From every vantage point, the release of Heavener will be remembered as a personal and career-defining hour for Invent Animate.
Like a crescendo moment in their decade-long career, the record finds Marcus (vocals), Trey (drums), Keaton (guitar) and Caleb (bass) arriving at the most âInventâ place theyâve ever been. Reflected in the enthralling personal stories told through its lyrics and its elevated and experimental musicality, itâs clear that Heavener is a medium for the groupâs continued search for growth as people and creatives. Indeed, this is âthe most genuine record weâve ever made,â shares Trey.
Themes of death, delayed grief and relationship breakdowns flood the album, but moreover this is a record pinned on growth and self-acceptance. Itâs about finding the learning in the toughest of life circumstances while still allowing yourself the grace to process your pain too.
âA lot of our previous material is really grief-stricken, and I think now thereâs been a subtle shift [in Heavener] where weâre truly getting that off our chest but in a more constructive and empowering way,â explains Trey. âI personally felt like Iâd run into a bit of a wall just writing about the most dramatic or sad experiences Iâd ever had, I wanted to move on.â
âWeâve had fans respond saying that a song really connected with them and I think that reminded us thatâs we are being heardâ¦so now weâre not so much writing from a place of just purging whatâs bottled up, but wanting to demonstrate that you can work through it and move to the next level.â
Single âElysiumâ finds Marcus moving on from the death of his grandfather over a decade after the fact. Lathered in urgent and pulsing drums that whisk the listener away, its lyrics uncover him trying to comprehend his delayed mourning. âPerhaps at the time he passed I didnât want to see what was happening or I was too scared to, but I didnât feel it,â he shares. âIt took me 12 years to wake up one day and embrace it⦠this is the story of me looking back on that, searching my inner self and moving forward.â
The concept of suppressed grief carries through into the melodic âWithout A Whisperâ, penned by Keaton about his first experience confronting death with the passing of his grandmother. âIt was the first time I had to consider death and the possibility of an afterlife⦠the song is really about me expressing my hope for some kind of a heaven for her,â he explains.
Flirting between both light and heavy rock elements, âWithout A Whisperâ is a tentpole moment on Heavener both musically and thematically. Though a late addition to the tracklist, it effortlessly clicked into place as the recordâs final puzzle piece and will no doubt remain a longtime connector for its listeners.
All throughout Heavener Invent Animate demonstrate how significantly they have elevated themselves in every sense of their musicality. Each song stretches the walls of the bandâs wheelhouse out wider â from the chaotically heavy âImmolation of Nightâ, to the sparse, cinema score-like sounds on âReverieâ and dynamism of tracks like âShade Astrayâ and âPurity Weepsâ.
Self-produced in conjunction with Landon Tewers (The Plot In You), alongside mixing and mastering from Daniel Braunstein (Spiritbox, Silent Planet, Dayseeker), Heavener most notably offers a newfound strength and self-reliance in Marcusâ voice like never before.
âThereâs a confidence in his vocalsâ¦.they really hold their own and I think thatâs testament to how well Landon helped us work his voice in as an instrument and let it stand its own ground,â shares Caleb, adding: âI think what Iâm most proud of about the record is that we were able to find Invent Animateâs sound more than ever based on finding Marcusâ voice more than ever.â
INVENT ANIMATE IS:
Marcus Vik Vocals
Keaton Goldwire Guitars
Caleb Sherraden Bass
Trey Celaya Drums
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