Credit: Jimmy FontaineTheory of a Deadman‘s new album may be called Say Nothing, but it’s about almost everything.
The record, the seventh studio effort from the Canadian rockers, is a very topical one, and tackles issues like drug use and racism; the lead single “History of Violence” is about domestic abuse.
Frontman Tyler Connolly tells ABC Audio that the barrage of news and current events impacted the direction of Say Nothing.
“I think we all have been watching the news a lot more than ever before,” he says.
Theory first dipped into similar topics with “Rx (Medicate),” the lead single from the group’s last album, 2017’s Wake Up Call. That song, which is about prescription drug abuse, received “great, positive feedback” from fans, who felt that it helped the through a “really tough time.”
“You kinda almost felt like you were helping people,” says guitarist Dave Brenner. “You’re talking about something that was important.”
Connolly adds that the success of “Rx,” which reached number one on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs chart, allowed him to be a more “courageous” songwriter.
“There’s a lot of fear when you’re writing,” Connolly says.
“With [‘Rx’], it was so outside the box for us,” he continues. “When it became very successful…we kinda went, ‘Hm, OK. What else can we talk about? Who else can we help?'”
To that end, as dark as Say Nothing can get, Theory wanted the album to have a light at the end of the tunnel.
“[When] you get to the end of the record…it has a song called ‘It’s All Good,'” Connolly says. “[It] describes how, ‘You know what? Everything’s gonna be fine. Just don’t get so worked up about everything that’s happening, ’cause we’re all gonna be OK.'”
Say Nothing is out today.
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
