Track By Tracks: Restless Spirit - Lord of the New Depression (2019)

1. Under Hellish Moon and Wailing Sky:

The opening instrumental track was intended to just be an overall introduction as to what the listener is about to experience. It's heavy as all fuck but still has an otherworldly, creepy vibe to it. The riff also comes back about halfway through the album, which is something I always love when bands to. It ties everything together in a linear experience as opposed to random songs being packaged together with no clear reason.

2. Less Than Human:

This song, like most other songs on the album, deals with drug abuse and the despair that accompanies addiction. The line "Something wicked, less than human - I'm slowly changing every night" is attempting to explain the sorrow and need to escape through the use of drugs or alcohol. It changes you. "Exit Humanity" is the final step. It's not necessarily physical death, but more of the death of one's self. Once you get to a point of severe addiction you become something different. I've seen it many times.

3. Lord of the New Depression:

I had this title in my head for a while. I would describe it as a feeling of sadness so severe that it's like no one has ever experienced anything like it before. That may or may not be true, but when you're right in the middle of such an experience, it definitely is true to you. "When twilight's your only companion, and even the moon wishes death...you'll pray through psychosis and madness. You'll pray until there's nothing left." It's soul crushing.

4. Dominion:

There's a period of denial when you lose someone close that you just refuse to believe it. This refusal often leads to some pretty unsavory behaviors - maybe that means repressing your own feelings or once again using substances so you don't have to feel it. I wrote this entire song in the studio in about 30 minutes. I just wanted something heavy and pissed off. The clean part at the end of this is where the riff from "Under Hellish Moon" comes back, and I thought it added a nice, subdued ending to an explosive song. Contrast is key for me.

5. 13 Devils:

13 Devils was actually written in my head in it's entirety one night as I was drifting off to sleep. Literally, the entire thing was created in a half dream state. I immediately jumped out of bed, went downstairs, and played this song that seemed to come to me. Nothing was changed - it was one of those rare instances where you have an idea come to you on the spot and it's already fully formed.

6. Deep Fathom Hours:

I was inspired by Ray Bradbury in "Something Wicked This Way Comes" when he writes about those things you think about in the deepest fathoms of the night. A lot of my lyrics are based on things that I've read - and identified with. What that phrase means, at least to me, are the drowning, overwhelming thoughts that consume you in your solitude. Every thought, every good situation you've encountered could be misconstrued and weaponized against yourself. This is what I mean by "When nothing's left to satiate, my misdirection turns to hate." Confusion gives way to anger and everyone becomes a target for your vitriol when you don't know how to control your own thoughts. "Come dusk to cover all light" is another line from the song that I really like - it's that same idea that you can allow your inner darkness to color your whole world black. 

7. Miserable Existence / Unrest:

I don't want to have to only sound like every other band in the world. We've got doom elements, but I don't want to be a band that fits into a mold. I felt it was important to put a song that's just completely different than anything else on the album. I want to be able to do whatever the fuck I want. So that's what we did here.

8. Ripped From Me:

I've actually had this song written for over 10 years at this point, but I wanted to change it up a bit and finally release it on a full-length album. I lost a friend who was very important during my formative years a while ago. Over the course of three years, I actually lost one of the most important people of my youth once a year. This basically inspired me to start this band to begin with, to find a voice for myself and work through issues like this. "The lies of youth, a myth untrue - burden of time rules absolute." When you're young you think everything is going to go a certain way and you'll have your loved ones forever. But over the years you start to realize that you're fucking helpless to the way of the world sometimes. And not having control over things like that is something that I still have a hard time accepting.

9. Young Graves:

This is the final song on the album, and it's been our signature song for some time now. The title is pretty self-explanatory. It's about the anger, the sadness, the utter despair that you feel when someone loses their life too early. The whole album is based around this theme and this is the conclusion. It was an exhausting and emotional process, one that I don't want to have to do again. Next time I'm just going to write money and cars or some stupid shit like that. Fuck this.