For the new release, the band's original trio came up with an experimental concept but retain the sound reminiscent of their debut record. With the buzz of a new album released by the group's founding members, I had the opportunity to talk with lead vocalist Jason Wisdom about their reunion, new music, and much more.
Many fans are curious about how you reunited to make new music again. How did that happen?
We talked about it a few years ago, right before COVID-19 happened. We talked about writing new music and then we got shut down for about a year and a half. Then, we met with our producer, Nate Washburn, and wrote some great new songs.
The band hadn't been active for many years. But I think our reunion was mostly spurred on by the curiosity of wanting to try recording again. It's hard to write an album that'll live up to expectations after being gone for so many years, that's probably why I waited so long myself.
Children of the Great Extinction is a concept album. What are some of the themes and stories like?
I don't want to give away too much, since it's a collective story, a continuous narrative from the first to the last song. I always wanted to piece together a grand narrative and Becoming the Archetype was the best vessel to make that happen. Death Therapy, my side metal project, has always been a stream of my consciousness. But Becoming the Archetype allows for dramatic, epic themes.
The new album is a science fiction theme at its core. And because it is a narrative, some people have been confused by meaning behind the album's new singles. But the songs are a part of a bigger story that makes more sense when listened to together.
Between the big picture and streaming services, it's been a challenge to please our fans. Plus, most of our fanbase is older folks, like us, who don't always have time to pick up a big album. I remember showing up to Cornerstone Festival with $100 and buying a dozen CDs. Things are different now.
Do you have any favorite songs or specific ones that tell the story more than others?
Not particularly, I think they're all important. I love "The Hollow" and "The Ruins," which features Demon Hunter's lead vocalist Ryan Clark. More than once, Ryan's done guest vocals and sometimes helped produce our projects. Visual artist Dan Seagrave did our amazing artwork to bring the album's theme to life visually.
Are there any musical or lyrical inspirations on the new album?
It's like we were frozen in time after being on hiatus for 10 years. As we wrote music, we hung onto our old roots more than new inspirations. Metal bands like Extol, Mastodon, and Living Sacrifice have always been huge musical inspirations for us.
As for lyrical inspiration, I love comic books and graphic novels, so I tried to write like I was doing one of those. This is the first album where I wrote the lyrics first and then wrote music around the lyrics. One of the biggest influences would be C.S. Lewis' Space trilogy. So, works like that have helped inspire the writing.
What are some biblical or spiritual highlights that this record holds for believers?
It can be tricky to dig down and pick the highlights apart. There are many themes about facing an existential crisis as a human race and taking matters into our own hands. We try to create a utopia and move onward but find out that we always fail when we try to become perfect on our own. The theme can be self-sacrificial, one for another. It focuses on those on the fringes of society often, much like Christians, can be at times. The inability to be our own savior is a good takeaway. We have a lot of surprises on the album, sonically and lyrically.
What does the future look like for the band?
I have no idea. I'd love to play some shows. It was fun to make the album, so maybe we'll do it again. We will have to wait and see how the fans react to it. We don't want to be a band that stays active for the sake of it. Only if the fans are enjoying it and we're being fresh. We want passion to be present regardless, not to hold on to the ship while it's sinking.
We're honored that people bought all the vinyl copies and that our merchandise continues to sell. If people keep buying our vinyl, we might be able to convince our label to press our older stuff on vinyl, too. It's been a great welcoming from the fans with our new singles so far, so I hope they enjoy the record, too.
How can we be praying for you?
My family and I are working on fixing up a house. It's been hard and a lot of obstacles in the way, but we are excited about that. And I just got a job as a teacher teaching Bible at a private Christian school, so prayers for the new job as well. Things are busy and stressful. Thank you.
Children of the Great Extinction is a musical journey and I hope you consider listening to it and supporting the band through it. Here's our discussion about it all.
Ryan Adams lives with his family in Montana. He has been NRT's Rock Reporter since 2019.
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