Coming Home: On Aside From That's New Single "The Heart Of Dreams" and Getting Back to What You Love
There are times where we get caught up in our day to day lives and lose sight of things that we are most passionate about. The things that we hold dear to us fade into the background for the sake of other matters that take precedence at the time. But the ultimate question is always rolling like a film in the back of our minds. "Am I missing out on the opportunities I could have thrived on for the sake of convenience?" or "Am I wasting my time on something else when I know could be doing something I love more?." We then face the choice to either leave those dreams hanging in the distance, hoping the chance will present itself again, or to strike while the iron is hot. When we do arrive at that decision, it begs another question. Will we succeed in whatever we have chosen to do?
This all lies in the magic of hard work and ambition. All of this could not be more true for UK musician Phil Walker and his metalcore band project Aside From That. Debuting his latest single, "The Heart of Dreams," it's a track that memorably takes us back to progressive metalcore from 2012. With riffs and breakdowns filled with such tenacity and energy within its guitar strings and vocal work ringing with confidence, Phil Walker has proven you don't have to be signed to make an impression on the scene. But behind such an instrumental explosion is a track that raises awareness to listeners that they are not alone. To explain more, Phil Walker is here with Scene Daddy is talk more with me about his new single and the journey that led him back to his music career.
How did Aside from That all begin? What was the vision behind it?
For me, I missed doing music as my personal life took over. I just wanted to do something on my own, on my terms.
Aside From That “The Heart Of Dreams” Single Cover Art
What was your scene like at the time when you created this band?
Well, Covid had been pretty prominent when I started, it so was the perfect time for me to be able to concentrate on the music.
What are your musical influences? How did they help shape Aside from That?
I’ve always been into aggressive yet melodic choruses, so I guess that helped with the song. I'm massively influenced by Currents, Polaris, and The Ghost Inside.
Lyrically where are you coming from with "The Heart of Dreams?" What is the story behind this?
Lyrically, the story behind it is that you’re trying to keep hold of something for so long that you forget who you truly were.
What do you want people to take from this release that are hearing you for the first time?
That you’re not alone in a lot of things in this world. You have to keep fighting and talk to people if you feel it’s getting too much for you.
In what ways are you changing up the scene with your music? Just hearing "The Heart of Dreams," nostalgically, takes me back to bands in 2012, where we had great mixes of progressive metal, metalcore and had all these attractive riffs, leads, and breakdowns that stood out.
For me, I missed the early days of metal, so wanted to bring it back while also keeping it modern to what the scene is going to be like. Killswitch Engage had a big influence on me for this song.
How did 2020 change you as an artist musically? In what ways?
It made me realize how much music meant to me, that I should never give up on something that I’m good at doing.
What are you're goals for the new year seeing that 2020 is over?
The biggest goal for me is just to get a live band together and play some shows, meet some cool bands, and just spread the message of awareness I'm putting into these songs.