Brian Cottrill Calls Out Division and Hypocrisy on New Single No More

Brian Cottrill isn’t new to the game. With eight critically acclaimed albums behind him through The Grey Agents, Dream Trippers, Drain Babies, and as a solo artist, he’s spent decades sharpening his voice as one of West Virginia’s most vital storytellers. Now he’s turning that voice into a battle cry with his new single No More.

Featuring Seth Maynard on lead guitar, Dilip Chandran on bass, and Cottrill’s own daughter Hannah on drums and vocals, No More is as much a family affair as it is a protest anthem. The track fuses sharp rock grit with raw lyricism, confronting an America that Cottrill believes has lost its way.

“I wrote this song about how my dad was a factory worker,” Cottrill shares. “He and my mom took us to church and taught us to love our neighbor, help the poor, and feed the hungry. But that seems lost in today’s America.”

That frustration comes alive in both the music and the visuals. The video was filmed in front of an abandoned glass factory in Clarksburg, West Virginia, one of the same factories where Cottrill’s father once worked. His dad wore a back brace, struggled to get in and out of chairs, yet still showed up day after day to provide for his family. That legacy of resilience, and Cottrill’s anger at how far America has drifted from those values, fuels every note of No More.

The message is clear: Cottrill is done watching hate and division take center stage. With Seth Maynard’s blistering guitar work elevating the track, No More becomes both a deeply personal story and a universal call to action.

“No matter how bad my dad was hurt, he kept going to work and supporting the family,” Cottrill says. “This song shows my outrage about how a lot of Americans are focused on hating people who are different from themselves.”

No More isn’t just music. It’s a protest. It’s history. It’s the sound of someone demanding better, not just for themselves but for all of us.

No More is rooted in your dad’s story as a factory worker and the values he instilled in you. What do you think he’d say if he heard this song today?

Although we lost my mom in May, my dad is still kicking at 85, and he did get to hear the song. He said that he liked that we shot the video in front of the old glass factory. He has always been very complimentary of my songs and talks about how much he loves them. Although he keeps harassing me to play country music. [laughs]

The music video was filmed at the abandoned glass factory where your father once worked—what was it like standing in that space decades later and channeling it into the performance? 

My dad was part of a generation that worked very hard and didn’t complain much. He was still working and didn’t retire until he was 74 years old. It’s really sad to see these factories go out of business. When they were active, one person could support their entire family on a single income, afford a house and a car, and pay all the bills. Unfortunately, big corporations profit more from these factories than their workers, leaving behind an ecological disaster in the cities where they are located, which never get cleaned up. This song was about the working class of yesterday, their moral values, and how I was raised. And also about how much of that seems lost in today’s America. 

You’ve said America has lost its way when it comes to loving your neighbor and helping the poor. What specific moment or shift pushed you to finally say “enough” and write this track?

Today, many Americans are trying to figure out who to blame for their problems. Apparently, the rich have decided to blame the poor for their own lack of wealth. And the rich have told the middle class that immigrants and people who are different from them are the ones to blame for their problems, and they fell for that lie.  There are no billionaires out there who are really concerned about helping the working man. 

Having Seth Maynard, Dilip Chandran, and your daughter, Hannah, on this song makes it feel like both a protest and a family legacy. How did that dynamic shape the energy of the recording?  

I was thrilled to have Seth Maynard play on the song and appear in the video. Seth is extremely talented and really lifted the song to another level.  He doesn’t just feed off the music; he picks up on the lyrics, mood, and energy, and creates parts to amplify that. Hannah has been playing drums and singing harmony vocals on this whole group of singles that I have been releasing.  None of these songs would be possible without her talent. They are all based on my outrage for what is going on in the world. And Dilip is an old friend and bandmate, and we reconnected at my mother’s funeral, and it’s really nice to be working with him again. He is a nonstop outpouring of positive vibes that makes everyone around him feel better. 

You’ve put out eight albums across multiple bands and solo projects. Where does No More sit in your catalog—do you see it as a continuation, or a line in the sand for a new chapter?

I’m not sure. I just get inspired to write new songs and make new music, and I have the luxury of being able to release whatever has piqued my interest at the time. I didn’t have enough of these songs about rage to make an album right now. And it appears as though the world doesn’t care about albums anymore. So I’m just releasing a series of singles. This is the third in the series, and there is another one coming; they all have strong social commentary. Usually, after I write some songs that are about social issues, my brain leaves that space for a while when I go back to writing some other type of song.