Knocked Loose’s Bryan Garris Has Message for ‘Kimmel’ Performance Critics

Knocked Loose certainly stirred up some feelings with their Jimmy Kimmel Live performance last week and singer Bryan Garris has a message for the critics – “It if scared you, good.”

About the Performance + Why It Caused a Stir

Knocked Loose took the stage on the ABC late night show to perform their recent song “Suffocate” with a guest appearance by Poppy.

Dressed all in black, the band took the stage with an illuminated cross backdrop mirroring the imagery from their latest album. The outdoor audience was being doused with a light rainstorm. As for special guest Poppy, she took the stage in a diaphanous white dress belting just as heavy as her counterparts in the truly crushing performance.

For many metal fans, the appearance didn’t seem too much out of the norm, but it’s not often that heavier bands get this national viewing platform and as a result there was some criticism levied by viewers not used to see such heaviness on their TV screens. Revisit the performance below.

Knocked Loose Featuring Poppy, “Suffocate”

What Viewers Were Saying

The performance yielded a broad range of responses both on the Kimmel YouTube video itself as well as on social media.

“You know I was trying to enjoy the program. I was sitting on the couch with my son who is an ADOLESCENT waiting to see the musical guest because we like the nice music the show usually books. By the third or fourth ‘JUNT’ from the guitars my son was in tears. He doesn’t like scary things and quite frankly I think the Kimmel show and its staff should make a formal apology,” posted one person.

“What’s with all the screaming and spewing Gibberish in the name of music. There’s absolutely nothing appealing about this genre of music, also the crowd responding to this crazy Woke musical genre all need to visit Shrinks,” added another.

“That wasn’t singing, anyone can yell lyrics and get paid”, while another user said, “This was not enjoyable. And you can’t understand more than 5 percent of the lyrics. Moshing doesn’t not equal dancing,” continued a third.

READ MORE: The 51 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 2024

Others had a little more fun with the experience. One person mockingly responded in the comments, “I demand an apology. I had my face melted off and started throwing uncontrollable spin kicks in my living room. All my furniture is destroyed. I caught both my children in a wicked windmill. All in all it was a 10/10 performance but I don’t think my family trusts me anymore.”

Some fans found the backlash amusing. “The fact that this made grandmas clutch their pearls is hilarious,” noted one person. Another commented, “Knowing that this upset people so much makes it the best late night performance ever.”

While yet another person remarked, “Some kid watching this and seeing metal for the first time has found his calling.”

What Bryan Garris Said About Knocked Loose’s ‘Kimmel’ Performance

Seeing the public response to their performance and having a chance to reflect on it, Garris saw this as a victory and another checklist moment for the group.

He remarked, “For a long time now our goal has been to see how far we could squeeze this band into places where we don’t fit and I think this may be the biggest one. National television. It feels like the ceiling gets higher for EVERYONE, every single day. We celebrate this together.”

As for those who were shocked by their performance, he kept his thoughts brief – “If it scared you, good.”

Garris’ full comments on the Jimmy Kimmel Live performance can be viewed below.

You may have seen it already, you may have not. I’ve been lucky enough that my timeline is flooded with so much support that I see it every time I open my phone. But I wanted a chance to post about it myself. The other day Knocked Loose performed on @jimmykimmellive For a long time now our goal has been to see how far we could squeeze this band into places where we don’t fit and I think this may be the biggest one. National television. It feels like the ceiling gets higher for EVERYONE, every single day. We celebrate this together. Thank you so much.

Walking down the hallway as we were escorted to stage Im looking to my left and right and seeing photos of all the celebrities that have been on the show over the years. Presidents, actors, musicians etc. I leaned over to @caasihale and said “this started in your garage”. He grabbed onto me and squeezed as hard as he could. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.

PS if it scared you, good.

Knocked Loose are now on a break for the remainder of the year, but will pick back up with more crushing, energetic live shows next March in the U.K. See all of their scheduled 2025 dates both overseas and in the U.S. and get ticketing info through their website.