Image: While She Sleeps Band Photo
While She Sleeps are returning with their brand new album "Self Hell" in 2024 . Find out everything you need to know about this new work from the Metalcore scene!
While She Sleeps are back at it again this year. Their new album Self Hell will be released on March 29, 2024, and today we are telling you everything you need to know about it!
The First Singles
Together with the announcement on social media, While She Sleeps write:
"We've poured our lives into this album and couldn't be prouder of what we've created."
So fans' expectations can indeed be high!
We were given our first insight into the new music with the title track "Self Hell". The song was released on September 13, 2023, along with a music video. Not only the title, but also the lyrics of this single already suggest a self-reflective theme in the album.
"I have imposter syndrome and I'm sensory deprived.
I know I'm kind of addicted but I'll never play that victim on myself,
Cos we all live in self hell."
The album cover with the shattered glass underlines the theme as well.
The second single, titled "DOWN (feat. Malevolence)", followed on December 7, 2023. Alex Taylor from the English Hardcore band Malevolence is the first feature on the album. There was also a music video for this, in which a big announcement is shown right at the beginning. According to While She Sleeps, the entire album was financed by their fans, so no financial support from a record label was necessary. At the same time, they refer to the Pre-Orders, which contribute 100% to the band's continued existence.
The "music video" is also very different from what we are used to. A long, long list of photos was compiled to create an effect similar to that of a flip book. The band's performance was not filmed, but captured in over 1,000 photos.
Inspiration: From Kendrick Lamar To Radiohead
While She Sleeps have done a few things differently with this album to their previous releases. Perhaps that's why they say it feels like a second debut album, bringing with it the same kind of nervousness and excitement. The experimentation isn't just limited to the production of the photo-video or the financing of the album. Their musical inspiration has also come from every conceivable direction and the songwriting process this time around was an affair for all five band members.
"Each member has brought in a different perspective of inspiration so far apart in genre that it has left us with a very odd and satisfying sonic."
They name a whole host of names: Kendrick Lamar, Prodigy, Limp Bizkit, Radiohead, Gorillaz, Placeboy, Deafheaven and many more! This means that influences from their childhood have made it onto the album and even into every single song.
The band finds the Metalcore scene too boring and overcrowded. New perspectives were therefore extremely important to them in their new music. And then there's the album title Self Hell, which has a deeper meaning.
"The name of the album is the foundation of how we view ourselves and the world.. [...] We are all on the path of Self Hell which will lead us to either our liberation or our own demise."
That's not just a statement: While She Sleeps want to call for less premature condemnation and self-pity with this statement.
"Don’t be too quick to judge and demonize, your time will come for redemption or damnification. [...] So don’t be a d*** and stop moaning, life is hard enough and there’s enough misery to go around without adding to it through unconscious action."
And What Comes Next?
As an outlook on the future, While She Sleeps tell us that they will continue to follow an unpredictable path. It certainly won't be monotonous! We are definitely excited for the new tracks in March!
By the way: You can see the band live on stage just in time for the release and test out the live atmosphere with the new songs. Because While She Sleeps will be performing at the Impericon Festivals 2024, together with scene colleagues like August Burns Red and Polaris!
