Pride Profile: Terrance Crist

Terrance Crist is the bassist of Detroit based metal band At the Hands of Victims as well as the guitarist and voice for his solo project, Green & Alive.

Crist identifies as pansexual and agender. By definition, agender means that one identifies with no gender and/or a completely neutral gender. However, they say it’s important to note that they are still figuring out what being agender means to them.

“I’m still learning and that’s okay,” they say. “My identity is what sets me apart from anyone else. It’s what I stand for and what I live for. My values, beliefs, and practices are also a part of that, I’d say.”

Crist says that once they started being more honest with themselves, it allowed them the freedom to express themselves musically.

“The rest of the members of At the Hands of Victims have been nothing but supportive of me and all my endeavors ever since I joined the group,” they say. “I will never undervalue their support through some of my darkest times and my transition into my most authentic self.”

Crist says that when it comes to their solo project, they do their best to be supportive of themselves as well.

The past few months, Crist has been sharing cover videos on social media regularly. Their latest being a cover of “40oz” by Polyphia. In the future, they say that they would love to cover Chon’s “Checkpoint,” Paramore’s “Fake Happy” and Covet’s “Falkor.”

“Songs where the bassline carries part of the melody tend to be my favourite,” they say. “As far as for what I wouldn’t cover, I’d say country and any variation or sub-genre of that is a safe bet. ‘Spectrum’ by Zedd has been a song I’ve been wanting to cover for awhile now.”

Crist has also been writing new music for Green & Alive.

“This new stuff I’ve been writing for Green & Alive would probably be best described as earthy with hints of melodic dissonance,” they say. “It will be instrumental, closest to the progressive rock/post-hardcore genres. Not sure about timeline in terms of release anymore but I am excited to show everyone what I’ve been working on, nonetheless.”

When it comes to influences, their writing is influenced by La Dispute, Invent Animate, and Covet for both Green & Alive as well as At the Hands of Victims.

“They all have such a dynamic sound and it creates an emotional undertone for me,” Crist says. “Dan Briggs from Between the Buried and Me, Eli Sleeker from Boys of Fall, and Tom Doyle from Don Broco influence my play style the most. They are all fantastic musicians and have such a monstrous tone!”

“I’d love to collab with Tim Henson from Polyphia,” they say. “He has such a unique, creative style and I think it would be rewarding to work directly with him.”

Crist also notes that he looks to fellow LGBTQ+ artists for inspiration including  Lynn Gunn, Tyler Carter, Sam Smith, Hayley Williams, Matt Healy, and Janelle Monáe.

Crist says that being in a metal band often presents misconceptions about his identity. They say people will use he/him pronouns upon meeting them, and will often forget when they see Crist later on.

“People assume I’m goth most of the time when they see my nails or my makeup, and I’m just trying to be more female presenting,” Crist says.

“A very small percentage of me resonates with being assigned male at birth and after I accepted that, I’ve been a lot happier ever since,” they say. “At the same time, those who respect that I’m non-binary, do a wonderful job at being informative to others and using my pronouns when I’m not around. It means the world to me when people remember or correct themselves because it makes me feel seen and validated. I’ll never undervalue that.”