A Force Of Nature With ERIC VANLERBERGHE From I PREVAIL

I Prevail swept into town like a rampaging force of nature with their debut album Lifelines in 2016. It was an album that screamed defiance from every note, emphatically heralding the arrival of I Prevail onto a musical landscape that was destined to be changed forever.
While bands had previously flirted with fusions of post hardcore, metalcore, pop punk, hard rock, nu metal, electronics and hip hop, none had managed to find a completely happy medium, choosing more fleeting moments of amalgamation rather than combining all of the genres under one banner. But here was a band who seemingly found the perfect balance on their first offering.
Prior to this, I Prevail had endeared themselves to the crossover metal community with a heavy take on Taylor Swift's Blank Space, but that proved to be merely an appetiser for the sonic feast that was to come.
Despite attaining gold status over their first two albums as well as Grammy nominations previously unheard of for music of their preference, I Prevail refused to stick to what was already a winning formula, pushing themselves and their boundaries more and more with each release. Where many would find comfort, I Prevail found challenges, all of which have come together to form the nucleus of the band's fourth album, Violent Nature, which was released worldwide last week. It is an album of triumph over adversity, light where there should have been dark, and a defiant enthusiasm and hunger for personal musical fulfilment, which a betting man would say is still a long way from being satiated for this ever-evolving band.
HEAVY caught up with frontman Eric Vanlerberghe recently to discuss Violent Nature and how it represents I Prevail at this current point of their career. We start by asking how the early reception has been for the album.
"It's been incredible," he replied. "Just seeing the love on it and playing some of these new songs live. We played one of the songs before the record came out, and people were just jumping. It felt great. It's good to finally have it out."
We mention a quote from the press release that says I Prevail have taken things to the next level with Violent Nature and ask if he agrees.
"Yeah," he measured after a brief pause. "I think that's a fair assessment (laughs). Just like every record in the past, we always look back and go Okay, what can we do better? What can we improve, and how can we cut the fat? With the heavier stuff, I feel like we've gotten and created different ways to get heavier, and when it comes back to writing the hooks and choruses, we spent a lot of time to make sure we loved every single one of them. Each one felt like a 10 out of 10 before it went out the door. After 11 years of writing, I think we're just starting to get it (laughs)."
In the full interview, Eric dives deeper into Violent Nature from a musical point of view, highlighting the opening track Synthetic Soul and how it came together. We discuss the recording process that was split in two parts and how that impacted the finished result, as well as this being the first time that I Prevail have actually recorded an album in a proper studio as opposed to more DIY methods.
We talk about Eric taking on clean vocals for the album to go with his usual harsh singing, and how difficult the transition into the dual roles was. He told us about the variations writing for clean vocals had during the creative process, and how the band ironed out any bumps as they occurred. Talk also turned to the eclectic blending of genres and how I Prevail find their balance in the creative process, plus Eric discussed last year's Australian tour with Parkway Drive, and just when I Prevail might be planning their own run of shows and plenty more.


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