Five 21-year-olds have an album coming out, and with it comes huge pressure to achieve and truly push their genre in a modern age. One Step Closer will release This Place You Know on September 24 via Run For Cover. With this new release, the band have proven they are a force of freedom for the future, highlighting that being everything you fantasize about being is not only possible, but so very critical.
Vocalist Ryan Savitski begins by explaining what signing for a new label, and having hardcore scenes all over the world anticipating this album, is like for him to process.
“Signing to Run For Cover for this record has the pressure on for the release, I’m hoping that people respond and receive this record well, and we live up to the reputation we have now and the excitement behind the band,” Savitski says. “Every member is so pleased and satisfied with how the record turned out, and we couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved on this album.”
Although the bar was set high, on a bigger platform than ever before, the band believed in themselves so much and embraced the true spirit of hardcore, trusting strongly in every honest element of what they have created.
“This Place You Know” is inspired by hometowns and suburban roots, highlighted even more during the lockdown of the last year in which the album was written and recorded. Savitski further comments on how the band strived for originality on this album.
“Everyone had so many inspirations for the music and project outside of hardcore, and we all let each other shine, and nothing was held back on this record; every idea was pushed forward,” he says. “This album is so experimental, and we used this past year to its maximum potential to push One Step Closer into new dimensions”
Guitarist Ross Thompson explains his own personal and inspirational artistic journey in crafting this record.
“I took inspiration from what was surrounding me; a year in isolation ensured that we fed off each other,” Thompson says. “We progressed as musicians on this record and embraced each other’s company more than ever when creating this piece of work, it really represents us and everything we are as humans and musicians. Everything we do hits me; when I was recording my guitar for this album, my emotions were so strong. I cried; it hit me that hard when tracking some riffs. This record is everything we are; it represents us in every possible way.”
Savitski further explains how even though this record is so honest, the process was an unguarded one.
“This was a vulnerable album to make,” he says. “I sing a lot more cleans throughout this album, it was almost intimidating to record some parts, but ultimately, that helped drive everyone and really figure out what this band could be and get out of our comfort zone.”
Allowing a natural progression in this manner does involve taking risks—but that is also why One Step Closer is at the top of their game.
Watch the video for “Pringle Street” here:
For more from One Step Closer, find them on Instagram.
Photo courtesy of One Step Closer.
