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Punk stalwarts SILVERSTEIN will release their new album, “Misery Made Me”, on May 6 via UNFD on CD, vinyl and digital formats. It was produced by Sam Guaiana at Jukasa Studios in rural Ontario, Canada and features guests Andrew Neufeld of COMEBACK KID on “Die Alone”, singer/songwriter Trevor Daniel on “Cold Blood”, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA‘s Mike Hranica on “Slow Motion” and nothing,nowhere. on “Live Like This”.
Filled with moments of relentless energy throwing back to their punk and hardcore roots to visionary moments of modern heavy, “Misery Made Me” fastens SILVERSTEIN‘s status as torchbearers of the scene on all fronts. It’s both intriguing and inspiring that a band — who could have merely rested on the impressive legacy they’ve already cemented — would continue to dig deep and find the inspiration to reach people in meaningful new ways.
Few bands on their 22nd lap around the scene could claim to be in “just getting started” mode as much as SILVERSTEIN. “Misery Made Me” finds the group spring-boarding off the heights they’ve reached over the past handful of years; their latest album (2020’s “A Beautiful Place To Drown”) adding 80 million streams to a mind-numbing career total of 500 million; it collecting a nomination for “Rock Album Of The Year” at the esteemed JUNO Awards.
SILVERSTEIN vocalist Shane Told states: “For the first time in our career, we truly put it all out there. We went into this with no rules and no preconceived notions of what SILVERSTEIN is or what it could be. The results are bold. We somehow wrote the heaviest, saddest, catchiest, and most emotional songs in 22 years of being a band … all on the same album.
The album’s lead single, “Ultraviolet”, is about feeling powerless and under the control of the chemicals in your brain, and it dives deep into feelings of desperation, describing the utter helplessness of losing control to anxiety. Guitarist Paul Marc explains: “‘Ultraviolet’ being invisible felt like the right way to describe it — to get lost in this unseeable thing. ‘Ultraviolet’ light also causes physical damage to our skin, so it serves as a sort of ‘proof’ that something invisible like anxiety can hurt us.”
“Ultraviolet” is available to stream today via UNFD and in Canada via SILVERSTEIN‘s own label, NSEW Recordings, alongside a striking video directed by Wyatt Clough.
Ironically, amid all the positivity and connectivity injected into the creation of “Misery Made Me”, there comes a dark set of themes underpinning the album, as its title might suggest. The album is a depiction of SILVERSTEIN‘s — and the world at large’s — collective turmoil, frustration, and anxiety.
Says Told: “I wanted to explore the meaning of ‘misery’ as a main theme throughout the album. Despite the mountains climbed and boulders pushed during recent years, we were confronted by the weight and misery of staying relatively in the same place for a long period of time. Finding peace in the reality of this misery became important. The record is about the acceptance of a new reality and adapting to it.”
Ultimately, “Misery Made Me” finds the band trying to navigate the ever-worsening challenges of our modern world — angst, doom scrolling, and disassociation. It’s a record that is a product of the moment in time in which it was created yet doesn’t feel like it will date itself anytime soon, as many of its topics of loneliness, anxiety and isolation are eternal human struggles.
Exemplified by the anthemic opener “Our Song”, “Misery Made Me” is part acceptance of the band’s personal miseries, and part declaration that they will not be buried by them. At the back end of the record lies “Live Like This” (featuring nothing,nowhere.) and arguably its most bleak and haunting lyric: I don’t want to die, but I can’t live like this.
“Misery Made Me” is a campaign hinged on SILVERSTEIN‘s reflection and gratitude for their roots, their honoring of their earliest fans, and their staunch desire to explore forward-thinking and adventurous ways to connect with new ones.
“Misery Made Me” track listing:
01. Our Song
02. Die Alone (ft. Andrew Neufeld)
03. Ultraviolet
04. Cold Blood (ft. Trevor Daniel)
05. It’s Over
06. The Altar / Mary
07. Slow Motion (ft. Mike Hranica)
08. Don’t Wait Up
09. Bankrupt
10. Live Like This (ft. nothing,nowhere.)
11. Misery
SILVERSTEIN will hit the road in support of “Misery Made Me” on March 26. The run includes spring U.S. dates with BEARTOOTH, a European summer leg and fall performances at When We Were Young festival and the Emo’s Not Dead cruise.
