New York metalcore band Until I Wake releases heavy and poignant new single, "Forsaken," part of their new upcoming album release Inside My Head, via Fearless Records, debuting in September.
Since 2019, Buffalo's metalcore quartet Until I Wake have been making waves in the scene. When they released their career-jump-starting self-titled EP, their aggressive guitar-driven atmosphere, raw multi-layered vocalism, and thoughtful lyricism would skyrocket them to impressive new territories in the scene.
"Our debut album, Inside My Head, is comprised of thoughts, stories, real-life experiences, and what-if scenarios that are all lyrically written by Cody. “Forsaken” is a representation of the world in a way darker place."- Ryan (Bassist)
Now the band is braving a new journey, not just with being a signed act to Fearless Records, but with an upcoming album set to make its way to our ears this September. Their new single, "Forsaken," is but a taste of their unbridled passion and new direction for their sound. Painting a moving and somber picture of a post-apocalyptic world where the world has reverted back to human sacrifice and backed by some of their heaviest instrumental material to date, this is but one of the many stories Until I Wake will share on their upcoming full-release, Inside My Head.
How did Until I Wake get started? What is the story behind your band name?
Ryan (Bassist) -“Until I Wake” was my vision of “If I could pick members from local bands in Buffalo, NY to create my All-Star lineup, who would it be?” We had already each played in bands together at some point or another over the years, but we were never all available for a project at the same time. Finally, each of the members that make up “Until I Wake” were available and felt it was time to make something BIG, it was now or never. So I got my vision of this All-Star lineup, and we ran with it.
We had a handful of band names that we were using while we were in the studio building our debut EP but none of them ever stuck. We originally went by the name Look Alive before releasing our first single or any social media pages. But the name never really resonated with anyone, so we knew we needed something that did, and eventually, Cody came up with the name, “Until I Wake”.
What are your musical influences? What inspired your latest single, "Forsaken?"
Ryan (Bassist) - We have quite a variety of musical influences from Rock and Metalcore to R&B / Hip Hop. When we wrote “Forsaken” for this debut album we knew that we wanted to stick to our roots which meant continuing to write and release more Metalcore jams.
We knew we would have a lot of our day-one fans looking for some more music like where they found us with our debut release “Sinking Under,” and we’ve always wanted to keep that Metalcore side to “Until I Wake”. So “Forsaken” being one of our favorite tracks off of the debut album fit that style. Having previously released a couple less heavy jams, we felt it was the perfect time to release it!
With the album coming soon, how was the creative process different from your self-titled 2021 EP?
Ryan (Bassist) - While we were finishing releasing the debut EP we essentially spent 2 months living at the studio working on our debut full-length album. This was way different from our EP, where we would spend a weekend and some change working on a couple of songs at a time during the EP, we would hit the studio for a handful of days, then head back home, shoot a music video or two for the songs we had written, then rinse and repeat. We were working hard and making moves fast on building our original catalog and reinforcing those songs with music videos to be released every two months or so.
The two months of writing the album were split across 2021, so when we had taken time out of the studio it was basically to shoot our music videos and to release some singles off of this debut album, which is releasing this September, with more singles being released between now and then.
"Forsaken" is a part of your upcoming album. You guys talk about a post-apocalyptic society—a wasteland in which people have reverted to old ways of human sacrifice. How does this approach to the overall message of the album as a whole?
Ryan (Bassist) - Our debut album, Inside My Head, is comprised of thoughts, stories, real-life experiences, and what-if scenarios that are all lyrically written by Cody. “Forsaken” is a representation of the world in a way darker place.
How has signing to Fearless Records changed the dynamic of the recording process? Congratulations on that by the way!
Ryan (Bassist) - Signing to Fearless Records has been the best!
Overall we’ve been able to spend more time in the studio developing the music and having more time to dive into every piece of it. Being at the studio for a longer period when working on the album only helps better the chemistry between our team to write exactly what we’re feeling.
We would have an overall idea of what we wanted to be on the record and just vibe out with our thoughts and feelings when getting into the process of creating every day just helped make everything so real and fresh. Then to take our visions and what we create and to have our label backing it with confidence in what we create has only made it feel even better to do what we love.
How has this album process helped you guys grow on a personal level as artists?
Ryan (Bassist) - The process of creating an album just made our team grow more together and become even tighter. Everyone has a better idea of how each of us works and our thought processes. As the dynamic gets tighter it becomes easier to understand the vibe and mood each of us is looking for when creating and it just makes creating music more fun & even easier.
What do you want people to take from this upcoming release?
Ryan (Bassist) - What we hope for with our debut album is that the music and meanings resonate and leave an impact on people that overall keeps them feeling connected to us for life.
You guys are touring with Crown The Empire. That's a great opportunity!
Ryan (Bassist) - We just finished up The Fallout 10-Year Anniversary Tour with Crown The Empire, and it has been one of the best experiences in our lives. Not even just as a band.
We’ve made some great friendships on this tour. We couldn’t have asked for a better second tour to be a part of.
It’s one thing to be touring with a band that we all looked up to and genuinely enjoy the music created by them, but it’s a whole other story being able to make genuine friendships with these dudes and to connect and make memories with them on such an awesome tour.
We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to tour with Crown.
What is next for you guys this year?
Ryan (Bassist) - Following the Crown The Empire tour, we are going to be consistently releasing a few more singles leading up to our debut album, “Inside My Head!”