Blessthefall have returned with their first album in seven years, ‘GALLOWS’, a record that defines the most fun and furious aspects of the band in screaming colour. It is a culmination of everything that has come before and everything that is still to go for a band ingrained in the DNA of modern metalcore, and it finds them in seriously savage form.

Rock Sound sat down with frontman Beau Bokan for a chat about the ups and downs of the last few years, and what it means to have been able to return to the fold in such a special way.

Rock Sound: What does it mean to be at this place, where a body of work is now out in the world?

BB: This feels like the official return, you know? When you put a record out, I think that’s when things really start to happen. We’ve been back for a couple of years, touring here and there and doing festivals, but when you then have something truly fresh out into the world, that’s when it feels real. It’s been seven years since ‘Hard Feelings’, and so much has happened in that time.

RS: And ‘Hard Feelings’ felt like a real bow being tied on top of things as you stepped away. How do you reflect on how you felt around that time compared to how you feel now?

BB: It’s interesting that you ask that. I’m definitely in a different place in my life. We are all as a band. On ‘Hard Feelings’, we had our kid in the studio; she even sang a bit on the last song ‘Welcome Home’, and with that, it felt like it was the previous record we did, then that’s pretty cool. What a way to end it. I definitely had that thought in mind. I didn’t know if I could keep on touring and be away from the family so much anymore. It was just hard to be on the road so much, and having them in the studio felt so cool. I wanted to be around them and be the dad and husband I could be. So, my headspace was definitely more okay if things were going to be winding down. I think a lot of people don’t realise how heavy touring can be on them until it’s too late, and a spiral into depression can happen.

So, we felt like taking a break and seeing what happened, but then the pandemic occurred, and we realised that the break was now completely forced. But then with this record, it’s been years of slowly working at it whenever we feel like. That’s made me want it that little bit more, because all of a sudden you aren’t owing it to anybody. There are no expectations or deadlines, so it becomes more fun. It’s less of a job and more of a hobby, which is why you started a band in the first place. It also made us all appreciate it a bit more, too. And then seeing all of the forums and people on social media missing us felt good as well. Like, people were talking about us still, and we hadn’t played a show in years, that’s really cool. Like, people really care.

RS: Knowing yourself in that honest way is so important. Because if you carry on and start to resent what you’re doing, people notice that and remember that more than all of the good times. To be able to show how much fun you are having this time around, after working away in the background, becomes a huge strength. That’s now what people see and cling to.

BB: And yeah, we really have loosened up and made sure that having fun is first. We were doing that before, where we had music videos that were really light-hearted because so often we would see the scene get so dark and serious. Like that’s cool, but we are just a fun band.  But yeah, having the dark side is also good for releasing all of those internal feelings because we know that not everybody is going to be feeling light-hearted and cheery. Having a good balance of that has always been important, and I feel like the album has got that. It’s got all the heavy elements that we all love, and I feel like everybody has stepped that bit more in terms of the musicianship that comes with that. We push each other a lot because we want each other to get better. So, Eric [Lambert, Guitarist]’s riffs are gnarlier, Jared [Warth, Bassist]’s screams are insane and better than ever, and I even pushed myself to do melodies that are even more interesting. It all feels so good.

RS: And when you see a crowd react to those things, which has been noticeable with the shows that you have been playing. The way you pride yourself on your live show, you want to bring that energy into the studio and vice versa. What parts of that process did you find yourself feeling the most excited about?

BB: I think that it was just capturing our sound, because I feel like over the years, we have really developed a really cool one. So many bands struggle with finding out who they are and their identity, and you can hear that in their music. Like, where are they going with this? So, capturing what the fans love and what we have grown to love, and ensuring that we are happy with it. We don’t put out anything that we don’t love. If there’s a track which isn’t all the way there, it won’t make the album. So, making sure the riffs are riffing, the breakdowns are heavy as shit, the vocals are something people will sing along to. Taking what we’re doing and magnifying, refining, polishing it. We know what we sound like, so when we’re writing, we know whether it is right or not. So, putting that on record is really important. If we wanted to do something outside of the box, we would start a side project. As a fan, when you see blink-182 go and do Box Car Racer and their other side projects, that feels awesome, and you’re so glad they did that, because it means blink-182 stays sounding like blink-182.

RS: It’s refreshing to hear you say that from the band side of things, because you did spend time as that fan again over the last few years. Taking that step back and listening to music, as you did when you were growing up, has numerous benefits. But also, the scene itself never stops moving and changing, so stepping back in and it feels so distant from the last time you were actively a part of it can be pretty scary. How did that feel for you, weighing it all up from the side lines?

BB: For a bit, there’s a bit of jadedness when you’re in it and looking at other bands, and you can feel a bit jealous of their success. That’s just an innate human thing, though. But in watching blink-182 come back and Pierce The Veil fucking explode, it really allowed me to appreciate it all and be supportive rather than worrying about everything else. Also, when I saw people on stage doing their thing at shows, I would look and think, ‘I used to do that.’ Doing that made me appreciate what I had, but it also felt weird because I couldn’t believe that I used to do it. Remembering that feeling in real time whilst in those crowds definitely made me miss it, but it made me miss the connection that came with it more. That’s one of the things I love the most about being in a band. Being able to share my innermost feelings and thoughts on stage and seeing people sing them back, then reach out and high-five them, and see the smiles. Whether it was 100 people in that crowd or 1000 or 10,000, it’s so cool to see. It’s very gratifying, and there isn’t any ego involved in it. It’s just being appreciative of those people taking time out of their lives to come and hang with you in such a way. We give them an escape, and seeing it from their side again really changed my perspective on that.

RS: It’s interesting to be in that position with this album now, which is the angriest that Blessthefall have been in many years. Where were you pulling those pissed off feelings from, considering that the other circumstances around the album have been so positive and grounding?

BB: I think it was just pent-up aggression, really. We have always had that edge to us, even if the rest of the time we can be Dads. The band is the outlet for all that. I’m not going to go and fight anybody, but I’m going to go out and write a pissed off song about it. Any frustrations that are there can be released through the music, which is almost therapeutic. The lyrics to ‘GALLOWS’, when you read through them, are almost like us telling the story of how we nearly ended it and coming back with a vengeance. It’s about showing who we are, who we were and where we are going and what we’ve been doing for the last 17 years.

RS: You mention the story of the band, and the record finishes with ‘This Ends With Us’, which feels like a real declaration of where you are right now. It’s taking back ownership of the band, your journey, your sound. It’s reminding people that all of this has been on your own terms and always has been. That’s a pretty incredible sentiment to put out into the world.

BB: When I joined the band, it was 2008, and next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the band as a whole, which is so crazy to think about. The fact that it has been around in its current form for so long is remarkable, and not many people can claim such longevity. We just put our heads down and work hard, and had a really cool career because of that. I’m 43 now, and yet it all still feels fresh. Like, here we go again. It always feels new and like I’m still learning. There are days when I’m about to go on stage and I still feel nervous about fucking it up despite doing it for 17 years. You would think it would get boring, but it never does. We have a lot to offer and a lot of room still to grow now, especially around the resurgence of metalcore we are in. I feel like we even have the space to go up a level.

RS: Even just the fact that the band still plays such a huge part in your life, even away from the band, is a testament to all of that, too. And when you see that, to not try and get the most out of it would be to do a disservice to the work you have already put in.

BB: It would be hard to tell myself where we are now as that twenty-something joining the band. ‘You’re going to be around and doing this when you’re 43’, ‘Yeah right, I’ll be dead or something that isn’t music’. You feel like it’s a young person’s game until you get here and see that you’re doing it better than some of the kids doing it now. No ego, but I look around sometimes and think, ‘Why isn’t that person giving more of a shit? Why aren’t they trying a bit harder?’. Maybe we are just outliers in that. We’re a blue-collar metal band, and that’s who we will always be at the end of the day. We bust our asses and keep our heads down, and it has got us to where we are today.

RS: What does it mean within all of that for what Blessthefall is to resonate with you as deeply now as it has in the past? Everything it represents, everything it allows you to do, and everything it will do for you in the future – how does that resonate with you?

BB: It means an awful lot, and we take a lot of pride in the name and what we have built with it. We’re not the biggest band in the world, we’re not the smallest band in the world, but we mean something to a lot of people. We understand now more than ever how special it is to be able to put out music and have support for that. When we were gone, I don’t think we went below 600,000/700,000 monthly listeners. That’s not nothing, you know. That’s really fucking cool. People are sticking around, and our music is resonating, no matter how that is. That really means something.