I See Stars Release New Album 'THE WHEEL' & Drop New Music Video "carry on for you" via Sumerian Records

Electronic hardcore pioneers I See Stars have released their new album 'THE WHEEL' via Sumerian Records. The full-length is the band's latest body of music since their smash-hit 2016 album, 'Treehouse'. In celebration of the news, the quartet has released the official music video for the poignant track "carry on for you". Speaking about the album, the band shared:

"The last time we spent this much time on a record was our debut album, '3D'. 'The Wheel' is a time capsule capturing the past seven years of our lives. It’s a culmination of everything we’ve experienced individually, together, and as human beings navigating the chaos of the world. We truly poured everything into it & we are so excited to finally share it with our fans."

I See Stars fans across Australia and Asia will soon have their chance to see the band on the road, followed up by a performance at Vans Warped Tour Orlando in November. 'THE WHEEL' is available now on all streaming platforms at the link here. Watch "carry on for youbelow, and be sure to stay tuned for more I See Stars news coming soon.

ABOUT I SEE STARS

Somehow, it’s been nearly a decade since the last I See Stars album. There have, however, been a few hints and glimpses of it over the past couple of years. In 2023, the electronicore pioneers released four songs: AnomalyDriftare we 3ven and D4MAGE DONE, while in 2024 they put out SPLIT. While all five songs do appear on this record, they only revealed a fraction of what the band—these days comprised of Brent Allen (guitar), Andrew Oliver (keyboards/programming), Devin Oliver (clean and unclean vocals) and Jeff Valentine (bass)—had in store. Because THE WHEEL, the band’s sixth full-length, is an album in the truest sense of the word, one designed to be listened to in full from beginning to end, and which truly immerses you in its world when you do. It’s the product of a lot of patience, a lot of care, a lot of time, some of which was by design, some of which was out of the band’s control. 

After releasing Treehouse in 2016 and then touring on it, I See Stars did actually start working on a new album, but when Covid hit, they scrapped pretty much all of it to instead sharpen their focus. There was, after all, nothing but time, so the band decided to spend it making a record that lived up to their own expectations and which fully matched their artistic vision.

“It gave us the opportunity to take a step back and really dive into what we wanted to actually dig in and write,” says Jeff. “Not that what was done before was bad, but this gave the four of us an opportunity to sit in a room with each other and just write.

As such, THE WHEEL is a fully-formed living memory of both of those eras, and one that places the listener right there with the band. “It's really kind of a special piece,” continues Devin, “and you feel that in the journey when you're listening to the album front to back. You feel us swimming in the mystery of what life was doing and where it was taking us.

Produced by David Bendeth, and mostly mixed by Zakk Cervini—though Tom Norris also worked on a couple of tracks—THE WHEEL took on a life of its own when the band started making it. The album begins with Spin It, which is simply the sound of a wheel being spun. It’s not just for aesthetic purposes, though. In the studio each day, the band would spin a web-based digital wheel to determine which song they would work on, but it was also a way to add some levity to the creative process. 

“We would throw all the songs onto this website wheel,” remembers Andrew, “as well as some dumb, totally not creative thing in there that would like sidetrack us—but purposefully. It was this comedic approach that we were taking every day, where whatever the wheel told us to do, we’d do. It had these zany sound effects, but also created this weird vibe where we were like ‘We've just got to trust fate here.’ We're all obsessed with fate and letting things happen as they might, so the sound effect was an obvious thing for us to include—and then it took shape into a much larger concept.”

“What I really loved about the wheel concept,” adds Devin, “was it wasn't our choice. It was our choice to leave it to chance, yes, but we trusted the universe to point us in the right direction by spinning the wheel. It started off as a joke, but turned into this thing that became really important for us.”

Beyond the idea of fate and purpose, there are some other complex and deeply personal themes on this record. The yearning, tragedy-laced carry on for you—undoubtedly one of the saddest, most beautiful songs on the record—was written after Devin and Andrew lost their uncle to pancreatic cancer, while a number of the other songs detail Devin’s struggle with a condition called intracranial hypertension that’s caused as a result of too much fluid in the brain.

“It made me very familiar with the hospital,” says Devin. “I was hospitalized for months on end and that lasted for about two years of my life. So a lot of this record is about that. I don't deal with the chronic pain that I had from that anymore, and some would say the condition is in remission, but it's really hard for me to listen to some of these songs—truly—because there were a lot of moments writing this record where I didn't want to be alive. That's really hard for me to admit, because I'm not that person who talks about this stuff openly. I talk about it through our music—my traumas come out through my artistic expression. So listening to the record really gets emotional for me, because I'm not in the same place I once was. I'm super grateful to not be in all that pain.”

It all combines to make a record that’s as cerebral as it is visceral, as vulnerable as it is powerful, and as pure as anything I See Stars have made in their almost two-decade long career. After a long time in stasis, it’s clear to hear just how rejuvenated and refreshed they are, even as final track Curtain Call speeds off into the distance. That song is, as Devin calls it, “a wheel of emotion”, and ends with a question (well, two) repeated over and over again: ‘Will you ever love? Will you ever love me?’ “'Curtain Call' is tapping on every fucking thing we talked about on the whole record in one song,” says Devin. “It's almost like the wheel spinning in song form—it keeps turning round and is just racing through time and emotions. And the question we ask at the end of the song has a lot to do with the band. Will I ever be enough as an artist? Will the fans ever see us for everything we've put into this, which essentially at this point is our entire lives?”

Even just one listen to this record and it’s pretty clear that the answer to both those questions is a resounding yes.

NYC's Black Rose Burning presents a space odyssey in new sci-fi music video. 'The Wheel' LP is out now

"A compelling blend of ominous Goth atmospheres, dark, but dynamic dancefloor anthems, New Wave ’80s tunefulness, and electronics-embedded tech tracks, all draped with the silky, reflective, and longing vocals of George Grant" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"Leaning towards Ultravox and Colourbox on the new wave spectrum, they sometimes also produce vibes channelled from Phantasmagoria-era The Damned and Butterfly on a Wheel-era The Mission. The closest assessment would be The Veldt and modern day post-punk quartet ACTORS, only with the unique vocal timbre of A.R.Kane's Alex Ayuli" ~ Amplify Music Mag

"The elements of post-punk such as the jangly guitars and the keyboards and yet there seems to so much more going on... Space might be the final frontier but Black Rose Burning are already stellar" ~ Onyx Music Reviews

"Compelling... smoulders from the ashes of goth-rock, whilst emerging from the dry-ice ambience of 80s nostalgia. Like a noir-new romantic, Black Rose Burning peacock preens from the underworld of art-pop, whilst intermixing its post-punk palette" ~ The Manc Review

NYC-based alternative rock outfit Black Rose Burning has revealed their new video for 'The Wheel', the title track of the full-length album by the same name. 'The Wheel' is their second full-length effort, following the band's debut album 'The Year of the Scorpion', released in 2020.

"This is the third video for the Black Rose Burning Sci-Fi space series 'Under Twin Suns', which documents the journey of "The Traveler" from earth to his homeworld. The song encouraged the spaghetti western feel of this video, which is a space age homage to films like 'High Plains Drifter' and 'The Good The Bad And The Ugly'. I'm a big fan of that genre of films as well, and I've always wanted to pay tribute with a video of my own," says George Grant.

Running at about 50 minutes, this collection of 12 galactic offerings was inspired by love lost, love won and outer space. This sophomore album takes the band's sound to a completely new level in terms of songwriting and composition.

With a healthy set of post-punk gothic rock earworms, it should come as no surprise that this album would involve Jason Corbett of ACTORS at his Jacknife Sound Studio in Vancouver.

Black Rose Burning was formed in 2018 by instrumentalist, producer and engineer George Grant, whose soulful vocal delivery, instantly recognizable voice, unique grooves and solid instrumentation are standout features of this music.

Spanning the realms of multiple genres, Grant's influences are also multi-generational while maintaining an overall succinct flow and feel. Roughly 40 years of songwriting across many styles has helped George embellish on clever hooks, drive and the gothic-pop sensibilities of The Cult's early years.

"This release was a labor of love after the success of my first record. I was working through and adjusting to the post covid landscape and took solace in having the time to make another proper record," says George Grant.

"Over the past four years or so, quite a few relationships that I valued were destroyed in an instant - over politics or just basic unacceptable differences. Then came Covid and I lost a few more for reasons beyond their control. There was a lot of anger in my first record. This one is more melancholic than angry. I write about outer space a lot. On both records. I find it inspirational. It’s vastness. It’s the place I’d most like to go. Maybe the place I’d most like to escape to might be a better definition."

'The Wheel' was recorded in George’s own studio, PV Recording Company, which has over the years hosted such artists as Emelio Zeff China (Peter Murphy), Knox Chandler (Siouxsie And The Banshees), Chibi (The Birthday Party Massacre), Nellie McKay, Julia Marcel, Paul Bakija (Reagan Youth), Ego Likeness and Voltaire (with whom Grant also played bass for 10 years).

Grant has also assembled for live performances, including guitarist Frank Morin (World Inferno Friendship Society) and drummer Luis Infantas (Monster Zero).

Available on CD and digitally across the internet, including Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be ordered directly from the band via Bandcamp.

CREDITS
Recorded and Mixed by George Grant at PVRCo in Putnam Valley, NY and The Wolf’s Den Manhattan
Mastered By Jason Corbett (ACTORS) at Jacknife Sound Vancouver
Cover Art by Eshmoon DM Design
Live photography by Robert Braunfeld

Keep up with Black Rose Burning
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | YouTube| Spotify | Apple Music

NYC new wave-postpunk outfit Black Rose Burning release 'The Wheel' LP

"A compelling blend of ominous Goth atmospheres, dark, but dynamic dancefloor anthems, New Wave ’80s tunefulness, and electronics-embedded tech tracks, all draped with the silky, reflective, and longing vocals of George Grant" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"Leaning towards Ultravox and Colourbox on the new wave spectrum, they sometimes also produce vibes channelled from Phantasmagoria-era The Damned and Butterfly on a Wheel-era The Mission" ~ Amplify Music Mag

"Space might be the final frontier but Black Rose Burning are already stellar" ~ Onyx Music Reviews

"A compelling album that smoulders from the ashes of goth-rock, whilst emerging from the dry-ice ambience of 80s nostalgia. Like a noir-new romantic, Black Rose Burning peacock preens from the underworld of art-pop, whilst intermixing its post-punk palette" ~ The Manc Review

NYC-based alternative rock outfit Black Rose Burning has released 'The Wheel', their second full-length album, following the band's debut album 'The Year of the Scorpion', released in 2020.

Running at about 50 minutes, this collection of 12 galactic offerings was inspired by love lost, love won and outer space. This sophomore album takes the band's sound to a completely new level in terms of songwriting and composition.

With a healthy set of post-punk gothic rock earworms, it should come as no surprise that this album would involve Jason Corbett of ACTORS at his Jacknife Sound Studio in Vancouver.

Black Rose Burning was formed in 2018 by instrumentalist, producer and engineer George Grant, whose soulful vocal delivery, instantly recognizable voice, unique grooves and solid instrumentation are standout features of this music.

Spanning the realms of multiple genres, Grant's influences are also multi-generational while maintaining an overall succinct flow and feel. Roughly 40 years of songwriting across many styles has helped George embellish on clever hooks, drive and the gothic-pop sensibilities of The Cult's early years.

"This release was a labor of love after the success of my first record. I was working through and adjusting to the post covid landscape and took solace in having the time to make another proper record," says George Grant.

"Over the past four years or so, quite a few relationships that I valued were destroyed in an instant - over politics or just basic unacceptable differences. Then came Covid and I lost a few more for reasons beyond their control. There was a lot of anger in my first record. This one is more melancholic than angry. I write about outer space a lot. On both records. I find it inspirational. It’s vastness. It’s the place I’d most like to go. Maybe the place I’d most like to escape to might be a better definition."

'The Wheel' was recorded in George’s own studio, PV Recording Company, which has over the years hosted such artists as Emelio Zeff China (Peter Murphy), Knox Chandler (Siouxsie And The Banshees), Chibi (The Birthday Party Massacre), Nellie McKay, Julia Marcel, Paul Bakija (Reagan Youth), Ego Likeness and Voltaire (with whom Grant also played bass for 10 years).

Grant has also assembled for live performances, including guitarist Frank Morin (World Inferno Friendship Society) and drummer Luis Infantas (Monster Zero).

Available on CD and digitally across the internet, including Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be ordered directly from the band via Bandcamp.

CREDITS
Recorded and Mixed by George Grant at PVRCo in Putnam Valley, NY and The Wolf’s Den Manhattan
Mastered By Jason Corbett (ACTORS) at Jacknife Sound Vancouver
Cover Art by Eshmoon DM Design
Live photography by Robert Braunfeld

Keep up with Black Rose Burning
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | YouTube| Spotify | Apple Music

NYC-based alt-rock postpunk outfit Black Rose Burning present 'The Wheel' album

"A compelling blend of ominous Goth atmospheres, dark, but dynamic dancefloor anthems, New Wave ’80s tunefulness, and electronics-embedded tech tracks, all draped with the silky, reflective, and longing vocals of George Grant" ~ Big Takeover Magazine

"Leaning towards Ultravox and Colourbox on the new wave spectrum, they sometimes also produce vibes channelled from Phantasmagoria-era The Damned and Butterfly on a Wheel-era The Mission. Perhaps the closest assessment would be The Veldt and modern day post-punk quartet ACTORS, only with the unique vocal timbre of A.R.Kane's Alex Ayuli" ~ Amplify Music Mag

"The elements of post-punk such as the jangly guitars and the keyboards and yet there seems to so much more going on... Space might be the final frontier but Black Rose Burning are already stellar" ~ Onyx Music Reviews

NYC-based alternative rock outfit Black Rose Burning has released 'The Wheel', their second full-length album, following the band's debut album 'The Year of the Scorpion', released in 2020.

Running at about 50 minutes, this collection of 12 galactic offerings was inspired by love lost, love won and outer space. This sophomore album takes the band's sound to a completely new level in terms of songwriting and composition.

With a healthy set of post-punk gothic rock earworms, it should come as no surprise that this album would involve Jason Corbett of ACTORS at his Jacknife Sound Studio in Vancouver.

Black Rose Burning was formed in 2018 by instrumentalist, producer and engineer George Grant, whose soulful vocal delivery, instantly recognizable voice, unique grooves and solid instrumentation are standout features of this music.

Spanning the realms of multiple genres, Grant's influences are also multi-generational while maintaining an overall succinct flow and feel. Roughly 40 years of songwriting across many styles has helped George embellish on clever hooks, drive and the gothic-pop sensibilities of The Cult's early years.

"This release was a labor of love after the success of my first record. I was working through and adjusting to the post covid landscape and took solace in having the time to make another proper record," says George Grant.

"Over the past four years or so, quite a few relationships that I valued were destroyed in an instant - over politics or just basic unacceptable differences. Then came Covid and I lost a few more for reasons beyond their control. There was a lot of anger in my first record. This one is more melancholic than angry. I write about outer space a lot. On both records. I find it inspirational. It’s vastness. It’s the place I’d most like to go. Maybe the place I’d most like to escape to might be a better definition."

'The Wheel' was recorded in George’s own studio, PV Recording Company, which has over the years hosted such artists as Emelio Zeff China (Peter Murphy), Knox Chandler (Siouxsie And The Banshees), Chibi (The Birthday Party Massacre), Nellie McKay, Julia Marcel, Paul Bakija (Reagan Youth), Ego Likeness and Voltaire (with whom Grant also played bass for 10 years).

Grant has also assembled for live performances, including guitarist Frank Morin (World Inferno Friendship Society) and drummer Luis Infantas (Monster Zero).

Available on CD and digitally across the internet, including Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be ordered directly from the band via Bandcamp.

CREDITS
Recorded and Mixed by George Grant at PVRCo in Putnam Valley, NY and The Wolf’s Den Manhattan
Mastered By Jason Corbett (ACTORS) at Jacknife Sound Vancouver
Cover Art by Eshmoon DM Design
Live photography by Robert Braunfeld

Keep up with Black Rose Burning
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | YouTube| Spotify | Apple Music