Things had been looking up for MADINA LAKE. After a tumultuous year that saw them dropped from their label, they spent the early part of this past summer in their hometown of Chicago writing and recording for their upcoming EP, The Dresden Codex, and an ensuing full-length called World War III. They teamed up with Pledge Music—a service that lets fans contribute to fund band endeavors—and had just laid down the promising song, “They’re Coming For Me.” But late one night in June, as bassist MATTHEW LEONE was walking to his car, he intervened in a domestic dispute, leaving him horrifically beaten and in a coma for nearly a week. While fans flooded the band with support and donations and other artists like Smashing Pumpkins held benefit shows, Leone was undergoing two surgeries to repair brain hemorrhaging and beginning a long uphill battle of rehabilitation. Three months later, Leone has made nearly miraculous progress in his recovery and, in this interview, speaks for the first time about the events of that night, the bond he shares with his twin brother and bandmate Nathan, and what good came from something so terrible.

How are you?
I’m doing well. It’s sort of polarized at this point. I’m one of those people who’s addicted to working, so being sidelined is very tough for me. I’ll jump the gun thinking and feeling like I’m normal, but then I’ll crash for two days and get back up again. I’m pretty good, though—better than where I’m supposed to be. [Laughs.]

Do you remember anything from the hospital?
I remember being at the first hospital, and this is the part where the story kind of gets interesting: I was unconscious this whole time, but my memory of it is so clear that I thought I was awake. I was in one of the emergency rooms and had this sense that something was going bad. Nathan had arrived and was by my side, and I remember trying to say, “Nathan, this isn’t going well. You have to get these guys to give me a CAT scan.”  Apparently I was unconscious, but Nathan picked up on something. That was sort of the otherworldly element of it all. He then ran out into the main room to get somebody and they rushed me in for the scan and then realized I had about 15 or 20 minutes to live. They didn’t have a surgeon who could handle the kind of surgery required, so they rushed me to another hospital.

Then I was in a coma for five to seven days at the new place, and when I woke up, I was confused for the first few days. It was like a dream sequence from a David Lynch movie—blurry facial expressions and strange audio effects. It was like being at a funeral and a wedding at the same time. [Laughs.] I couldn’t really tell. Ultimately I came out of the coma and started to realize what was going on. Nathan was there trying to protect me from it and acting like it was no big deal, but I could see the torment on his face. So I sort of played along. I know if the roles had been reversed, I would’ve been hysterical.

When you woke from the coma, did it feel like time had instantly passed or did you feel aware of what was going on?
That’s a great question, and it’s difficult to describe. It feels like you’re aware in chunks. You’re aware something is happening. The thing that’s been challenging now is discerning when I was awake and when I wasn’t. I keep hearing about these things that I thought happened and they didn’t, so I must have been out of it. But time really did slow down severely. I remember at one point being told I was possibly getting out at 7 p.m. one night and that day lasted a really long time. [Laughs.]

The injuries were a broken jaw and nose and fractured skull?
Yeah, but it was the brain hemorrhaging that was the time-sensitive issue. They had to bust that lid open pretty quick because my brain was wanting out. [Laughs.]

At any point during all of this, did you ever get angry?
Bizarrely, Nathan and I have always had this sort of light-hearted attitude toward life. Our approach has always been that if you can’t laugh about something, you’re gonna suffer. The anger didn’t kick in until much later. I was more annoyed. [Laughs.] I remember when I first got hit and chuckling to myself, “Are you serious?” Then it was lights out.

How long were you in the hospital?
The first time was seven days. But I prematurely left because I couldn’t stand the energy there. It was really compiling stress. Anything involving the brain is very tenuous, so stress had to be minimized. But I was begging to get out of there. I remember Nathan trying to help me out. Every hour, they would send someone in to check my vitals and brain function and he would always be behind them holding up the answer. [Laughs.] The second time I was in was five days.

The surgeries went well?
Yes. During the first one, they lost me one time. I flatlined. But they did incredible. The second surgery was supposed to be 45 minutes and ended up being more than four hours. They lost me a couple times on that one, but the surgeons obviously saved my life. I’m eternally grateful to them. I have a paralyzed upper third of my forehead that looks hilarious, but overall, everything went well.

How is the recovery coming along?
The second surgery was the one that was almost too difficult of a challenge to handle. It was just a lot of pain and some metaphysical experiences I’m still trying to come to terms with. But the general recovery took a long time. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the reaction from the musical community and everyone sending good vibrations my way was one of the reasons I was able to recover so quickly. I got a lot of e-mails, letters and videos that kids put up on YouTube that were statements to me. That really kept me positive and humbled. I’m a guy who doesn’t like a lot of attention, so it was sort of embarrassing to have this spotlight on me—especially for getting my ass kicked. [Laughs.]