Dinosaur Pile-Up’s return isn’t just about music. It’s about life, after coming frighteningly close to losing it.

In the ever-turning world of rock music, some stories get buried beneath the noise. But every so often, a band resurfaces with something more than just a new track — they bring with them scars, growth, and a defiance shaped by what they’ve lived through.

After six years in the shadows, the Leeds-based trio has re-emerged, led by frontman Matt Bigland, whose journey from the brink of death back to the stage is equal parts harrowing and inspiring. With the blistering new single “‘Bout To Lose It” and a fresh record deal with Mascot Records, the band reclaims their space in the alt-rock arena — but with a story that runs far deeper than just a comeback.

From Stadiums to Silence: The Collapse Behind the Curtain

For most fans, the last real moment of Dinosaur Pile-Up’s momentum came around the release of Celebrity Mansions in 2019 — a record that felt like their defining moment. After a decade of grinding in the UK’s alternative rock scene, it seemed the band was finally hitting their stride. The album’s success landed them on bills alongside Shinedown, The Offspring, and Sum 41. Big-name tours. We were also hugely excited to have them booked to perform as a headliner at our very own Primordial General Mayhem Festival. Everything pointed skyward.

But while the crowds were roaring, behind the scenes, reality was far from triumphant.

Health began to crumble. Matt Bigland was dealing with undiagnosed ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition that took a violent turn in early 2021. “You think you’re halfway through life, but then you realise you might be right at the end” he later recalled. That wasn’t abstract — it was survival. His time in the hospital included nights among the dying. Out of six patients in his ward during a critical hospital stay, three didn’t make it.

At times, even talking was off the table. Sores filled his mouth. He was isolated, depleted, and for a while, completely disconnected from the outside world. Social media went quiet. The band, at its peak, simply vanished. It wasn’t a marketing hiatus — it was life taking the wheel.

People don’t relate things like health crises with being a dude in a band. At my lowest point, I couldn’t have felt further from being that dude onstage playing to a big crowd.

– Matt Bigland

The juxtaposition between the image of a high-energy rock frontman and the stark, intimate reality of being physically broken was hard to rationalise. During this time, he defaulted to a simple, bitterly ironic response whenever someone asked how he was doing: “I’ve felt better…”

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