Islander Reveal ‘Power Under Control’ Album Details, New Song ‘Darkness’

Islander are back with a new album and a revamped lineup. Since the release of their 2014 breakout Violence & Destruction, the band has continued with vocalist Mikey Carvajal at the helm, while Love & Death guitarist J.R. Bareis, former Avenged Sevenfold drummer Arin Ilejay and bassist Ezekiel Vasquez now round out the lineup. The four-piece has been hard at work on new music and will be releasing the concept album, Power Under Control, on Aug. 5.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Carvajal says that he feels the restructuring of the lineup was meant to be. "I truly believe that what God tears down, God rebuilds," says the vocalist, who revealed that the album title comes from the New Testament.

The band also just released a new song called "Darkness" that will lead off the album. "Before we started writing, we turned on The Shining to set a horror-based tone," Carvajal says. "Then we started playing and all these ugly sounds poured out of us." He continues, "That song is a cry for help. It's the character saying he's into all this craziness that the world has to offer and nobody's going to be able to change him. I feel like that's the way a lot of people are today. They don't want to learn how to yield to love or to give themselves up for other people. They're not willing to lay down their wants and desires and they just don't care." Take a listen to the track in the player below and if you like what you hear, the song is available to download via Amazon, iTunes and GooglePlay.

As for the album itself, Carvajal states, “Power Under Control is a concept album dealing with several characters. The songs stand on their own, but are meant to be listened in the same way that a book is to be read. If someone were to skip the chapters in a book, the story may be exciting, but a lot of the meanings would be lost. If the listener wants to understand the meaning of each song, they can better be understood when listening as a whole rather than treating this as a buffet." The band recorded the disc in February of 2016 with producer Cameron Webb and also lured Bad Brains frontman HR to guest on the song "Think It Over."

As stated, Islander's Power Under Control is due Aug. 5 via Victory Records. You can check out the pre-order options via the label's webstore. And stay tuned as the new Islander single "Bad Guy" will premiere next week at Loudwire. Look for Islander playing the Chicago Open Air Pre-Party at the Concord Music Hall in Chicago July 14 and the Rock USA Festival in Oshkosh, Wis. on July 16.

Islander, "Darkness"

Islander, Power Under Control Track Listing

1. "Darkness"
2. "Bad Guy"
3. "Green Slime Man"
4. "Better Day"
5. "All We Need"
6. "Devil Red"
7. "A Boat Going By"
8. "Beelzebub"
9. "Think It Over" (featuring Bad Brains' HR)
10. "Last Forever"
11. "Casket"
12. "Wait for It"

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