Track By Track: blessthefall

(Photo: Tim Harmon)

BLESSTHEFALL frontman BEAU BOKAN takes AP track by track through their new album, Awakening.

“Awakening”
We wanted to write something epic. Something simple for everyone to sing along to, an epic battle cry. This is it.

“Promised Ones”
This song was supposed to be the first track on the album before we added “Awakening,” so it’s like an introductory track to where we're at now in [our] lives, and having to “fight” for our spot in music history without conforming to what everyone else in our genre is doing.

“Bottomfeeder”
This was the very first song we wrote for the album. I still remember practicing this song in Russia during our soundcheck and how stoked we all were on how gnarly a song we created.

“I'm Bad News, In The Best Way”
Every song on this record is very, very personal. I'm spilling my guts pretty hard on every track. This track is about finding the one and putting all your past bad decisions and regrets behind you in order to move on with your relationship.

“The Reign”
I came to a point in my life last year where I felt like I just wasn't living the right way. I was missing something in my heart, missing something spiritually. I asked God to take hold of my life and help me make the changes necessary to feel whole again.

“40 Days…”
I've never written an actual love song before, but after meeting the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, it came very naturally. In fact, I took a line from a song she wrote for me and used it in this song. It was a first for both of us! It gets pretty detailed and pretty specific. I think anyone that spends time apart from the one they love can relate.

“Bones Crew”
We wanted a super-upbeat, fun song without any breakdowns that still had tons of energy. It's about growing up and leaving the town you've spent your whole life in to pursue your dreams.

“Don't Say Goodbye”
There was [a] girl who walked up to me with tears in her eyes and handed me a note that pretty much said she had been on the verge of suicide, and she would have gone through with it if it wasn't for our music. We were so moved, we had to write a song specifically for her and all the kids out there that feel the same way. Our fans mean the world to us, and we want them to grow with us and have happy healthy lives.

“Undefeated”
A dude from a well-known band was going around spreading some pretty gnarly rumors about me and trying his hardest to make me look bad. I learned to forgive him, but it made me sad that a lot of kids look up to this person and I couldn't go without getting it off my chest. “You'll never show your face, you are a coward. We'll never let you win”—you know who you are.

“'Till The Death Of Me”
We wrote this song right before we went into the studio. It was a last-minute song we didn't think would make the record, but [it] became one of my favorites on the album. The outro originally went on super long and we had to fade it out. Eric [Lambert]'s guitar part in the bridge is super-epic.

“Flatline”
Our good friend Chris Dudley [of Underoath] put together this amazing interlude. We kinda gave him a general direction and asked him to make it connect to the next song, “Meet Me At The Gates.” He did an amazing job on this and on every track that he helped us with!

“Meet Me At The Gates”
This song is for my grandparents, who I lost a year ago. I was in the hospital with them both the night before they passed away. My grandfather passed away in September and my grandma shortly after that. They meant everything in the world to me. It was a hard one to sing, because I kept tearing up in the studio. This is the longest song we've ever written. It's epic, to say the least. There are many musical layers that get stripped away slowly as the song goes on until there's nothing left. alt