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The Word Alive frontman Telle Smith guides us through the making of the band’s seventh studio album, ‘Hard Reset’, out August 25 via Thriller Records.
Plus, we have teamed up with the band to bring you this exclusive ‘New Reality’ t-shirt design, delivered worldwide.
It’s available now from SHOP.ROCKSOUND.TV or by clicking the image above.
Read The Word Alive, ‘Hard Reset’ | The Album Story below:
(Hit View Fullscreen for digital feature or scroll down for text only version)
TEXT ONLY VERSION BELOW:
The Word Alive is dead. That is the bold statement with which the band chose to open their seventh studio album, ‘Hard Reset’, their first full-length release in over three years. An atmospheric curtain-raiser, it sets the tone of the record, perfectly illustrating that this is a band reborn.
“That concept is something that you see on YouTube and you see in the comments as people try to use their band’s name against them at some point” explains frontman Telle Smith. “If you’ve lasted long enough, some troll has said something. So I always thought in the back of my mind that I wanted to use that one day.”
Telle guides us through the writing process behind ‘Hard Reset’, from collaborating with friends old and new to mixing together all of their past sounds and influences into one cohesive package.
The Word Alive is dead. Long live The Word Alive.
THE SOUND
When work began on ‘Hard Reset’, one single aim was immediately clear – they wanted to put every side of the band that you have ever heard into this one record.
“With a band like ours, one thing that people have loved or maybe hated is that we didn’t stick to only one lane” says Telle. “We’ve had a lot of experimentation throughout our career. With this record though, I knew we were going to be dropping it 15 years into a career. It was the longest we had taken to make a record, we’d had a lineup change and we were coming out of the world shutting down. So I’d had a lot of time to reflect on what I wanted this record to be.”
“It was the perfect opportunity to showcase all the things we love about our band and the things that have connected with our fans the most and try to bring that into one album. And even into one song at some points.”
Mixing elements of post-hardcore and metalcore with more ambient, experimental moments, the album manages to capture everything you have enjoyed about the band’s previous decade and a half of music. Yet, by bringing it all together, it feels like a new start, a new beginning – maybe even a new band.
“It’s very much based on the idea of starting over and acknowledging that The World Alive you knew is gone” Telle explains. “It’s kind of like life – when you start a new job or enter into a new relationship. You take everything you learned previously. You have grown, hopefully, and now you are entering this new version of your life, of yourself.”
This attitude also allowed the band to push against any idea of nostalgia or comfort zones, still being able to acknowledge and celebrate the past but without wallowing in it.
“It’s important what we sing about because we know it is going to be consumed by hundreds of thousands of people. To start with a clean slate – that is what this album is for us.”
THE COLLABORATIONS
With the unexpected gift of time on their side, The World Alive were able to do something they have never done before – slow down. And much like the rest of us, that moment of pause and reflection led to some adjustments in people’s priorities, resulting in a change in the band lineup (drummer Matt Horn and guitarist Tony Pizzuti moved on from the band, with Telle and guitarist Zack Hansen continuing to work on new music).
“We want everyone to chase their dreams and push for what they want most in life” Telle explains. “It was probably the best thing that could have happened to The Word Alive because if we had just kept going as is, we probably would have just broken up because nobody wanted to let the other person down.”
“We’re all still friends, we all still talk. You can’t just wipe out decades worth of relationships just because you want to try different things.”
Refocused, the band knew that ‘Hard Reset’ would always be a collaborative record, bringing in a mix of old friends and newer talent that had inspired them.
Escape The Fate’s Craig Mabbitt was the first person Telle called. “Obviously we have history between our bands and we have known each other for now 15 years. So he was one of the first people, if not the first, that I hit up. Both of us have talked about it a million times and it just never worked out or wasn’t the right song.”
“I wanted a song with Craig that was heavier. I wanted fans to hear that side of both of us – where we both sing and we both scream. That was really important to me.”
Elsewhere, Normandie’s Philip Strand bring a confidence to his vocal on ‘A New Empty’ and Loveless’ Julian Comeau joins the band on ‘Hate Me’ after Telle heard their music online and was impressed by his voice.
But perhaps the most talked about collaboration is with Bad Omens, Noah Sebastian being an old friend of the band, even co-writing two further songs that are yet to be released. He added additional production to ‘One Of Us’, helping to further solidify their obvious musical connection.
“I love Noah’s voice, singing and screaming. Obviously Bad Omens right now are not only one of the hottest bands in the world but they are transcending to a world where we normally don’t get accepted. I think it is opening a lot of doors for the scene as a whole. It’s bringing in an influx of new fandom.”
“Out of all the features, it captures the most of both bands in one song.”
THE LYRICS
“With my age and just having a little more perspective – some days it might sound like wisdom, some days like nonsense, but it feels like I’ve lived enough, I’ve seen enough, I’ve experienced enough that I can say ‘what do I want to leave the world with?’”
As the wider world became darker around him, Telle channeled that anger into his lyrics, allowing his frustration to fuel him. Themes of destruction and a need to rebuild can certainly be heard within the album’s title track.
Grief proved to be another overriding theme – the feeling of “being caught in an undertow – you think you are getting out and then it just pulls you back in.” Lyric writing subsequently evolved into what Tells describes as a “purge” of all the bad things in life and the world, finding hope in the honesty.
“What kind of world are we gonna leave for the generations to come? I think I just felt this calling to be more transparent and real about my thoughts on the way of the world.”
THE ARTWORK
The single artwork for ‘Nocturnal Future’ featured a face as viewed in a smashed mirror, with the song title presented in a hot pink font. It was certainly a striking image but to Telle, it did not feel quite the right style for the album as a whole. He knew they needed something more digital-orientated to match the modern, fresh take on their sound.
After reaching out to friends for recommendations, he connected with visual artist Matt Collamore who took the concept of the record and created the image of a man in a mask, floating above the flames – a nod to the masked man on the cover of debut album ‘Deceiver’.
“I knew I wanted to connect where we started to where we are now, visually” explains Telle, with the character ultimately representing the band themselves – still rising above the destruction, standing strong after 15 years.
THE TITLE
Although the theme of the record was in place, Telle struggled when it came to choosing a title, eventually stumbling upon the name in a conversation with a friend at a party.
“I wanted it to be concise but I don’t want it to say ‘rebirth’…It just felt perfect, it described everything. It wasn’t too hyper-poetic, it was just very straightforward.”
“We had to unplug to plug back in and work together more efficiently. Sometimes you need to go to sleep and tomorrow is a new days. You have to embrace that sometimes the best thing you can do is completely shut down, completely stop and evaluate where you are at.”
THE FUTURE
“Fans dictate what happens. Ultimately music is about connection and it is subjective.”
Although proud of what he and his bandmates have achieved, Telle is aware that he cannot fully control what happens next. Nonetheless, he is excited by the current state of the scene.
“There’s so much magic happening in music right now, and in heavy music in particular, where you can have more experimentation than was maybe allowed years ago.”
With his full life experience out there on the record, he now hopes that fans can find that vital connection with his words and music. Regardless, this is a band rejuvenated, ready to take on the world once again.
“That’s the fun of putting out this record – the sky is the limit. There is no ceiling.”
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