Stockholm heavyweights Awake The Dreamer rebuild their sound and return with moving and colossal single "Alone" via Arising Empire.
When looking back at the nostalgic beginnings of Stockholm's post-hardcore/metalcore band, Awake The Dreamer, their creative past goes back to 2015. Their high school dreams of making it as a band seemed like all but a distant fantasy but becoming successful in the industry burned within their bellies.
“I (Max Andrén) think many people have experienced a situation where they have said or heard something incredibly hurtful to or from someone close. Having (BenjaminTuresson)experience many terrible things said to him by other people, I didn’t expect to hear those things. I was shocked, horrified, and disgusted. One day, I realized that I had committed the same act. I detested this. As the words came out of my mouth, I remember it feeling like I was flying outside of my own body and telling myself to stop, but I couldn’t, hence where the chorus came from.”
The band would drop their first 2016 Glow EP, followed by their 2019 album Damaged Souls. This would show an intense showcase of vocal cadence, fierce breakdowns, massive guitar riffs, and robust percussive energy that would grant them tours alongside bands like Ice Nine Kills, Northlane, Adept, and Crystal Lake while garnering them insane attention throughout the scene.
After taking time off to focus on merging a new sound while keeping in strides with their original, Awake The Dreamer brings their new emotionally towering single "Alone." While "Alone" is just the beginning of another exciting chapter for the band, it seems like the future holds bright this year for the thriving metalcore heavyweights.
What started Awake The Dreamer? What is the story behind the band name?
It all started when Fabian and Max wanted to create music together and form a band. Alex and Oscar joined shortly after, and we all thought of a name. The name came from our goals and dreams, which became ”Awake The Dreamer”. Benjamin joined the band in 2017, and Victor joined in 2022!
You guys fall under a melodic post-hardcore/metalcore sound, but bands or artists' influences helped shape your sound and single, "Alone?"
At the moment, we do fall under a metalcore/ post-hardcore genre which is inspired by a ton of different artists! A few obvious ones are Architects, Bring Me The Horizon, and Kingdom of Giants, but we’re also inspired a lot by other artists such as Biffy Clyro, Charlie Puth, and Jon Bellion! We think it’s important to appreciate lots of different genres and songwriting techniques and try to incorporate them in a way that’s new, fresh, and different!
How has this creative process been different from working on your EP Grow and 2019 album Damaged Souls? How has this current process made you progress within your music as an artist?
We thoroughly enjoy working as a group! We want to make sure that everyone has had their say and that everyone is happy and content with the music that we release! I think now more than ever, we’re really working as one unit to create the best possible music, trying to bring out the best sides of each other in a way we haven’t done before!
Where is your new single "Alone" coming from lyrically? You guys took some time off to figure out your sound and where you wanted to go, and it shows with this new song. Also, going through the pandemic, you wanted to have certain things put together as far as an album after touring, and certain members had already left the band. That's a lot to go through all at once. Is that fair to say?
Lyrically, the song is very special. It’s almost like an entry from a diary! "Alone" is about being careful about what you say and using caution: How we express ourselves! It’s about how those words can be extremely painful and traumatizing. I Max Andrén) think many people have experienced a situation where they have said or heard something incredibly hurtful to or from someone close. Having (BenjaminTuresson) experience many terrible things said to him by other people, I didn’t expect to hear those things. I was shocked, horrified, and disgusted. One day, I realized that I had committed the same act. I detested this. As the words came out of my mouth, I remember it feeling like I was flying outside of my own body and telling myself to stop, but I couldn’t, hence where the chorus came from.
“Have you ever flown outside yourself, to realize you’re alone and there’s no one left”
We went through an incredibly rough period! The pandemic, as it did with most of the world, affected us horribly! All sorts of factors impacted us which delayed our progress. Two of our band members wanted to focus on other projects, which we respect 100%! This took us a massive step back. However, this step back made us analyze, reassemble, and recreate ourselves as a band! Oscar and Fabian were important members, which meant when they left, we questioned our future, but we’re confident that we are back, stronger, and more ready than ever! Victor (our new guitarist) is an amazing asset to our team, and we’re very excited about the future!
Can we say that "Alone" is a part of an upcoming work? Am I allowed to ask, haha?
We don’t want to express too much, but "Alone" is just the beginning!
What is next for you guys this year?
As for what’s next this year, I think we want to keep that a bit of a secret, but we are extremely excited, to say the least. As we said before, we’re back!
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