Hawthorne Heights have released their heavy-hitting yet emotionally-driven new single ‘Thunder In Our Hearts’ today. Reminiscent of some of their most iconic hit singles with soaring melodies, punching screams and non-stop guitars, “Thunder In Our Hearts” puts words to the feelings that come with panic attacks that front man JT Woodruff experienced while writing the band’s forthcoming studio album.
Heshares,“During the ‘Rain Sessions’ I developed panic attacks that kept me up until 4am every night, and I just couldn’t shake them. So most nights, I was laying in the bed shaking til 4am, then waking up at 7am to get ready for the recording session. Every night, my heart felt like it was going to explode, and there were moments that truly scared me. During one of my shakedowns, I wrote these lyrics about how the darkness that I feel always happens between the nightmare and the dream, and it just seemed to hit right. It all started to make sense. I needed to be home. I wanted to be home. But I just couldn’t get there.”
Today’s single joins previously released tracks “Constant Dream” and “The Rain Just Follows Me” from Hawthorne Heights’ forthcoming album. The Rain Just Follows Me, whichwill be released digitally on September 10, 2021 via Pure Noise Records, was produced by Grammy-winner Cameron Webb (Alkaline Trio, NOFX, Megadeth). The 11 tracks stand as some of Woodruff’s most resonant writing to date, as he unravels themes of both physical and emotional distance from his wife and daughter in Ohio as well as personal identity as the front man of as one of the most iconic emo acts of the new millennium.
“The most unbelievable part of this story is that this entire album was written and recorded BEFORE the pandemic,” singer JT Woodruff shares. “All of this darkness and turmoil is basically a summation of the coldest and loneliest nights I’ve tried to reconcile for the past 17 years.”
Eager to hit the studio again as soon as possible after their 2018 release Bad Frequencies – and probably a bit naive about how much they could physically take – the writing sessions for LP8 took place in unusual places: in sound checks and dressing rooms, in far-flung rehearsal studios after marathon overnight drives. Hawthorne Heights weren’t just burning the candle at both ends; they were splitting it in two, then letting the flames engulf the smaller pieces completely.
The Rain Just Follows Me can be pre-ordered at https://smarturl.it/hawthorneheightsoh and will also be released in stores with limited edition vinyl variants on 22nd October 2021.
The Rain Just Follows Me Track ListConstant DreadThe Rain Just Follows MeHoly CoastTired And AloneThunder In Our HeartsSpray Paint It BlackDull HeadlightsPalm Canyon DriveSeafoamWords Can’t HurtBambarra Beach (The End)
Most of all, this upcoming release is quintessentially Hawthorne Heights. It’s who they’ve always been – they just needed to push down the heartache and strife long enough to rediscover those intangible characteristics.
“We want to create the best songs that are accurate depictions of our lives and connect to other people through our songs,” Woodruff says. “I hope this record helps people understand that others out there are thinking like them – and thinking about them. Everyone gets poured on in life; we just want to provide an umbrella.”