Breathing Again: On Boy Becomes Hero's Album 'Escape Artist' and Using Music for Good
There are times where we go through a period of dysphoria, often falling into a dark place. We are unable to know where that path will take us, not sure if we will make it out in one piece. If we do, what will we do with our lives once we have traversed through the storm? We always want our lives to mean more than how we left it, when our lives were in disarray, unable to pick up the pieces that were once broken by the struggles and upheavals of life. Sometimes we try something new. Sometimes we turn a new page, start fresh, eager to leave the past behind us. Other times our talents and our hearts call upon us to do more.
This couldn't be more true for Boy Becomes Hero. Ever since their 2019 album Reverie, Boy Becomes Hero has called upon their music and their partnership with To Write Love On Her Arms to act as a shining beacon of hope for those that are struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.
Now their latest record Escape Artist shines another light of optimism on those that deal with these struggles daily. Boy Becomes Hero continues to give back even though it seems like the darkest of times may be behind us. But Boy Becomes Hero doesn't feel or have the energy to stop, that fight continues, even for them. In many ways, they are right, with hopes that other bands and artists join in on this worthy cause. To explain more, Boy Becomes Hero has come to chat with us and how even when you are struggling, you can always create a positive path for yourself and others.
Boy Becomes Hero Escape Artist album art
So I wanted to thank you guys for taking the time to chat with me. It's a pleasure to have you guys here. So I wanted to start by asking you guys, What shaped your band's sound when starting Boy Becomes Hero?
It’s a pleasure to be here! I guess what shaped the sound of ‘Escape Artist’ was my depression and anxiety, really haha. It’s been a pretty wild ride. Also having influences like Drop Dead, Gorgeous, He Is Legend, and Oh, Sleeper. I rust wrote my feelings here – in the instruments and vocals alike.
How did your partnership with To Write Love On Her Arms happen?
It's pretty simple, I came to the realization that I needed to give back. I’ve been very fortunate to have a solid support system and people in my life that hold me accountable through my, now 4 years, of sobriety. Not everyone has that though. TWLOHA does a phenomenal job helping people like myself, who are struggling, to connect with the right outlets for education and hope.
Your music deals with some pretty heavy themes such as depression, self-harm, and mental health. How important is that to include these themes in today's music? How do you make that accessible in your music? I know it's hard to balance that out lyrically and instrumentally when you are writing larger works.
I think it’s extremely important, honestly. I think there’s too much popular music out there today that is just constantly glorifying partying, drug use, and sexualizing people. It’s gross – it’s put right in front of every young person through YouTube and the radio too. A lot of people struggling with mental health issues continue to struggle because we feel alone and that there’s no one to share with. It can seem like you’re the only one having the thoughts or experiences in front of you.
That’s pretty damning. I want to share my thoughts and story with others. I think that the more we share our pain the more hope we can spread to others. The idea behind the Boy Becomes Hero albums are to create a concept for listeners to follow along with. They follow the characters and their story, but it’s my story too – my thoughts, my pain, my mental health issues. Hopefully, the listeners can know that they aren’t alone.
I also saw that your album was mastered by Andreas Magnusson. That's also pretty impressive. Recording some pretty big bands such as Oh, Sleeper, Haste The Day, and The Black Dahlia Murder, how did you guys manage to make that happen for this recording process?
Oh boy haha, yeah Andreas is seriously amazing. I just reached out to him and we were able to create a relationship quickly. He was the best fit for this project and probably will be for everything you hear from us moving forward.
What was the writing process like for Escape Artist? I understand your themes were much darker this time around as opposed to your freshman release, Reverie?
Honestly, this time around was much different than Reverie. For Reverie, I was really riding the high of my first year of sobriety and was just completely happy – that birthed the purpose of creating the concept. I knew I wanted to continue that but didn’t know that I would be encountering depression and anxiety again so rough. So this time, the album follows my thoughts and feelings while also telling the story and following the concept. I was really struggling.
My career felt like it was dying, I felt like a burden to everyone and wasn’t sure I could even breathe right. It just seemed like everywhere I looked I was heading for trouble. Writing really helps me get it all on paper and be able to heal. So while this is all meant for the listeners and their experience – it's really spiritual and healing for me as well.
Now that The Escape Artist is out, What have you taken from this release? Would you do anything to change it now that you have had time to reflect on it?
I wouldn’t change a single thing on this album, honestly. The reception and feedback have been awesome to hear from people. I’m happy to have been able to mature since Reverie and in life – so I’m really just excited to show everyone what’s next!
What do you want fans or others that may not have heard of your music to take from this release?
Hmmm... I want them to see that there is always a positive path. If you’re struggling or heading in a direction that isn’t healthy for your mind or life and are feeling stuck or hopeless – that’s alright, things can get better. For me, I hurt a lot of people; I was incredibly selfish and only lived for myself; I hated that version of me. I didn’t want to live.
Now I live a life of service and try to give back in everything I do. That makes me happy; to see others smile. So, if you’re feeling down, lost, useless; I encourage you to try something new, something different than your norm. See what makes you truly happy and do that thing full force!
This is going to be a reoccurring question in a lot of interviews, mainly because I wanted to see where all the artists were mentally being that it was so close to the end of the year. Were there any ambitions you wanted to realize before the year was out or did you see that as being a chapter closed and on to a fresh start?
Gosh… haha, I really just wanted to move on from that year! I think we did a lot last year. What I wanted to accomplish before it was over was maybe taking a nap or something. I’m really excited for people to see what is coming in 2021 so I’m mentally ready to be there.