrow has been around for a while — it started as Mikey’s high school band. I joined shortly after the pandemic. Funny enough, my previous project was supposed to open for Set For Tomorrow before the world shut down, but the shows were canceled.
I didn’t meet Mikey until later, at an emo live-band karaoke night where I covered an Underoath song. He came up afterward and said we should collaborate. We ended up working on a track together with my old project, got along great, and about a year later, Set For Tomorrow needed someone to fill in. I hopped in, and it just clicked. I’d known of them from local shows, but we hadn’t really crossed paths before. Now it’s been a little over two years since I joined.
What was your previous project?
My old band was called Evelyn Black. I actually took the name from a Stephen King book. At the time, I was really into orchestral metalcore — blending heavy music with swingy, theatrical elements. I loved bands like Sycamore and Panic! At The Disco, and I thought, “What if Panic made metalcore?” That was the vibe I was chasing.
Like most musicians, I went through a lot of projects with local friends, trying to find something that stuck. Evelyn Black was fun, but eventually things didn’t work out. Joining Set For Tomorrow was different — it felt right immediately. I filled in last minute for a tour, and it was like fitting into a glove.
What’s cool about this band is that everyone brings something unique. One member runs a full-time photography company, another is a full-time producer, another handles logistics and ads. I’ve always loved sketching and drawing, so I got into designing merch and artwork for the band. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been inspired to explore those creative avenues without these guys. Joining Set For Tomorrow has been a really special experience.
Dead Eyes and Set For Tomorrow flyer
What are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming show with Dead Eyes?
We can’t wait to see those guys again. We were just on tour with them about a month ago, and it was awesome — total homie fest. Somewhere along the way, we collectively decided to get into Magic: The Gathering because a few of the bands we’re friends with play it a lot. Now we want bragging rights on the road when we play against them.
So yeah, we’re excited to hop on that show, play, hang out, maybe get a game in, and just have a good time with our friends. Signing to Thriller Records has been cool because we’ve become homies with so many bands on the roster. It feels like one big family, and we’re over the moon about it.
Has your band ever played out here in the Los Angeles or Orange County area, or is that something planned for the future?
Not yet — we haven’t made it out that far. That’s definitely on the to-do list. Honestly, I don’t think the Midwest or West Coast has been tapped at all by the band, even before my time in the last two or three years. We’re hoping to finally hit that demographic in the next year.
We just recently made it down to Florida for the first time, since we’d mostly been doing East Coast runs, and it was a wonderful experience. So now we’re like, “Let’s add more. The more, the merrier.”
I’ve noticed you’ve opened for some really cool bands in the past. Were you in the band when you opened for Crown the Empire? What was that experience like?
Yeah, that was at Soundstage in Baltimore with Capsize, and I think it was also the first time we played with Dark Divine. That show was awesome. Brendan, our bassist, had shot video work at the venue before, so he got us connected, and we hopped on the lineup.
For me personally, it was surreal. I grew up listening to Crown the Empire and learning how to scream by studying their old vocalist, David Escamilla. His screams were so full-bodied and aggressive — they really influenced my sound. So playing that show felt like a full-circle moment.
And Dark Divine? Man, they put on a crazy live show. I knew they were good, but seeing them live set them apart. The whole lineup was stacked, and it was just a sick experience all around.
How were your shows with labelmates If Not For Me?
They’re basically like a brother band to us, especially through Brendan. He does all their video work and is often on tour with them, shooting content or even helping at their merch table. We’ve played shows together — I think one was a holiday show — and they’ve been friends of the band long before my time.
Everyone in that band is awesome. In fact, before we signed with Thriller, we were working with Theoria, which is owned by one of the members of If Not For Me. They handled distro and helped us release music, and they were great to work with.
We love those guys. Hopefully one day we’ll get to do a full tour together — just bring all our best friends out and make it a straight-up vacation on the road.
Set For Tomorrow
You have an EP that’s about to come out. What’s up next for you guys?
We originally dropped the EP a few months ago, but once we figured things out with Thriller, we decided to extend it. Honestly, I don’t even know if it’ll be considered an EP or an album by the time it’s out. We’re adding one more track, which should be released on December 5th. Along with that, we’ve got pre-orders set up for vinyl, new artwork, and all the cool extras.
The process was interesting — Mikey and I thought the EP was wrapped, but then we went out to Nashville to work on new tracks. After talking with the label, we realized it made sense to give the EP more life. Not enough people had heard it yet, and we wanted it to reach a broader audience. So we added Someone Lonely and one more track, and now we’re just seeing where it goes. Beyond that, we’re always working on new music. There’s more coming right around the corner, even if I don’t know the exact timeline past December.
What advice would you give another band seeking a record deal?
When we got together, someone gave us this piece of advice that stuck: be Diet Weird. An old friend of mine, Jesus Rivera, passed it along, and it’s shaped everything I’ve written for the last two and a half years.
“Diet Weird” means finding your niche — the thing that makes your band stand out — and leaning into it. Maybe it’s a unique instrument, a vocal style, or some electronic element. Whatever it is, that’s your “weird.” You incorporate it into every track, but in a way that’s digestible. It’s enough to make you stand out, but not so strange that it alienates listeners.
That’s the sweet spot. Look at a band like Issues — they blended metalcore with R&B. It was different, but it worked. Fans don’t want Alpha Wolf 2.0 or Memphis May Fire 2.0; they want something new. So the question is: how do you make yourself the new thing? That advice was probably the single most important piece of guidance I’ve ever received in my music career.
Do you have any messages for music fans out here in Los Angeles who are reading this now?
Absolutely. If you’re waiting to see us, we can’t wait to get out there. We’re so excited for the opportunities we have now and to hopefully reach a broader audience. We’re all best friends, we love traveling together, and we’re grateful for everyone who’s supported us so far.
For musicians reading this, my message is: stay the course. People used to tell me to have a backup plan, but my backup plan was always just to make it work in music one way or another. Don’t cut corners, don’t take shortcuts. Put in the work, invest in yourself, and keep going. The payoff comes in small steps — micro advances that lead to bigger opportunities. It’s not about someone knocking on your door with a headlining tour overnight. It’s about taking every opportunity and building from there. Stay the course, and things will happen.
(Interview by Ken Morton)
Set For Tomorrow is:
Eyker Cruz (vocals)
Mikey Canoy (guitar/vocals)
James Lovato (guitar)
Brendan McGlathery (bass/vocals)
Sean Williams (drums)
Set For Tomorrow on Instagram
