Welcome Back to Pyro, Ohio: A Decade Later, the Band Reflects and Rebuilds

Welcome Back to Pyro, Ohio: A Decade Later, the Band Reflects and Rebuilds

A decade after their last full‑length release and years after quietly stepping away from the scene, Pyro, Ohio has returned with a renewed sense of purpose—and a brand‑new EP that feels both nostalgic and forward‑looking. Where Do You Find Yourself? isn’t just a comeback; it’s a reconnection between four musicians who grew up together, drifted apart, and ultimately rediscovered the spark that made their band special in the first place.

For me, the rediscovery happened by accident. One day, while shuffling through the relic that is my old iPod, a Pyro, Ohio track surfaced out of nowhere—one of those unexpected moments that stops you in your tracks. Hearing that song again sent me down a rabbit hole: Were they still around? Had they ever released anything after Keepsakes? To my surprise, not only were they active again, but they had quietly reunited and begun releasing some of their strongest material to date.

That sense of surprise, nostalgia, and renewed curiosity mirrors the band’s own journey. When I sat down with vocalist Peter Verity and guitarist Jake Whalen, we talked about the long road back, the emotional weight behind their new songs, the Easter eggs hidden throughout the EP, and what it means to create music again after nearly a decade of life, loss, and growth. What followed was a candid, often heartfelt conversation about friendship, creativity, and the strange, beautiful experience of returning to something you thought you’d left behind.

First of all, introduce yourselves and tell me what you do in the band. We’ll start with you, Peter.
Peter: Hi, I’m Peter Verity. I’m the vocalist for Pyro, Ohio.

Jake: I’m Jake Whalen, and I play guitar.

It’s now 2026. What made you decide that 2025 was the right time to bring Pyro, Ohio back and release a new EP?
Peter: I’ll start, and Jake can jump in. We actually came back in—was it 2023, Jake?

Jake: Late ’23, yeah.

Peter: Right. We released our first new music together then. It had been a conversation for a while between me, Jake, Stephen, and Zane—our guitarist and drummer. We always kept in touch and stayed good friends, even after moving to different places. Every now and then we’d joke about playing together again. Eventually, as we all had a little more time and technology made remote collaboration easier, we started talking seriously about writing again. So we slowly started putting songs together, released one in ’23, and as things kept progressing, we realized we had enough momentum to consider doing a full EP. I’ll let Jake take it from there.

Jake: Yeah, that first song was definitely a trial run, and we were honestly elated that so many people hadn’t forgotten about us—yourself included, Ken. That gave us the motivation to keep writing. Working remotely is an arduous process since we’re all in different states, but it was really rewarding. Not only did we prove to others that we could still do it, but we had to prove it to ourselves too. At least for me—I had completely stepped away from music. Some of the other guys stayed active in bands, but I hadn’t played a show in eight years. I had the most rust to shake off, but the whole experience reminded me that I still had it in me.

Have you guys played live recently?
Peter: No, not yet. It’s definitely something we’ve talked about, but life always seems to get in the way. Logistically it’s tough since we all live in different places, though we’re still in the same general region. I’m in Maryland, Jake’s in West Virginia, and the other guys are in Virginia. So it’s possible—we just haven’t been able to make it work yet.

And Peter, were you in any other bands after Pyro, Ohio stopped recording?
Peter: Yeah, I’m still in another band called Like Fires Everywhere—keeping with the fire theme, unintentionally. I’ve been playing with those guys since 2019 here in Maryland. It’s a pretty casual, laid‑back project. We play shows occasionally and have released a couple of EPs. It’s been great. And actually, Jake recently joined a band too—not in it with me, but just a couple of weeks ago, right?

Jake: Yeah, I tend to downplay things, but I joined a pop‑punk band called Mind the Drive as of New Year’s Day, I think. So I’ll be playing my first show in eight years. That’s what I was building up to earlier. My first show back is January 31st.

Let’s talk about the new EP, Where Do You Find Yourself? Where did that title come from? What’s the inspiration behind it?
Peter: The title—and a lot of the EP—comes from nostalgia, specifically Pyro, Ohio nostalgia. This EP is us coming back together after years apart, and that naturally brought up a lot of feelings tied to our early days. We hid a lot of Easter eggs throughout the EP in the titles and themes. Where Do You Find Yourself? is actually the opening line from the first song we ever released on our original EP, Welcome to Pyro, Ohio. The song was You Don’t Hold Your Breath Much, Do You? So the title is a nod to our beginnings and a way of continuing that story. There’s even a track on the new EP that’s essentially a reimagined version of You Don’t Hold Your Breath Much, Do You?

We’re going to talk about all the songs, so let’s get started. The first track, “I’ll Be Here,” features Nathaniel Pulley of Archers. How did Nathaniel get involved, and what inspired the song?
Peter: Having Nathaniel on the track was really special because Archers was actually the first band we ever toured with as Pyro, Ohio. Jake, what year was that?

Jake: March of 2014, I think. So that’s a 12‑year connection we were able to cash in on.

Peter: Exactly. Nathaniel and I have stayed loosely in touch over the years, and it’s been awesome watching Archers grow. They’re great guys, and they’ve worked incredibly hard to get where they are. When we were working on “I’ll Be Here”—which, honestly, might be the song we spent the longest time developing—I kept hearing Nathaniel’s voice in the bridge. It just felt right. So I reached out, and he was genuinely excited to be part of it. That made the whole thing even better, because he immediately understood the vibe we were going for.

And what’s the inspiration behind the song?
Peter: The song is really about getting out of your own head—moving past mistakes and not letting them define you. That’s where the chorus line comes from: “I’ll be here, heart still beating, holding on to thoughts I should have let go.” Lyrically, it goes back and forth the way your mind does when you’re trying to figure out whether you’re actually okay or still stuck on something. It’s that internal tug‑of‑war everyone goes through after messing up. Instrumentally, it felt like classic Pyro, Ohio. We all agreed it could’ve fit on any of our older records, which made it a perfect opener.

“Pep Talk.” Tell me about that one.
Jake: I’ll take this one. I wrote the original riff during the first iteration of the band, so it sat on the shelf for probably ten years. It never came to life back then, but we all liked it enough to revisit it—and that’s how “Pep Talk” was born. It’s a very direct, in‑your‑face song. We don’t have many tracks like that. “New York Spins” is the only other one that comes to mind. It’s just over two minutes, but it punches above its weight in terms of heaviness compared to most Pyro songs. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Let’s move on to “Of Shadows and Substance.” Tell me about that one.
Peter: That was the first song we released when we came back in 2023, and we felt it definitely belonged on the EP. It was also the first song we ever built entirely remotely. It was challenging at first, but also really cool to see each other’s creative process in real time. We could go into the actual recording sessions and tweak things as we went, which was totally different from how we used to write. Back then, we mostly wrote live in practice, and we didn’t hear much of the final product until we were in the studio. This time, we built it piece by piece inside the recording itself. It ended up being one of our heaviest songs—kind of a theme for this EP. And if I remember right, Jake, it started with a chorus idea I had. It was the first song we ever built starting with a vocal melody and lyrics instead of the instrumental first.

Jake: Yeah, we reverse‑engineered that one, I guess you could say. But it turned out great.

“Priorities 3, Company 0.” What does that title mean?

Peter: This one is full of nods to our past. One of our most popular songs—and one of our favorites—was “Priorities Lose Company” from Before the Sun Sets. “Company 3, Priorities 0” kind of named itself because the working title was literally “C3PO.” It didn’t mean anything; Stephen just labeled it that while writing.

Jake: He was having a Star Wars day when he wrote it.

Peter: Exactly. So I took that and ran with it, turning it into a callback to “Priorities Lose Company.” Lyrically, it’s similar in theme. “Priorities Lose Company” was about losing touch with a friend and growing apart. This one is like the older, more mature version of that idea—being around people you’ve tried to make relationships work with, but for one reason or another, it just doesn’t. It’s about figuring out how to move past that person or that dynamic.

“Where Was I?” Tell me about that one.
Peter: Jake, if you want to talk about the instrumental side, I’ll get into the meaning afterward.

Jake: Sure. This was another moment where Stephen really shined as a guitar writer. I gave him the chords, and the next day he had built the entire skeleton of the song. It took on a completely different life than what I imagined—but in the best way. That’s kind of the story of how he and I have worked together over the years. We always seem to take each other’s ideas in directions the other doesn’t expect, which makes collaborating with him really fun. Musically, it’s a more toned‑down track, but depending on who you ask, that’s something we’ve always been pretty good at—leaning into our alternative influences. I’ll take the bold stance and say it’s the best we’ve ever done in that style.

Peter: Yeah, absolutely. We love writing heavy songs, but we definitely have a strong itch to write these more subdued, emotional ones too. Lyrically, this is probably the most personal song I’ve ever written. It’s about a friend I lost a few years ago and the struggle of not being able to attend the funeral—something I still think about. It’s a nod to them, but also to the emotions anyone feels when losing someone unexpectedly, whether it’s a friend or a family member. It’s one of those songs that came from a very real place.

Okay, let’s go to the last song: “Exhale.” Tell me about that one.
Peter: This is the one I mentioned earlier—the one I jokingly call “Do You Find Yourself? But You Don’t Hold Your Breath Much, Do You?” It’s essentially a reprise of You Don’t Hold Your Breath Much, Do You? And this one is really Jake’s baby. He had the idea for it, and it was awesome watching it come together.

Jake: Yeah. I won’t say we rushed it, but it was the last song we wrote, and it just felt like the piece that tied everything together. We wanted that full‑circle moment. Whether or not someone saw the EP title Where Do You Find Yourself? and expected a callback, we wanted to give them that payoff. The title Exhale is also a nod to You Don’t Hold Your Breath Much, Do You? It felt like the missing piece that unlocked all the Easter eggs we’d scattered throughout the EP. And honestly, thank you for letting us go track‑by‑track like this. We expected to do it, but I don’t think we realized how many little connections and callbacks we’d built in until talking through them. I think people will find that stuff interesting—so shout‑out to you for digging into it.

The whole EP sounds amazing. Who produced it? Who helped you out with it?
Peter: Our good friend Greg Parker from Amped Recording here in Maryland. I’ve known Greg since high school and have recorded with him for years. We’ve done everything with him except Keepsakes, right?

Jake: Yeah, that’s the only one.

Peter: Right. So he knows us really well, and we know him really well. Recording with him is always fun. He’s great on the production side too—he brings a lot of strong ideas to the table and acts as a really valuable outside voice. That’s especially important when we’re writing remotely. By the time we get into the studio, we’ve gone over these songs countless times, and sometimes we’re either trying to fix things that don’t need fixing or ignoring things that do. Greg is great at grounding us and helping shape the final product.

Speaking of Keepsakes, that album celebrated its 10‑year anniversary last November. When you look back on it now, what do you think of it in retrospect?
Jake: That’s a good question. There wasn’t a lot of clamoring for a re‑release or anything, and honestly I’m kind of glad. Doing that might’ve muddled the EP process, and we were really excited about the new material. It doesn’t feel like 10 years, but at the same time, I think we’ve all had enough personal and musical growth that it makes sense when you compare Keepsakes to what we’re doing now. Not to say we don’t love those songs—we do. But releasing a full‑length independently was a big risk. Sometimes the industry rewards that, sometimes it doesn’t. I feel like Keepsakes is a bit of a sleeper metalcore album from that year. Not forgotten, but definitely underrated.

I would agree with that assessment.
Peter: Yeah, I agree with Jake. We knew a full album was going to be a lot, but at that time it felt like the right move for us. I think we got a lot of good material out of it. But like I mentioned earlier, our writing process back then didn’t involve as much demoing or reviewing. We demoed most of the songs, but a couple weren’t fully fleshed out until we were already in the studio. There was a lot more writing happening on the spot, and we didn’t have the luxury of revisiting things the way we do now. I still enjoy every song on that record, but ten years later, of course there are moments where I think, “I could’ve done this differently.” That’s just part of growing as an artist. But yeah—10 years. That’s wild.

Jake: And speaking of changes, a lot happened during that album cycle. I remember we were trying to get a big feature from Keaton from Too Close to Touch. He wanted to do a part, and I specifically remember rewriting one of the songs because we had to remove his section. He had a family emergency, and then later he passed away, which was really sad to see. So maybe we rushed some things, but there were also a lot of factors out of our control. For several reasons, I wish some things could’ve gone differently with that album. But at the same time, when I go back and listen, I’m surprised by certain moments. It’s definitely a mixed‑feeling release for me.

Peter: Oh, for sure.

The EP I came in on was Before the Sun Sets… When you look back on that one, what do you think of it now?
Peter: That was the release that really springboarded us. Jake joined the band basically right after it came out.

Jake: I want to say the same week it released—almost exactly.

Peter: Yeah. I have really fond memories of those songs. That was definitely a time when we were still finding our footing as a band—figuring out what we wanted to do musically. I think we carried a lot of that forward, because every song on that EP feels a little different. I also remember being in the studio and realizing the songs we thought would be the “hits” weren’t the ones that ended up standing out. The ones we were unsure about became our favorites. “Priorities Lose Company” might be my favorite Pyro song—it changes from time to time, but that one has never let us down. It was also our first music video, and it’s hilarious to look back on because we were babies. I don’t think anyone had facial hair. It’s a fun watch.

Yeah, a lot of the bands I interviewed back then—when I interview them now, they all have facial hair. And kids.
Jake: Yeah, true.

Peter: Put us in that category too.

So, Ian’s Untitled Scene Show—I haven’t actually seen it yet. Tell me about it.
Jake: He’s been doing that show for, I think, 15 or 16 years. I haven’t been listening that long, but I’m a recurring co‑host now. It all started kind of like this—he had us on as a band once, and then he asked me back, and then asked me back again. It’s a podcast that talks about this type of music, but honestly, I’d call it a comedy podcast. We go pretty overboard pretty often. In the world of podcasting, you might as well entertain yourself, because otherwise it’s a lot of work for nothing.

Did Pyro, Ohio ever make it out to Los Angeles or Orange County to play any shows?
Peter: No, unfortunately we never made it all the way west, which is a bummer. We definitely had a lot of inquiries from that area, and we have family and friends out there. But being based in Virginia, getting to the West Coast was tough. We did play the Midwest quite a bit, oddly enough, but we never made it past Central or Mountain Time. Jake probably remembers this better, but we did have a tour offer that would’ve taken us out there. From what I remember, we didn’t take it because we would’ve had to get ourselves out there on our own. And like any band, you have to weigh the financial risks. At the time, the risk‑reward just wasn’t in our favor.

Jake: Yeah, I think it was opening for The Bunny The Bear, which would’ve been great exposure. But we weren’t doing the whole tour with them—it would’ve just been the West Coast leg, which made no logistical sense for an East Coast band. Actually, we should rephrase that: Stephen made it out west. He lived in LA for a while and played music out there. He moved back about a year ago. So he achieved that dream, even if Pyro, Ohio didn’t.

Peter: Yeah—Stephen did. Pyro, Ohio did not.

Now that we’re in 2026, what would you like to achieve as Pyro, Ohio this year?
Peter: Definitely to keep writing. That’s what brought us back together in the first place—we genuinely enjoy writing as a band. As long as we’re still having fun and still here, I think it’s fair to say we’ll put out at least a song or two every year.

Jake: I was going to say: expect a cover. I think we can say that.

Do you have any messages for Pyro, Ohio fans who’ve been following you all this time?
Jake: Well, that couldn’t have been easy. We really appreciate it. I hope we left things open‑ended enough when we stepped away that people could imagine us coming back someday—and we were lucky enough to actually make that happen. Thank you for your continued support. It means the world that anyone kept listening. We were blown away by the reception.

Peter: Yeah, I’ll echo that completely. We really appreciate people sticking with us—or rediscovering us—or even just having us pop up on shuffle on their iPod and being intrigued enough to see what we’re doing now. It means so much that we’re still floating around in people’s minds. We hope you stick with us and enjoy what we’re creating, because we genuinely enjoy making it. As long as that stays true, we’ll keep putting music out there. We’re just grateful to everyone who’s been around to help us do that.

In Conclusion

Pyro, Ohio’s return isn’t framed as a grand comeback or a nostalgic cash‑grab—it’s something far more grounded and far more meaningful. It’s four musicians rediscovering the joy of creating together, reconnecting with the people who supported them, and finding new purpose in a project they once thought had run its course. Where Do You Find Yourself? captures that energy perfectly: reflective without being stuck in the past, heavier and more confident than ever, and full of the small, thoughtful details that longtime fans will immediately recognize.

As Peter and Jake made clear, Pyro, Ohio isn’t chasing a scene or trying to recreate who they were ten years ago. They’re simply following the spark that brought them back in the first place. If the new EP is any indication, that spark is burning brighter than ever. And as long as the band continues to enjoy the process, there’s every reason to believe this new chapter is just beginning.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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