THE ALMOST, the brainchild of UNDEROATH drummer/vocalist and multi-talented artist Aaron Gillespie, are back. The band has signed to Fearless Records and will release Fear Caller on October 18. The album is available for pre-order here.
“It’s a story of my childhood that really comes apart in the bridge discussing my father,” Gillespie says. “The song essentially explains how I got to be the way I am. I need the chokehold to succeed. It’s one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.”
While hundreds of thousands have become fans of Gillespie’s work in the rock world, the songcraft that defines The Almost and Fear Caller fulfill the potential he always exhibited at a now classic level. Inspired by sources as vast as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Brand New, and Dawes, he delivers the masterpiece he was always destined to make, achieving an artist breakthrough on par with those aforementioned influences by diving into the process like never before.
In order to record Fear Caller, Gillespie went to one of the most unpredictable and unstable ecosystems possible: the desert. The desert harbors countless ghosts, innumerable stories, and endless secrets. Various philosophies, texts, and religions point to it as the very source of creation. The vast nature of the desert’s power matches its geographical expanse in terms of sheer breadth. It also speaks to Gillespie on a deep level.
“I have a romantic affinity for the desert,” he says. “There are so many untold stories and hidden truths. The beginning of our thoughts and existence as a people happened out there. For me, it was a cathartic experience. It’s something I’ve never done. I needed to get out there with the ghosts and see what would happen.”
In between his duties as vocalist and drummer for gold-certified three-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated juggernaut Underoath, Aaron introduced The Almost on 2007’s seminal Southern Weather. The group shared the stage with everyone from Faith No More and Jane’s Addiction to A Day To Remember over the years. In between The Almost and Underoath records, he also spent two years touring behind the kit for Paramore. The Almost would be reenergized when he started writing in the midst of Underoath’s triumphant 2018 headline tour. This time around, storytelling took center stage.
“It’s where I am as a person,” he admits. “I’m continually striving to be more honest in terms of my feelings, my music, and how I deal with things. I’m talking about each subject as a vignette. The stories are individual experiences. It’s truly the most honest I’ve ever been in songs.”
Lyrics:
This is what it’s like to be me
Looking for a flashlight in a blank sea
Nothing but time on my hands
Nothing but blood on the sandI come alive in the darkness
I come alive when I’m honest
I come alive when I can’t see what is in front of me
I come alive in a chokehold
I’m like a child when there’s no hope
I’m on a bastard island, fatherless and desperate for dry landThis is time and space the in-between
dreaming of an out and to be seen
Nothing but fear in my hands
Nothing but doubt in my brainI come alive in the darkness
I come alive when I’m honest
I come alive when I can’t see what is in front of me
I come alive in a chokehold
I’m like a child when there’s no hope
I’m on a bastard island, fatherless and desperate for dry landCome on use your heart and be grateful
Your father gave his heart for you to be hateful
He was the bastard man that put you on this goddamn islandI come alive in the darkness
I come alive when I’m honest
I come alive when I can’t see what is in front of me
I come alive in a chokehold
I’m like a child when there is no hope
I’m on a bastard island, fatherless and desperate for dry land
