We had the opportunity to sit down with BORN A NEW, New Jersey metalcore group who just dropped their crushing new single and video for βRat in the Roomβ. With the musical landscape likely forever changed, the guys took the time to talk about their new single along with the effects and opportunities the pandemic has created for artists worldwide.
Born A New‘s new single βRat in the Roomβ dropped in association with Modern Empire Music. Born A New recently announced a late April East Coast run with Desolated, which will be immediately followed by the Hellhounds EU – UK 2022 Tour with King 810, Afterlife and Yavid starting May 7th. Tour dates and ticket pre-sale information are available online. Stream βRat in the Roomβ today on YouTube and stream/purchase the single tomorrow on all other streaming platforms.
βRat in the Room” video director and band photographer Nick Chance worked with the group to put together a visually assaulting, captivating and energized clip that showcases the intensity of their live sets and artistic vision. The band tracked the single with Nashville based producer Cody Stewart (The Browning). Mike Milford of Modern Empire Music speaks on the signing and buzz around their upcoming rise, βThese dudes got the energy and insane work ethic of hardcore/metalcore bands of the early 2000βs, and blend in slick/modern metal production, eye grabbing aesthetics and a brand that wonβt be ignored. Be on the lookout for destroyed venues in your neighborhood soon.β
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Congrats on the release of βRat in the Roomβ, we dug the track and just crushed a gym sesh to the song. What is the inspiration for the song and the video?
Tyler Mateychick: Lyrically the song is about going through the stages of betrayal. It was written more from a place of anger and resentment. We can become so close to someone, you end up exposing a lot more of yourself and not everyone you meet has good intentions. When you establish a solid relationship/friendship with someone, a sense of trust develops and it becomes valuable, something you should never break. Iβve gone through my own personal life experiences and they started to weigh heavy on me. Instead of acting out, sometimes you just have to sit back and watch karma take care of the situation. Let the karma become your closure. Not everyone that comes into your life is meant to stay and unfortunately sometimes there’s nothing you can do to change that. True colors show and life moves on. Maybe they werenβt there for you to begin with.
Tyler Saczawa: The inspiration for the video and visuals really came from so many different places. Weβve always been a band that really tries to keep everything cohesive. We go for a very clean, but also grungy vibe. It can be hard to envision that sometimes because clean & grungy are complete opposites, but it really is the best way to describe it. Another good way to put it is high exposure to create brightness, but high contrast to create darkness; so bright, but dark. Again opposites, so the aesthetic is interesting in itself to describe. Since before we dropped our last EP βDura Vitaβ I had been saving video clips, music videos, photos, promos, content, etc that I thought would really fit the criteria of the aesthetic I was going for. A point of reference knowing that the time to get creative was approaching, but βDura Vitaβ was just the start. I ended up having so many references & ideas leftover from that rollout, that I was able to take everything leftover and bring them to Nick Chance with a general idea for the βRat in the Roomβ music video. He then took all of my influences and put his ideas together to create a moodboard for the video shoot. There were definitely a couple specific bands that really inspired some of the rollout graphics I created, but more importantly I knew some of the designers that also had their hand in those projectβs designs. I was able to pinpoint exactly what I wanted so that Nick Chance knew what he needed to get in order to keep it cohesive with the rest of the rollout. The video was directed/edited by Nick Chance (Chance Visuals) and the idea was me and him together. It was very collaborative and well put together all around.
Born A New blends together some great vibes in metal of past and present, what are some of the bands that influenced you over the years?
Tyler Mateychick: We really try to blend a lot of different styles of βmetalβ in our writing. More so now, than ever. The music is becoming more well-rounded and we couldnβt be more excited about this material. Kublai Khan. I AM. 2×4. Alpha Wolf. Gideon. Blake Hardman.
Tyler Saczawa: For drums I would have to say: Kublai Khan. Gideon. Matt Greiner. Adam Gray. Chelsea Grin. Lorna Shore. Cameron Humphrey.
What is next for Born A New in 2022? Any plans for a new LP, EP and any tours you have coming up?
Tyler Mateychick: We currently have a few more singles slated to come out throughout the year. The singles being released are in fact part of a bigger collection of songs.
Tyler Saczawa: We announced 2 tours for 2022 so far. US Tour with Desolated, These Streets, The World at the end of April. EU/UK Tour with KING 810, Afterlife, Yavid in May. We also may have mentioned a few times already on our socials that LP2 is done, so I guess you can expect to hear more details about that in the near future. Thatβs really all Iβll say about that right now.
Okay, let’s talk a bit about the last couple years. Obviously, tons of news sites shouted doom and gloom about cancelled tours but we want to get real with how it really is for bands on the rise. We feel that after the shock and adaptation to everything, there are some really cool ideas out there that open the doors to promote your music. Letβs dive into it more.
Many major bands shelled out the cash to do livestream performances and keep their live shows accessible. What else have you seen in the metal world that has helped Born A New or other artists stay visible during the pandemic?
Tyler Mateychick: Before the pandemic hit, we were confirmed to play FamFest (Philadelphia, PA) thanks to Dominic Stone. When everything shut down, he announced that the fest was going to be an βonline livestream eventβ so that was really cool because FamFest was always a festival Dom booked to bring the local scene together. Every year you could expect a new lineup with different bands from the year before, multiple genres, multiple days of nothing but support for each other.
Tyler Saczawa: FamFest Online was very cool. Dom had a multi-cam setup with mixed live audio for all the livestream viewers and to be honest it ran flawlessly. The lineup was different for the online event because he was able to promote his sponsors and play different podcasts during set changeovers and also included out of state bands with pre-recorded sets for streaming during their βset timeβ. He had every band that actually played (at Backroom Studios) come an hour or so before their set so they could set up in another studio room, separate from the studio room the bands were performing in, to comply with COVID protocols. Everyone wore a mask and the studio room that the bands performed in was sanitized in between each set. I know a bunch of friends that even held little FamFest online parties and watched the livestream all day, so Dom really did bring the scene together as a whole (bands, sponsors, viewers, podcasts, etc) even with a pandemic. Aside from the livestreams though, we also took part in a handful of different podcasts, released an EP, filmed a couple playthroughs, and wrote even more material. Gotta keep your content coming.
In the realm of punk rock, hardcore and metal a good amount of shows are at non-mainstream venues and even those are DIY included rented out halls, backyards and even basements. Did current events affect underground shows the same way it did for major venues in your region?
Tyler Saczawa: Honestly, it was kind of weird to see how the pandemic affected different sized venues. Most of the bigger venues started to have to comply with specific COVID protocols, which did affect attendance and overall future bookings. While the smaller more DIY venues you would think would just be an absolute no-go (because of the idea of having a bunch of heads in a smaller area) but most of the time those smaller places didnβt have to enforce those COVID protocols as strictly. So you still saw shows here and there and if you did it was most likely at some smaller venue or underground spot. I also think it just really depends on what state youβre in.
Not being able to play or attend as many in-person events has a huge impact on music cultures, including metal and hardcore scenes regionally. Have you found that the scene has got creative to stay connected despite having a lack of shows over almost 2 years?
Tyler Mateychick: I think this is somewhat answered in the question above about livestreams. FamFest Online really brought bands, sponsors, viewers, podcasts all together while still meeting all COVID protocols. So there were definitely ways to stay connected with your scene throughout the pandemic.
Tyler Saczawa: I think the people that WANTED to stay connected throughout the pandemic, found ways to be creative and continued to give their friends and fans content to be stoked about. I also think since we started to come out of the pandemic, weβve seen that people are mad stoked to just go back to shows.
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How will touring look for bands like Born A New this year and moving forward compared to before the pandemic? Those not in bands Iβm sure are curious what it is like, especially now while there is a resurgence of variants putting a damper on tour plans.
Tyler Mateychick: It really does suck to hear about all of these newly cancelled tour plans, but there unfortunately isnβt much we can do, except to keep moving. We already saw a small timeframe where some events had a certain percentage lower maximum capacity.
Tyler Saczawa: The last tour we did was with VCTMS in November of last year and we were all fine. At the end of the day if you get vaccinated, wear a mask, donβt share vapes, donβt share smoke, donβt share drinks/food, donβt hang in the green room with fans, etc., you will most likely be ok. Just gotta be smart.
What are some creative new ideas that your band or others have come up with to stay relevant during this whole thing?
Tyler Mateychick: Playthroughs, writing new music, new promos, livestreams.
Tyler Saczawa: Podcasts, side projects, solo projects, writing material in general, practice so you can come back with even more chops, anything you can do to continue to show your musicianship. In fact, the pandemic I think opened up a whole βfeedβ of individual musicianship within bands. Plenty of musicians worked on their craft, posted videos of them experimenting in other genres, etc and with that, you start to create your own individual fanbase/relevance, which at the same time builds your bandβs relevance.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today about the single and what Born A New is up to. You can watch the video below and stream the track now on Spotify or Apple Music.
US Tour Dates w/ Desolated, These Streets, The World
04.27.22 – chicago, il @ cobra lounge
04.28.22 – toledo, oh @ ottawa tavern
04.29.22 – phoenixville, pa @ phoenixville polish club
04.30.22 – brooklyn, ny @ sovereign brooklyn
05.01.22 – albany, ny @ empire underground
EU – UK Tour Dates w/ King 810, Afterlife, Yavid
07.05.22 – germany, mΓΌnchen @ backstage
08.05.22 – italy, milan @ slaughter club
09.05.22 – switzerland, aarau @ kiff
10.05.22 – france, paris @ la maroquinerie
11.05.22 – belgium, aarschot @ de klinker club
13.05.22 – uk, london @ the dome
14.05.22 – uk, southampton @ the loft
15.05.22 – uk, manchester @ rebellio
16.05.22 – uk, glasgow @ g2
17.05.22 – uk, birmingham @ mama roux
18.05.22 – uk, leeds @ key club
19.05.22 – uk, bristol @ the fleece
20.05.22 – netherlands, eindhoven @ dynamo
21.05.22 – germany, kΓΆln @ gebΓ€ude 9
22.05.22 – germany, hamburg @ logo
23.05.22 – germany, berlin @ hole44
24.05.22 – poland, warsaw @ hydrozagadka
25.05.22 – czech rep, prague @ rock cafe
26.05.22 – germany, nΓΌrnberg @ z-bau
27.05.22 – germany, karlsruhe @ stadtmitte
28.05.22 – germany, leipzig @ conne island
