Silent Planet vocalist Garrett Russell talks about their new gloriously heavy single "Signal," their upcoming album, and what has driven them creatively over the years.
Since 2009, metalcore band Silent Planet has never been an act that has trodden the path of others. When many others conformed to the status quo of formulaic compositions in the genre to stay afloat, Silent Planet always forged another path, despite the risks that came with it. The band is excited about the future now more than ever. Not just because of the rich history that surrounds such metalcore visionaries, but because of what has manifested to get to this point in their auspicious careers.
"We have to fight tooth and nail to make it happen. We sleep in Walmart parking lots and in vans, we don't do busses, or anything like that. We still have a lot of DIY to us. We do stuff ourselves overwhelmingly. The gift of not having all those things, challenges us not to be comfortable. -Garrett Russell (Vocalist)
"We are pretty excited," exclaims vocalist Garrett Russel. "Without divulging too much content, we have a lot of things planned for this new album. It's kind of unorthodox. Songs as well as additional resources that are not really songs, more like literary experiences. We have a lot of stuff planned for this release that we are working on right now. Sonically, we have found our footing in a way. It's been a long time... honestly, I don't think we've ever had a clear vision of where we wanted to go as a band at this point until now. So it's very exciting. Executing it is the challenge, but we are all as a band on the same page more now than we have ever been. I'm thankful for that. We don't make a lot of money. We aren't super popular. But what we do have is tight-knit comradery. We really do believe we are writing the best music we have ever written."
Silent Planet's latest effort, Irridescent, took us on a rollercoaster of instrumental whirlwinds and intense lyrical moods. One of their prime efforts from beginning to end, Silent Planet took the themes of despair and hopelessness and arranged them into one of the most phenomenal returns of 2021. While naked honesty is something that is not uncharted territory for Silent Planet, the creative process for this album was far more different than even that of its current predecessor.
"This process has been very different from Irridescent," examines Russell. "We kind of explained our vision to the producer we are working with now. His name is Daniel Braunstein, and you know, he works with Spiritbox as well as a lot of other bands. He understands the vision of where we want to go with it and is supportive of it. I feel like this is a mixture of us and Daniel's strong vision for it. He's been very helpful through the writing process, even guiding me vocally throughout that process. What we are writing is a completely different genre of music. Not just instrumentally, but lyrically as well. I came across some stuff that was horrifying to read. I had some information that was sent to me about some government coverup and a bunch of other crazy stuff that happened in the 90s. I decided to write this album about it. Usually, lyrics cover a lot of different topics. This is going to be one continuous story. As it all unfolds, I'm going to slowly give people access to the backstory of it. They will be able to get a more in-depth experience from it than the lyrics. Lyrics can only go so far, and that's so limiting. But people will receive more information about what this story really is. "
With their new single "Signal" being the teaser to this paranormal story as it unfolds, vocalist Garrett Russell says this is only the beginning of something bigger within the storyline
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"Consider this the first chapter," laughs Russell. "There will be a lot more other chapters to come. But this is the best way to put it. "
While both Irridescent and the upcoming album are two different breeds within the band's career, Russell has gone through an evolved sense of growth with each that he hopes listeners take from both releases as well.
"The fabric of reality is an illusion," replies Russell. "I am no authority on this specifically, but there is a lot more consciousness in our universe, or multiverse if you will. There are so many forms, layers, and different dimensions of consciousness that we are only now starting to explore. Some of which have only been uncovered to us now as humans. This particular incident made me pause and call into question what I thought was normal and possible, or even probable. If there is something I wanted listeners to take from this experience, I think that would be it. "
Throughout their career, Silent Planet has always been grateful for the opportunities given to them. While the road has certainly not been an easy one, the gift of uncomfortably has challenged them to be innovative and go the extra mile within their music.
"I'm really excited to share this new chapter with folks," Russell says. "I sometimes wish we were as popular as A Day To Remember or a lot of other mainstream bands, or as wealthy as Bring Me The Horizon, or other bands within our genre that are the most commercially successful. It would be really cool to have that comfort. But one thing that I realized that my path has been teaching me is that despite not having those creature comforts, is that there is always a gift implicit in the process and the pain. We are so privileged to be able to make music for a living. It is a very humble living. It's not like any of us own a home or are even close to that. Honestly, that doesn't make us any different from anyone else in this timeframe we are living in. It's definitely a struggle. We have to fight tooth and nail to make it happen. We sleep in Walmart parking lots and in vans, we don't do busses, or anything like that. We still have a lot of DIY to us. We do stuff ourselves overwhelmingly. The gift of not having all those things, challenges us not to be comfortable. Some band's can get away with doing the same records over and over again, different songs, yes, but there is no push to innovate. We have this interesting opportunity where we make just enough for over ten years now where we can hone our craft, but still have that hunger to push the envelope. Not having everything figured out is what makes this possible."