Interview by Pedro Tiepolo
After releasing their album Darkfighter in June of this year, Rival Sons is preparing to release Darkfighter on the 20th. The release complements the concept presented in their first album and brings high expectations following the success of Darkfighter .
In preparation for the release, vocalist and songwriter Jay Buchanan spoke with Wikimetal about the concept behind the two albums, the creative process and tour, as well as commenting on his desire to come to Brazil.
Check out the full conversation below.
Wikimetal: I want to start by asking about, of course, the two new albums, Darkfighter and Lightbringer , and when you realized that the project was getting bigger and that it would be necessary to release two albums instead of just one?
Jay Buchanan: Well, there are a few answers to that, so I'll go step by step. I think when we started making the initial selection, that was in 2020, late spring of 2020. And I started writing, and my partner Scott [ Holiday , guitarist] started writing. And we worked together on this collection little by little. And I think from the beginning we knew we were going to create something that would be different from anything we had created before. Like in our first session, we had, my God, 22 songs.
I believe that our first track that we recorded all the way through in our first session was a song called “Dark Side,” and it’s from the Darkfighter album. And that’s a very heavy, very big, very, very heavy, very thematic song. I think we knew we were about to enter entirely new territory. So, I believe we proceeded knowing that the standard had been set very high from the beginning in terms of authentic identity.
I think we knew we needed to push ourselves harder and harder. So I think when we finished the collection and looked at those songs, we knew we couldn't just make one big album because the story would be complicated. I think as soon as we finished recording in early 2023 or late 2022, early 2023, I think we knew we needed to split those songs into two different discs so that both sides of the story could be told.
WM: So, by doing that, did the songwriting and recording process seem easier because you made so many songs, or was it a challenge?
JB: It was a very challenging album. But I think what made it so challenging was that we were trying to forge new territory and create a new style of music within the Rival Sons vocabulary. So, we're trying to expand our vocabulary. And when you do that, every time you start repeating yourself or doing something you feel you've already said or done before, you have to stop and completely change and make sure you're doing something that's going to be innovative within your own discourse.
So that makes it difficult, and those were very difficult records to make because it was a difficult time to live through in 2021 and 2022, the world shut down. We had to completely change direction in our career.
2020/2019 was going up, up, up, up, up, and finally we reached a certain point in our career and then everything stopped and everything fell apart. So we had to regroup and come together in a way that was artistically uplifting and authentic. And instead of going back and doing something we had already done for me as a writer and for my partner Scott, we wanted to go further and explore a new path for rival kids to see what we are capable of. Artistically.
When you have these problems that you need to overcome, or these difficulties, it's as if they are obstacles placed in your path to help you realize who you are and to become the person you hope to be. You know, to fulfill your own destiny through these trials and tribulations and after these difficulties.
WM: Would you have made the album this way at another time?
I don't know. If you think about that question, how could I answer it? Honestly, I don't know. That's how things happened. So we had to do them that way. If it had happened differently, I would be a different person, and you would be too. So there's no, I don't see any point or validity in trying to imagine some fictional way it could have been different. As if that's how it happened. So, and I'm grateful. I'm grateful for life, and I'm grateful for everything that comes my way.
When you have these problems that you need to overcome, or these difficulties, it's as if they are obstacles placed in your path to help you realize who you are and to become the person you hope to be. You know, to fulfill your own destiny through these trials and tribulations and after these difficulties.
And the two albums, I think, as I said, I think they have a very strong concept, of course, and what do you think it is, how do you think about the concept and how do the two albums relate to each other in terms of similarities because they are companion projects, but they are still two different records. They are a companion project.
I need to tell you this before we go on. We never sought to make a concept album. That's not how it happened. It just has form and it's still. I wouldn't call it a concept album because for me, as a writer, I was just reacting to what was happening in the world and in my life. I didn't have a master plan of how things would unfold. I'm just sitting there writing and narrating the difficulties of my life, you know, or just the events. So, during 2021 and 2022, a lot happened here in the United States.
We had the pandemic and we had Black Lives Matter. Then there's the unfortunate and brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. So you have that, then you have Antifa, you know that comes up, and then you have riots. And then you have, here we go, an election. So, the whole country. And you have, like all conspiracy theories, like people, they've just lost their minds.
And not only that, but I personally had very close friends and very important people in my life. Like my three closest friends, they all died within about six months of each other. And there were all these things. And so, so much was happening that it was a lot to handle. You know, those two years felt like 20 years compressed into two years.
And even though there was never any intention of, “OK, let’s make a concept album,” no, it just so happened that from the moment we started writing it, a lot of life happened. And so there was a lot to write about.
WM: How do you think the band has evolved since the beginning? How exactly has that sound changed? Do they have different influences from bands you admire or just things you're interested in experimenting with?
JB: I think you know we've been together for 15 years, almost 16 now. I think in terms of our influences, or your first question, how has the band changed? The band has changed a lot. We still keep our agreements, our general approach is to do it well live. We're a live band, but the studio is still very present. Our basic tracks are recorded together and streamed live.
There was a bit more in-home dubbing on this record simply because we were dealing with COVID and I have a studio, my partner Scott has a studio. So we were able to do some production in our home studios. But for the most part the approach is still pretty much the same. It's more that the writing has changed, you know, the writing style and the things we write about is very different.
WM: Naturally you've matured, you have other interests... Do you still identify with your old lyrics?
JB: Well, that's a good statement, a very good one. And often people miss that. For me, yes, I'll have past lyrics that I simply don't identify with, because that's who I was when I wrote them. You know, two years ago, in 2021, we parted ways and it was the 10th anniversary of the pressure and the record-breaking Time.
And then we went on tour and played the Pressure and Time in its entirety and then we played, you know, our greatest hits. It's like, “Oh my God, it's not that all these songs are good,” but I remember who I was when I wrote those songs and I'm not that person to you. So, going back and delivering an interpretation of those songs, being the person I am now, you know, you know, I say it's like shooting myself in the head or something. I'm just being obvious. But I like to relate less and less. But I am, you know, we're a band and so our fanbase wants to hear those songs, I understand that. But I don't think I'll be in a hurry to do something like that again.
WM: Yes. And it would be strange if you didn't feel that way, because that would mean you haven't evolved as a person, right?
JB: Yes, exactly. I'm a different person. I'm not the person I was when I wrote Burned Down Los Angeles.
WM: Yes, and speaking of playing live, you also said that Rival Sons is a live band and that's a big part of the band's identity on these two new albums. Because it's always difficult to have a new album?
You have to choose which songs to play, which songs you can't play because time is limited. This time it's more difficult because we have so many songs, or do you have any idea which songs would be most interesting live?
I think we'll probably play mostly Darkfighter and Lightbringer . I think we'll probably play those songs mostly, and then we'll play them for the first hour, hour and 10 minutes, and then we'll play the rest of the set, like we do with the greatest hits, but that's probably it.
You know, because this is who we are now and we have to live this identity. This is our identity. In the future, we will have another identity to live.
WM: Well, I think that's pretty much it. I just want to ask one last question: is there anything else you're excited about in the coming months, whether it's touring or anything else you're planning?
JB: I'm anxious for our booking agent to get back on track and get us into Brazil. That's what I'm worried about. We keep trying to get to Brazil and something always comes up.
So I wish they could arrange something to take us to Brazil, because we want to go back to Brazil. We love Brazil, you know.
Let's go to Brazil. I want a really cold caipirinha.
WM: Thank you for your time. We hope to see you here soon. JB: Thank you!