Interviews: Bury Tomorrow

For nearly two decades, Bury Tomorrow has been a driving force in the metalcore scene, blending crushing heaviness with soaring melodies and emotional depth. Since their formation in 2006, the band has continuously evolved while staying true to their core identity, earning a dedicated global fanbase along the way.

Now, with their eighth studio album Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience on the horizon, Bury Tomorrow is once again pushing their sound forward. We had the opportunity to speak with bassist and clean vocalist Jacko about the band's journey, their creative process, and what fans can expect from their upcoming release and co-headlining U.S. tour with While She Sleeps.

Enjoy the full interview below!

1. For those who might be discovering Bury Tomorrow for the first time, how would you describe your journey as a band since your formation in 2006?

It’s certainly been a journey! We’ve achieved more than any of us thought possible when we set out to start this band, and regardless of which member you speak to, they will tell you we’ve ticked all the boxes we had when growing up and wanting to get into music. But as that journey progressed and we grew, with every milestone we hit, we just set new ones in our heads as the next target. That keeps us pushing. I think it's very unusual to have a band like ours be a band for as long as it has, with us approaching the release of our 8th album. That's a testament to us, our work ethic, and our stubborn resilience to make this work in a lot of ways, but we’ve also been fortunate enough that along the way we’ve built an amazing group of people who like our music and come to see us all over the world. We couldn’t do this without them, regardless of how much effort we put in, and we are very clear on that.

2. Metalcore has evolved a lot over the years. How has Bury Tomorrow adapted while staying true to your signature sound?

I think we’ve always just had this vision that this band would write a mixture of heavy and melodic music, focus on writing the best songs we could whether that was heavy, soft or a mixture of the two, play shows to the best of our ability and with an undeniable energy that we hope people watching will connect with. In many ways that’s never changed, but of course, as music has evolved, we have too, along with our tastes. That being said, some of the more modern electronics that you may find in metalcore now and that is seen as an ‘evolution’, were very present when we were starting. Although we’re leaning heavier now on those elements than we used to in previous records, when we started this band, we wanted to be like bands such as Still Remains and Bleeding Through, where electronics and huge orchestral-type soundscapes were delivered by someone on a keyboard. When we started this band we did that too (Dan used to play synth in the band originally) so although those elements have become more common, it's actually in a lot of ways just coming back around from those early 2000’s era metalcore bands which obviously a lot of younger fans of ours now wouldn't know! 

3. Looking back at your discography, are there any key moments or albums that you feel were turning points for the band?

It's hard to pick just one, really, but myself, Dan, Dav, and Daws would all probably say Black Flame changed the game a bit for us. We grew quite a bit off that record, particularly in mainland Europe, especially Germany, which has gone on to become our biggest market probably. That really cemented us out there, and brought our shows there up to the size we were doing at that time in the UK. It was a grander sound, introducing some of the electronic elements we’d neglected for a few years, and it was us pushing to be bigger than just a ‘metalcore’ band. That being said, we obviously feel like we’ve really taken ourselves to the next level on ‘The Seventh Sun’, and with the new album ‘Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience’ again we feel like we are positioning this band in the best place it’s ever been.

4. Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience is described as your most “fantastically visceral” release yet. How do you feel this album pushes Bury Tomorrow’s sound further compared to The Seventh Sun?

I think it is us being even more comfortable in our skin, mainly with Tom and Ed, and with them having found their feet within the songwriting dynamic even more. When we did TSS, they were still new to the group in a lot of ways, and since then we’ve toured a lot, all over the world, and have even more experience of what works and maybe what does not. We always take that into our writing. They’ve become more comfortable and have contributed even more to the songwriting process, so we’ve got so much firepower to create better songs! Along with that and us all pushing ourselves individually and being determined to write even better songs, exploring new elements while retaining our DNA I just think it makes for an even better record. Also working with Carl Bown as producer for the first time has brought a fresh dynamic, and we are all really happy with how it all sounds.

5. Kristan mentioned that patience is a central theme in this album. How does that concept manifest in the music, lyrics, or even the creative process behind the album?

Well, certainly throughout this band's journey we’ve had to be very patient, it's taken a lot of that over many years to achieve anything! That being said, that's certainly not the inspiration for the title, but you could also say the songwriting process always needs that patience too. Sometimes things happen very quickly, and it all comes together, and other times, it's more of a slog. The vision for the album title was to reflect the sort of lack of patience that society possesses, everything being instant, easily distracted and we liked that symbolism. Lyrically, the songs aren’t all around the same message, but touch on different subjects around the state of society or more personal dives into Dan and Tom's own personal anxieties or feelings.

6. Carl Bown has worked with some of the biggest names in modern metal. What was it like working with him on this record, and how did he help shape its sound? 

Yeah he was great, his production is so good. He's got a great grasp of a well-produced modern and massive sound, but retaining its feeling real, which is key for us - of course it is all real too. We still track all the drums where some bands are skipping that part for ultra-realistic programmed drums, and the guitars were still tracked using real guitar amps etc. Of course there's loads of production wizardry involved to bring it all together, and we have so many layers to our music now, but it was a super enjoyable and relaxed process recording with him. Our schedule was anything but relaxed, and that was stressful, with us recording in between touring all over the world and heading in and out of the studio across multiple sessions over many months, but it all turned out great in the end. We were super happy to work with him and would love to do so again - he’s involved with so many massive artists now.

7. Both “What If I Burn” and “Let Go” showcase intense energy and emotional depth. Why did you choose these as the lead singles?

Well, initially Villain Arc and Let Go were recorded well before the rest of the album, and so we lined them up as the first 2 natural singles almost by default. With schedules changing and being pushed back, we ended up having other tracks ready to go, and having been super excited by What If I Burn, we were keen to unleash that to announce the album itself. We are really proud of that song, and I think it showcases the development of the band for the reasons you mention in your question, pushes new boundaries but still feels like us. We just wanted the world to hear it! Then, although having a number of choices from the album, we also decided to stick with Let Go as we felt it also offered something different to WIIB, in having a few more technical moments, a couple of big breakdowns where WIIB essentially had none. We wanted something that obviously felt like a very different song, and again we were really excited by it. We had our single choices mapped out early, and we always try to use them to take the listener on a journey of what to expect from the album, I guess. It's been so nice to see how well they’ve been received.

8. You’re co-headlining a U.S. tour in 2025 with While She Sleeps, plus support from Vended. What can fans expect from these shows?

Just our usual high-energy, fun show! We always try and make sure everyone in the room feels a connection with us and to get people involved. These are smaller shows than we would both be doing in Europe, and that's super cool too, that connection is easier in many ways in smaller rooms. We are super excited to get back, we've had such a good time touring the states over the last couple of years but recognise given how long we've been a band, we have not toured it anywhere near enough. We are trying to make up for that, and will be making our usual effort to meet everyone after we play at merch - that’s important to us.

9. After years of touring with some of the biggest names in metalcore, what has been the most valuable lesson you've learned about performing and connecting with audiences?

Be authentic, be yourself. We try to build a connection when we are on stage, and break down the perceived band/fan barrier. We are so very, very normal (boring) as people, and while musicians often get put on a pedestal, we want people who come to our shows to feel like we are just like them. It's important to us that we portray that on stage, and as mentioned before, without them turning up, we’d have nobody to play to. Similarly, we want to try and convey a message that we all have a part to play in society, in order to make the world a better place. We’ve been lucky enough that over the years, many people have connected with that message.

10. With over 15 years as a band, what’s the biggest thing that has changed for Bury Tomorrow—both musically and personally?

I think we’ve just grown a huge amount as people, individuals, musicians, and of course as songwriters and performers. It's been a mad journey, and clearly now we all have real life responsibilities which just don't exist when you start. The band has become a business while still being a total passion project. Personally, despite the natural growth and maturity that comes with getting older, we are still the same regular guys just trying to have fun while being in a band. There's still an undercurrent of self-doubt there too, both individually and collectively, and I think there always will be, but I believe it allows us not to take anything for granted and to always keep pushing ourselves to get to the next level. You never know when this will all end, so you have to take your chance while you have it. 

11. What challenges did you face while writing and recording this album, and how did you overcome them?

As I touched on before, this is the first album we have recorded across multiple studio sessions over many months while touring in between. Historically, we have had, say, a month in a studio to produce a record, and then it's done. This time our schedule meant we did smaller chunks between travelling, and that was tough. One minute you were focused on prepping for shows the next it was worrying about being in the studio and learning or working on parts. It felt easy to lose track of where we were and we were worried about losing the context of the record instead of just immersing ourselves in the studio for a few weeks. That being said, the recording process in the studio was fun and relaxed with Carl, and that helped! It ended up being worth it and we are super proud of the final product, but I think if we had a choice we would devote more protected time to it, once we had a clear break from touring.

12. If you could go back and give advice to the band when you were first starting out, what would it be?

I think it would be to remember that nobody else will ever care about your band as much as you do, so always trust your instincts, but also don't expect anyone to care about your band if you don't care about it yourself. You will get out what you put in, I believe that!

13. Something to add?

Just a thank you to everyone for the support we receive, we feel very lucky to have anyone care about our music, so thank you, enjoy the new album, and we will see you on tour soon!