By this time, the group had expanded to include lead guitarist Shawn Willett and vocalist Steven Jodway. Soon the band was playing in and around the mid-Michigan area, and in 2015, they issued an eponymous six-song EP. The core members of the group were rhythm guitarist Matt Martin, drummer Mike Martin, and bassist Corey Smith.

State of Mine was formed in 2010 in Laingsburg, Michigan, a town northeast of Lansing, the state's capitol. In 2021, they topped the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart twice, first with a cover of Garth Brooks' 'The Thunder Rolls' followed by a cover Blake Shelton's 'God's Country.' Their 2016 EP Devil in Disguise showed off the group's dark but anthemic nature, while 2020's Seeing Red was a harder-edged and studio-savvy effort.

Their approach is informed by the alternative metal movement of the 1990s, with aggressive rhythms, raw guitar sounds, and occasional hip-hop production elements, though their lyrical sensibility is rooted in the trials and tribulations of everyday life.

Playing tough, no-nonsense heavy metal with a hard-working Midwestern sensibility, State of Mine first rose to fame by bringing out the louder side of songs popularized by Garth Brooks, Katy Perry, and Rascal Flatts.

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