Pushing Boundaries, Blurring the Lines: On Crashing Atlas's New Single "Graveyard" and Their Journey as a Band
Crashing Atlas is consistently defying the lines of what you would consider a normal rock band. This isn't just because they have a female for a vocalist either. As females for vocalists in bands have become more prevalent in the scene, so is the need to be more inclusive when discussing them now more than ever. While band vocalist Marina Heath does indeed have a talent that speaks leaps and bounds to her skills as an artist, this band continues to push boundaries in other ways. With each single that Crashing Atlas has come out with since 2017, they have toed the lines between prismatic, engaging, and unpredictable. Their sound isn't the only thing that surging through music waves and catching the interest of more than 22,900 listeners on Spotify and more than 9k followers and counting on Facebook for this up-and-coming band.
Underneath all that creative brilliance, there is a story worth hearing about a band that has beaten the odds, able to create their latest emotionally explosive single, "Graveyard" and a full-length album. Yet throughout all the struggles they have endured, what has emerged is a stronger, wiser, and more optimistic band, excited and ready for what the future holds. Vocalist Marina Heath and guitarist Dougie Chi-Town have joined Scene Daddy to share more of their story about their new single and what the journey has been like over the past few years for the eclectic Maryland hard rock band.
Why did you guys start Crashing Atlas? What was the scene around you like back then?
Dougie: The story of CA has so many weaving layers in its short time, that we may end up writing a book one day to cover it all. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, we triumphed to make it here today to finally do this full-length record. The lineup changes, drama, and unrest to fulfill a potential within ourselves were enough to make any band split. The good that came from all of that is the current lineup you see today. From the point of the brand new lineup being formed in 2018, we wanted to create music that we wanted to hear on the radio.
We make music because it's genuinely fun for us to do. When it comes to Marina, Nick, Paul, and myself, it goes beyond that yearn for making music. The fact is, we are the best of friends, and it makes making music a simple task within our relationships. When all of us came together around that time, the scene around us was vibrant and chalk full of shows from us and fellow Baltimore bands every weekend. Being a “Washington D.C.” band it was tough for us to break in, but they welcomed us with open arms as we continued to grind.
You guys have had a handful of singles come out dating to "The Light" back in 2019. How has your music changed since that first release? I feel with each release, you guys create something contradistinctive to show us atmospherically and instrumentally. I feel the same holds with "Graveyard."
Dougie: That is such a cool way to put it! I think as musicians, the goal is always trying to find ways to push boundaries sonically and stylistically. When we wrote “The Light” we knew it was the start of a new beginning for us. When we stepped into the studio in August of 2020 to record our debut full length, we had batches of songs that went all over the board. We knew that we had the power to choose our path and how we wanted to finally be presented to the music world.
"Graveyard" was one of the first demos that we had kicking around. It all started with Nick and I tirelessly “Zoom” writing when the pandemic hit. It seemed like we would send 5-10 different snippets a day to each other to keep each other sane. We were listening to a lot of bands like: The Word Alive, Dayseeker, Silverstein, and of course Bring Me The Horizon. This record is going to introduce to our fans some of the heaviest stuff we have ever done, as well as some of our most gut-wrenching heartfelt material. We believe there will be a song on here for all types of rock fans.
Crashing Atlas “Graveyard” Single cover art
Where do you find inspiration for your music? What is the recording process like once you have found an idea that is solid enough to begin to track?
Dougie: All of us find inspiration in different places musically. We are first and foremost just lovers of Rock music in general. Bands like: My Chemical Romance, Breaking Benjamin, Bayside, and Dream Theater are just examples of how diverse we are within the realm of Rock. From those heroes of ours, we learned to craft songs of our own. A lot of our writing comes from stories of our own lives, but we have recently started writing about other people.
That has become very therapeutic for the band as of late. When we feel like we have a riff, a catchy chorus, or a great line, it goes through an extensive process between us all. The great thing about this band is that we are all writers on multiple levels within the song. We all play multiple instruments and always help one another during each part of the recording process. During the recording of this record, we found out just how talented each of us is when it comes to writing in regards to each part of a song.
What is the story behind "Graveyard?" Can you guys share that story with us?
Marina: This was probably the first demo that we really started hammering out in 2020 during all of the writing sessions. Doug came up with this massive riff and all of us were immediately on board. It was dramatic and explosive and angry. I think it hit all of us in the same way. From a lyrical point of view, I was going through a messy breakup and with all the stress of that and the pandemic, I just felt abandoned, isolated, and angry. Nothing about what I or anyone else was dealing with at the time felt fair. When we finally got the lyrics and melody laid down for it, it felt like a weight off my shoulders. This song coming out feels like closing that chapter.
A lot of people draw comparisons to Haley Williams automatically to bands with females as the lead vocalist. While she is a great artist and did a lot for many female artists in our generation, I feel it's lazy and not putting much effort into thinking about what's happening with the music genre or the vocalist behind the music for each band we are speaking about in particular. In your opinion, as an artist, how do you feel about these stereotypes with your music? What have you done to navigate through and change that narrative?
Marina: The interesting thing about the Hayley Williams conversation regarding myself as a vocalist is that I do draw a lot of inspiration from her. Paramore is one of my absolute favorite bands and she’s one of my idols. But the problem with that conversation is that it is lazy and forces people to see young women in rock music as one thing only.
Hayley Williams has six albums under her belt and songs that stretch across all kinds of genres. It’s not fair to pigeonhole women into this idea of "Hayley" because most of the time, everyone is thinking of one specific song from 2007. If you listen to our music or any other female-fronted band, almost all of those songs are nothing like Paramore.
I wouldn’t be the artist I am without Hayley to look up to, but I also have a lot of other women that I could thank in the same way. Taylor Momsen, Lzzy Hale, Ariel Bloomer, Jenna McDougal, Amy Lee, Lynn Gunn, Lacey Sturm, and dozens more. I take inspiration from male artists as well. The only way to change the narrative is to be original and that’s really important to us.
In a genre that always fights to stay competitive, how have you found ways to be progressive while staying true to your musical roots?
Dougie: When we first started this band we knew we didn’t want to stay in a particular lane. We always wanted to push the envelope with no disregard for what would be considered true Rock N' Roll. We wanted to write music that we would want to hear blaring across the airwaves. Every song that we write has a new purpose for us all while keeping that same goal of being us, being Crashing Atlas.
Do you feel 2020 changed the way you wrote as an artist? In what way?
Dougie: In every way, it changed the way we approached being an artist. Obviously, not being able to play live has put a wrench in every band's plans. In a lot of ways it was a weird blessing for us, it forced everyone to get into a room together and hash out our differences to make the record of our lives. 2020 also showed us different ways that we could still be artists while not being on stage. We recently started diving into Twitch! It has been a blast interacting with fans on that personal level.
What are the goals for the new year now that 2020 is closed?
Marina: We’re really just dying to get back on stage and see these songs come to life. We want to talk to people who have listened to our work and tell them how much they mean to us. None of us feel complete without concerts and live music. It brings a lot of light into our lives and it’s been pretty dim for a while. I’m also really proud of the way that Crashing Atlas has come together as a writing machine during these tough times and I think all of us intend on not letting that slow down any time soon.