Attack Attack! was founded during 2005 by members Austin Carlile, Ricky Lortz, Andrew Whiting, Nick White, and Andrew Wetzel. Several months later, Ricky Lortz announced his departure and was soon replaced by Johnny Franck as the new vocalist/rhythm guitarist at the time. Later, Nick White also announced his departure from the group and John Holgado was added on bass and in 2008, Caleb Shomo joined the band on keyboard. In early 2008, they self-released their debut EP titled If Guns Are Outlawed, Can We Use Swords?. Later they signed to Rise Records in June 2008 and released their debut album, Someday Came Suddenly, on the label late that year. Upon the release of Someday Came Suddenly, it peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and number 193 on the Billboard 200, with sales of more than 3,600 in its first week despite its mediocre to overwhelmingly negative reviews.
Later, halfway through a tour supporting Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, vocalist Austin Carlile was fired by the group due to personal differences and health issues. Carlile was replaced by Nick Barham, former vocalist of For All We Know. In 2009 for Fearless Records[/label’] eighth Punk Goes... album, Punk Goes Pop 2, Attack Attack! covered Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” with Austin Carlile performing the lead vocals, before his departure from the band. Attack Attack! then toured with Escape the Fate, William Control, Black Tide and Burn Halo early in 2009. Attack Attack! was included on Warped Tour 2009 and did signings for the non-profit organization Music Saves Lives where they met with fans who gained special access to the band by donating blood.
On October 19, 2009, lead vocalist Nick Barham announced his departure from Attack Attack! just two days short of their headliner tour. He stated in his blog on MySpace that "It was just time for change," and that there was no conflict between him and the other band members. The band then made the decision of Caleb Shomo to be moved as the band's primary vocalist but still remaining at his place as the keyboardist as well.
On November 10, 2010 Johnny Franck announced he had departed from the band to focus on his relationship with God. He has started a new project called The March Ahead. With this news also came a clip of a new song featuring Caleb Shomo doing both clean, and unclean vocals. Sean Mackowski of My Ticket Home was a touring member of the band, singing the clean parts of songs from the first two albums and playing guitar. The music video for “Smokahontas” was released on January 21, 2011 and was directed by Thunder Down Country films. The music video featured Sean Mackowski of My Ticket Home and Cody Anderson, the former unclean vocalist of In Fear and Faith. Attack Attack! performed on the main stage at the 2011 Vans Warped Tour.
The band re-issued their self-titled album on July 19, 2011 with four new songs, two acoustic songs, and two remixes. A new track entitled “Last Breath” was released on June 7, 2011, to promote the album's re-issue. It is the first song by the band to feature Caleb Shomo on both clean and screamed vocals, and was produced by John Feldmann.
On November 14, 2011 it was announced that the band's third full-length, This Means War would be released on January 17, 2012. The entire album was produced by Caleb Shomo at his home studio. Along with this news, they also posted dates for the "This Means War Tour" with supporting acts from The Ghost Inside, Sleeping with Sirens, Chunk! No Captain Chunk, and Dream On, Dreamer. More news and the album artwork was released in the Hot Topic website "News." On December 13, 2011, they premiered a song from the album entitled “The Motivation”. 30 seconds of the whole track list were released on Amazon.com and pre-orders were also opened in many stores. On January 12, 2012, the band debuted the music video for the first single off the album, “The Wretched”.
The band recently announced their departure from Rise Records, simultaneous with an announcement that they have completed ten songs, produced by John Feldmann, for another album. The band stated that they "don’t have another record label or anything lined up and [are] probably not planning on going to another one." The band went on the This World Is Ours Tour with Escape The Fate and The Word Alive, but had to reschedule the South American This World Is Ours Tour as their drummer Andrew Wetzel was suffering from pneumonia. By the end of 2012 Attack Attack! released a DVD where they talk about Warped Tour and the real reason why Austin left the band in 2008.
The band split in 2013 and several members are now in the group Nativ. Caleb is now the lead singer in the group Beartooth
In 2021 Attack Attack! got back together and dropped Kawaii Cowboys.
In the fall of 2021, Attack Attack released an EP called "Long Time, No Sea".
In spring 2023, Attack Attack! released the single and EP titled "Dark Waves".
The Revolution
Attack Attack! Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Start the revolution
Start the revolution
Start the revolution
For the first time I understand what it means to have taken a life
I don't think I can handle this, I feel my sanity slipping away
Everything has been taken away from me
All is lost!
Everything that I've known is gone
Can you hear the voices in your head
Listen to what they're saying
There's no more time to be wasted,
Cause I've wasted all my life
Giving in to the sin when I had a mind
Woah woah, woah woah
There's the blood of another man on my hands (on my hands)
Why do I feel so comfortable? What's happening to me?
All is lost!
Everything has been taken away from me
All is lost!
Everything that I love is gone
Can you hear the voices in your head
Listen to what they're saying
I can hear the voices in my head
Listen to what they're saying
There's no more time to be wasted,
Cause I've wasted all my life
Giving in to the sin when I had a mind
Woah woah, woah woah
There's no more time to be wasted,
Cause I've wasted all my life
Giving in to the sin when I had a mind
Woah woah, woah woah
You've never been where I've been
You've never seen what I've seen
You've never had to spend a day
With a cage around your mind
Just set me free
Set me free
Start the revolution
Start the revolution
Start the revolution
Start the revolution
The lyrics of Attack Attack!’s “The Revolution” suggest an internal struggle and loss of sanity. The song starts with a call for a revolution. However, as it progresses, it becomes clear that the singer is struggling with inner demons. He has taken someone's life and is questioning his own sanity. He seems to be haunted by the voices in his head, which lead him to feel that everything he has known is gone. The lines, “There's the blood of another man on my hands, why do I feel so comfortable?” suggest that he is losing touch with reality.
The lyrics of “The Revolution” suggest that the singer regrets his past actions, and he knows he cannot change them. He feels that he has wasted his life giving in to sin. The lyrics show the singer’s desire to be freed from the “cage” around his mind. He is pleading for someone to set him free from whatever is tormenting him. The song seems like it is about taking responsibility for one's actions, seeking redemption and starting a revolution within oneself to live a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
Start the revolution
Call to start the movement for change
Start the revolution
Repeat call to start the movement for change
Start the revolution
Repeat call to start the movement for change
Start the revolution
Repeat call to start the movement for change
For the first time I understand what it means to have taken a life
Feeling the consequences of ending a human life
I don't think I can handle this, I feel my sanity slipping away
The weight of guilt is taking a toll on mental health
All is lost!
Everything has been lost
Everything has been taken away from me
Everything that was once owned is gone
All is lost!
Everything has been lost
Everything that I've known is gone
All that was once familiar is gone
Can you hear the voices in your head
The auditory hallucinations of a guilty conscience
Listen to what they're saying
Attentive to the messages being internalized
There's no more time to be wasted,
Urgency to act for change
Cause I've wasted all my life
Regret over previous inaction
Giving in to the sin when I had a mind
Choosing to succumb to negative influences
Woah woah, woah woah
Musical interlude
There's the blood of another man on my hands (on my hands)
The physical evidence of the deadly outcome of a decision
Why do I feel so comfortable? What's happening to me?
The unsettling emotional response to a life-altering action
Everything that I love is gone
Everything and everyone cherished has been lost
I can hear the voices in my head
The battle between conscience and guilt continues
You've never been where I've been
Uniqueness of personal experience
You've never seen what I've seen
Absence of shared experience
You've never had to spend a day
An unrelatable ordeal
With a cage around your mind
The mental imprisonment caused by guilt
Just set me free
Desire to be released from guilt and pain
Set me free
Repeat desire to be released from guilt and pain
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW WETZEL, ANDREW WHITING, CALEB SHOMO, JOHN HOLGADO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
FireFennec
Early attack attack is kind of a guilty pleasure for me but late attack attack is just genuinely a great band lol
Little Leonard
@FireFennec also their new stuff isn't that terrible :(
(ignoring kawaii cowboys, there is no reason for that one to exist)
FireFennec
Little Leonard I’m not even gonna bother with a funny sarcastic reply this time 👍
Little Leonard
GOD
FUСKING
DAMMIT
Jeremy Barnes
I love it 95% of their stuff. Except stuff like Lonely.
YITG CH.
totally relate
205 Diecast
This is Attack Attack!'s best album by far.
Christopher Regan
Definitively. This was when Caleb Shomo was laying the foundation for what would later become Beartooth.
Bl33zy
@Jon Morris hes not gunna be in AA! ths time, i believe its the vocalist of nine shrines
YourDaddy OP PapiSensei
Totally agree! This album had a permanent spot in my truck for about 3 years. Lol