Wilted Cabbage is an experimental rock and metal band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The group formed out of a loose jam project between Gavin Haslett (guitar, vocals), Davis Swetmon (drums), and Paul Venditti Kramer (bass), but it became something more defined once Alexander Hanline joined on guitar and vocals, and shortly after, Matty Mabry stepped in on bass. The “true” Wilted Cabbage grew out of Gavin, Alex, and Davis’s vision, while Matty’s early contributions helped solidify the sound and energy of the band. Matty, the original bassist, helped shape the foundation of the early sound; Paul joined later, bringing his own approach. Their very first performance was a school show where they started off early on playing covers and such. The band quickly became dried out of will to play, causing even Davis to vocalize quitting the band. They decided to start to try writing music, marking the beginning of a path that would quickly veer into heavier, stranger, and more ambitious directions.
Every member of Wilted Cabbage brings a different background and obsession, and the result is a sound that doesn’t fall neatly into one category. Davis comes from a foundation of marching band and indoor drumline, but his real passion lies with fusion jazz and the groove-based worlds of 70s and 80s funk and Japanese city pop. He approaches the drums as both a precision instrument and a way to unlock energy, flow, and focus in every song. Paul, in contrast, is always looking to jam. His bass lines are built to move people physically, searching out riffs that lock the band together and hit with the kind of weight that can only come from chasing the perfect groove. Alex is the band’s bridge between atmosphere and heaviness. His love of shoegaze and dreamy textures threads through much of the music, but he was also the one to bring sludge and doom metal into the fold, steering the group toward longer, heavier, and slower explorations. He also carries a softer side, with a love for folk and singer-songwriter traditions that balances out the intensity. Gavin creatively channels his blues background into expansive, atmospheric instrumentation and vocals that can shift from delicate to intense drawn-out screaming. His role often leans toward the cinematic, creating big, booming sounds, but he also has a deep love of improvisation and raw jamming. Both Gavin and Alex, being poets in their own time, bring two very unique styles to the band’s lyricism.
Put together, Wilted Cabbage is very much not a band built on one genre, but rather a collision of influences that create something raw, human, and unpredictable. Their sound reaches from delicate and ambient passages to massive, distorted walls of sound, music that can be both punishingly heavy, quietly reflective, or even get you to dance within the same breath.
The band’s upcoming triple album, set for release in late 2025, represents their most ambitious step forward. The record doesn’t follow a strict storyline, but instead uses a loose concept as a framework: the decline of the human condition. The songs move through phases, chaos, mortality, and the afterlife, tracing a journey from human activity and sin to death to a kind of judgment beyond. It isn’t meant to be read as a plot or tied to a single character; the concept is a lens. Each track stands on its own, but together they form a meditation on existence, destruction, and transcendence.
Live, Wilted Cabbage is constantly evolving. The band experiments with every detail of performance, from walk-on music and projections to planned transitions between songs. Their goal isn’t just to play a set, but to create an environment that feels immersive and intentional, where every part of the show connects. They see their live work as a continuation of their writing. It’s experimental and always developing, with the goal of pulling the audience deeper into their world.
With roots in underground Atlanta shows and a strong D.I.Y. spirit, Wilted Cabbage is moving toward their first tours and wider releases. What began as a jam has grown into a collective voice shaped by obsession, experimentation, and a refusal to stay within one lane. Wilted Cabbage isn’t about a single sound or story; it’s about chasing what feels alive, in all its heaviness, strangeness, and possibility.
Wilted Cabbage Band 