Californian rock quintet Hail The Sun have released their new album, Divine Inner Tension, out now via Rude Records (UK/EU) / Equal Vision Records (ROW). The band have also shared their new single 'Tunnel Vision Alibi'.

Check out 'Tunnel Vision Alibi' here: https://youtu.be/oLAqMFp1uB4

Stream/purchase Divine Inner Tension: https://hts.lnk.to/divine

Helmed by notable producer Kris Crummett, Divine Inner Tension finds the veteran rock band questioning what it means to be here and to be alive, on both a micro level - where the importance of our existence is profound and paramount - and on a macro one - where our time on this planet is nothing but irrelevant and insignificant.

One of the main epiphanies California's Hail The Sun had when making this new album was understanding that inspiration didn’t have to come from a place of despair, and letting go of the idea that an artist needs to be tortured in order to create. Instead, the band looked beyond the viscerally emotional to the more spiritual and even enlisted the help of Ice Nine Kills’ Joe Occhiuti, who is also involved with vocalist Donovan Melero’s Kill Iconic Records, on a number of tracks.

On the album, Melero admits: “This is the first album we’ve written that didn’t come exclusively from a place of suffering or pain. Sadness, heartbreak and nihilism all inspire, but during the pandemic, there was a big shift, and this is more about retelling the story - retelling stories about everyday perceptions. Everything comes from within, so I thought that maybe I don’t have to suffer to feel inspired.”

Though that idea flows through the entirety of the record, it’s best captured by 'The Story Writes Itself', a song that both figuratively and literally sits at the centre of the album. A typically impassioned blast of progressive post-hardcore, it frames the relationship between the universe and the self, and the tension and connection between them, that is so central to this album’s themes. Elsewhere, on '60-Minute Session Blocks' the band grapples with the notion of identity, examining the way people change and fluctuate, often deliberately over time. But then that’s followed immediately by 'Maladapted', which counters that idea completely, instead reverting to the notion of letting go of the self and instead trusting the universe. It’s a journey that began for Melero in 2020, when he was in a particularly bad place.

“I was going through a painful separation and really feeling low. Just worthless,” he says. “And mixed with that, the music industry was completely gone. So, I was searching for something more for myself; something bigger than myself. I was trying to find meaning in other things, and I got really into how powerful our thoughts are and the idea of attracting whatever it is we want into our existence. I felt an untapped potential that I always thought was there, but could really start to feel it. And that was the catalyst to beginning this new phase and this album, and that idea of just completely letting go.”

That, then, is the ultimate takeaway from Divine Inner Tension. It is possible to be both in and out of control at the same time. We just have to learn how. This album is the perfect guide for doing so, and as it ends with the urgently ominous 'Under The Floor', you’ll feel yourself finally letting go, finally understanding.

Hail The Sun are currently playing shows in the US, with support from Being As An Ocean, Kaonashi, and Origami Button. Head to Hail The Sun's website for full dates and tickets: https://hailthesun.com/

Hail The Sun are:
Donovan Melero: Vocals
Aric Garcia: Guitar
Shane Gann Guitar
John Stirrat: Bass
Allen Casillas: Drums

Find the band online:
www.facebook.com/hailthesun
www.instagram.com/hailthesun

Hail The Sun release album and new single 'Tunnel Vision Alibi'

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