”I think we are overall way better songwriters than we were in the early days of the band and that shows on the new album” – Interview with Shane Told of Silverstein

Filled with moments of relentless energy throwing back to their punk and hardcore roots to visionary moments of modern heavy, “Misery Made Me” fastens Silverstein’s status as torchbearers of the scene on all fronts. It’s both intriguing and inspiring that a band – who could have merely rested on the impressive legacy they’ve already cemented – would continue to dig deep and find the inspiration to reach people in meaningful new ways.

Few bands on their 22nd lap around the scene could claim to be in ‘just getting started’ mode as much as punk stalwarts Silverstein. On “Misery Made Me”, they find themselves springboarding off the heights they’ve reached over the past handful of years.

“For the first time in our career, we truly put it all out there. We went into this with no rules and no preconceived notions of what Silverstein is or what it could be. The results are bold. We somehow wrote the heaviest, saddest, catchiest, and most emotional songs in 22 years of being a band … all on the same album”, reveals vocalist Shane Told.

The album’s lead single, “Ultraviolet” is about feeling powerless and under the control of the chemicals in your brain. Guitarist Paul Marc explains, “Ultraviolet being invisible felt like the right way to describe it – to get lost in this unseeable thing. Ultraviolet light also causes physical damage to our skin, so it serves as a sort of ‘proof’ that something invisible like anxiety can hurt us”.

Ironically, amid all the positivity and connectivity injected into the creation of “Misery Made Me”, there comes a dark set of themes underpinning the album, as its title might suggest. The album is a depiction of Silverstein – and world at large’s – collective turmoil, frustration, and anxiety. Shane Told tells about the lyrics of the album:

“I wanted to explore the meaning of ‘Misery’ as a main theme throughout the album. Despite the mountains climbed and boulders pushed during recent years, we were confronted by the weight and misery of staying relatively in the same place for a long period of time. Finding peace in the reality of this misery became important. The record is about the acceptance of a new reality and adapting to it”.

Ultimately,”Misery Made Me” finds the band trying to navigate the ever-worsening challenges of our modern world – angst, doomscrolling, and disassociation. It’s a record that is a product of the moment in time in which it was created yet doesn’t feel like it will date itself anytime soon, as many of its topics of loneliness, anxiety and isolation are eternal human struggles.

Chaoszine sat down with the band’s vocalist Shane Told before the band’s show at The Masquerade in Atlanta, GA on September 13th and discussed about the new album as well as band’s future plans. You can check out the entire video interview below:

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