New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ ABC PR) DEVOUR THE DAY (@devourtheday) was born from the brain trust of former Egypt Central members Joey "
Chicago" Walser (bass, backing vocals, songwriter) and
Blake Allison, who steps out from behind the drum kit to sing lead vocals and play guitar, in addition to being a producer and co-songwriter. Their debut album, TIME & PRESSURE, will be released May 7 on Fat Lady Music. A video teaser for the album can be seen on the band's official YouTube page: https://bit.ly/16caHCM.
"
Good Man" is the explosive first single, which will be serviced to radio March 29 (which happens to be Good Friday) and will be available for download at online retail outlets April 2. It conveys redemption and humility while bearing the questions, "Am I too far gone?" or "Am I even worth saving?"
"Pull me from the darkness, lift me back into the light
Fill this empty vessel, fill this hole I have inside
Am I worth forgiveness, I can't make myself believe
Show me that you're listening, and tear this devil out of me"
For the album and single cover artwork, DEVOUR THE DAY combed the web looking for a piece of art that spoke to them, and they found it on the website of an artist living thousands of miles away. As Walser explains, "Blake and I were looking for images that fit our new sound and, as a band, that we can grow with. I came across an artist by the name of Dmitry Ligay from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It was unbelievable that from halfway around the world, this guy's work was speaking to me. It had all the emotion, pain, love that I was looking for and it was staring me right in the face. We corresponded through e-mails and I sent him the songs. We wear the images that he came up with as a badge of honor!"
TIME & PRESSURE is filled with the distinctive Egypt Central heavy beats and guitar riffs that fans know and love them for (their self-titled and WHITE RABBIT albums spawned the Top 15 Active Rock hits "
You Make Me Sick" and "White Rabbit," respectively), which are now a key element of DEVOUR THE DAY's true core. They're the driving force of such songs as "Get Out Of My Way," "Blackout," and "Respect." This powerful wall of sound embodies the perseverance of these two artists, no matter the circumstances.
"Sometimes you need to take a step back and regroup before you can move forward," says Walser. "Blake and I have been working together as Egypt Central for over a decade, and we felt it was time to put that portion of our life on hiatus and create music truer to our influences. Our day-to-day experiences, personal and professional struggles, and relationships have molded the music of DEVOUR THE DAY, and we entered the writing process 100% committed to delivering those truths. We make a conscious effort to leave our songs open to interpretation. There is nothing more gratifying than when a fan explains how our songs helped him or her through something. It's humbling."
"The process of writing this record was something totally different than what we had done before," continues Allison. "The pressure was enormous, and we felt that every decision we made needed to be the right one. There was no room for mistakes. But when those choices were made, it felt like the weight we had been carrying became lighter brick by brick."
During Egypt Central's hiatus in 2012, the duo wrote and recorded the first batch of demos at Walser's home in
Little Rock, AR which would eventually turn into TIME & PRESSURE. They put the finishing touches on the album at Sound Kitchen studio in Nashville.
"It was empowering to discover what Joey and I were capable of on our own,"
Allison declares. "We did all the tracking in Joey's living room and put ourselves in a great position prior to entering the studio. Once we were there, we focused primarily on adding the layers necessary to bring our music to a new level."
In touring news, dates for the band's live debut are being confirmed and will be announced in the coming weeks. Joining
Allison and Walser on the road will be Bury Your Dead (@BuryYourDead)/Walls of Jericho drummer
Dustin Schoenhofer and former Egypt Central guitarist Jeff James.
"We always love coming back to the cities that have embraced us in the past," declares Walser. "We can't wait to reconnect with our old fans and meet some new ones. Most importantly, we're excited to see where this journey takes us. This is an incredible opportunity for
Blake and me, and the sky is the limit."
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