Message From Sylvia, ‘Heart of War’ – Exclusive Video Premiere

In 2015, things looked bright for up-and-comers First Decree, but after some difficult life decisions were made, three of the band's members -- siblings Dane, Isaac and Zachary Lopez-Smith -- have resurfaced in a new band called Message From Sylvia with new vocalist Matthew Nevitt and they're unleashing their new video for "Heart of War" right here at Loudwire.

The brothers had an amicable split with singer Travis James, who left First Decree to spend more time with family, and they picked right up with Nevitt, hitting the studio with producer Sahaj Ticotin of the band Ra and unleashing the single "Heart of War" last fall. After a solid start, there's now a primarily performance-based video for the track, which you can view above.

“When we first met with Tyler Wolff, the director, we were really excited about the vision he had for the video," vocalist Matthew Nevitt tells us. "We had been rehearsing for our tour the whole week prior to shooting the video, so the shoot was a nice change of pace. It was a historic night in more ways than just our first video as a band. We did the shoot on Election Day so in between takes we were all tracking the States and votes. The performance shots definitely came out great. Unfortunately, the original B-roll shots that were planned fell through, but the new scenes that were shot ended up even better than what we had originally planned."

In addition to the band performance shots, the clip is interspersed with shots of a masked woman dancing amongst a large warehouse and a young boy watching it all go down with "crashing" results.

The singer adds, "'Heart of War' is basically a song that can describe any interpersonal relationship that has run its course. One person is still trying to make the relationship work but the other person has just checked out and quit trying. It leads to the realization that it is just over. Obviously anger follows, but there is an internal battle going on because the one person still cares. It's definitely not going to end on good terms - but there is the understanding that moving on opens up many new doors and opportunities. It’s our take on the whole 'love is a battlefield' scenario."

If you like what you hear, the "Heart of War" single is currently available via iTunes, with more music from the band expected to arrive within the month. The group is also heading out on tour, playing a mix of their own shows and dates where they are paired up with Eve to Adam. See below for their full tour itinerary. And be sure to keep up with Message From Sylvia via their website and Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Message From Sylvia 2017 Tour Dates

1/13 -- Battle Creek, Mich. -- Music Factory
1/15 -- Westland, Mich. -- The Token Lounge
1/18 -- Akron, Ohio -- Empire Concert Club
1/20 -- Clarksville, Tenn. -- The Warehouse
1/22 -- Knoxville, Tenn. -- The Open Chord
1/25 -- Manhattan, Ill. -- Bada Brew
1/26 -- La Crosse, Wis. -- The Warehouse
1/27 -- Fort Atkinson, Wis. -- Hijynx
1/28 -- Harrisburg, S.D. -- Phoenix Lounge
2/15 -- Raleigh, N.C. -- The Maywood
2/16 -- Halethorpe, Md. -- Fish Head Cantina
3/4 -- Mundelein, Ill. -- The Loaded Buffalo
3/8 -- St. Louis, Mo. -- Fubar
3/11 -- Clarksville, Tenn. -- The Warehouse

Message From Sylvia