Interviews About Albums: XO Armor - Nublar (2023)

In this new interview, we sat down with the German Metalcore band XO Armor to ask some questions about their latest album "Nublar". 

1. What can you say about this new Album Nublar?

Chris (Vocals): Nublar is our second studio album and the thing we're most proud of in our lives so far.

2. What is the meaning of the album name Nublar?

Chris (Vocals): Nublar means 'cloudy' or 'foggy' and is stemming from the name of the island in Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar. When I started to think about the concept I'd like to use in terms of language aesthetics for this new record, I figured that I'd love to use dinosaurs as a theme because I've always been a huge dinosaur loony. So I started then to think about how dinosaurs and everything that goes with that field can be turned into metaphors which people can relate to and how I can put it in a broader, philosophical context. (Isla) Nublar, (which translates to 'Cloud Island') then became a metaphor for exploring and eventually finding yourself.

3. Who is the composer of Nublar?

Chris (Vocals): Our guitarist David is the main composer of the album, we wrote a lot of it together though.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

Chris (Vocals): Tough one, the whole album rules haha. My personal favorites are Rex, Isla [Nublar], and Raptoren though. Rex because it felt like the song which defined our style and changed a lot for us in general (also I love T-Rexes haha), Isla [Nublar] because it feels like Drake wrote a pop-rock song, and Raptoren because it stands out as very different (only song with German lyrics) and very heavy. It also contains a feature by our mate Acker from Consvmer which goes hard as hell.

5. Is there a special message in this new album Nublar?

Chris (Vocals): Getting lost is ok. Don't be shy to explore yourself.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd like to share?

Chris (Vocals): I think our song 'Asteroid' contains some of the best lyrics I've ever written; I especially like the lines "Life finds a way but we're a dead end" and "We are noise between voids". The pre-breakdown of Rex ("Pay attention, the main attraction, face the facts, there's no second Rex") has become a passage people are shouting with us at shows now, so that's a favorite as well. Then I got very emotional on Raptoren and Isla [Nublar], so I'm very attached to the lyrics of these two in general and I'm very proud of a line on a song called 'Amber' which goes "I'm in my head too much again, too many dé-jà vues/ Kill myself by reviving the past, call me Henry Wu" (If you get the reference I trust you with my life haha).

7. Inspirations?

Chris (Vocals): The major thing that lead to our new style for this record was trying to cover 'WHAT'S GOOD?' by Tyler, the Creator. We never released that, it stayed a demo-only but it definitely made us more open to experimenting with different styles. Some other major inspirations have been Bring Me The Horizon, Ghostemane, Scarlxrd, Linkin Park, Remi Wolf, OG Keemo and Emmure.

8. Something to add?

Chris (Vocals): Don't sleep on us, we're coming for you. New single 'Raptoren' feat. Consvmer is out on March 24th.