The Word Alive was founded in 2008 by Craig Mabbitt (lead vocals) with Zack Hansen (lead guitar) and Tony Pizzuti (rhythm guitar) who were former members of the bands Calling of Syrens and Clouds Take Shape. As a side-project of Mabbitt during his part in Escape the Fate, the remaining required members he recruited to start The Word Alive were chosen to be Nick Urlacher (bass), Dusty Riach (keyboard) and Tony Aguilera (drums). The group recorded songs with the intention of releasing them as a self-titled EP, despite that it never surfaced. Later on, the band forced Mabbitt to leave due to their dissatisfaction with Escape the Fate's schedules, which required Mabbitt to work as a full-time member.
The day after, Mabbitt posted a blog to his fans via his Myspace account explaining that leaving the band was not his decision and that "[The Word Alive] pretty much replaced me while I was on the road due to the fact that they wanted to tour and couldn't until I was available, I started that band with those guys and I'm very hurt at how they replaced me while I was touring...it's bullshit." On December 3, the band officially announced that Tyler "Telle" Smith, who was formerly one of the vocalists for In Fear and Faith and bassist for Greeley Estates, joined The Word Alive as their new frontman.
Feeling somewhat stagnant in their progression beforehand, the addition of Smith catapulted the band’s ambitions to the forefront. With this initiation, their goals and aspirations were much more a reality, and they set to work on what would become their record label debut, Empire.
During March 2009, the band were taken in with a contract by a new label, later on during the 26th of that month the group officially confirmed that the label they were then signed to was Fearless Records. Smith stated "We hope to just keep touring, touring, touring... we couldn't be happier or more appreciative to be on tour right now, I think despite having some of the worst luck in the early beginnings of being a touring band yet never missing a show, we always have a positive attitude and that will make us a stronger band." The band set out to create an EP to be released through the label wherein it was titled Empire and was recorded with producer Andrew Wade in Ocala, Florida. It was released on July 21, 2009 where it reached #15 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart.
During February the band reached an agreement to leave founding drummer, Tony Aguilera out of the group. Both parties (Aguilera and the rest of the band) shared their concerns and reasoning for the matter publicly. It was overall described that the band wanted to pursue a different percussionist of alternate talent than the founding member. Aguilera was replaced with Justin Salinas, whom previously was a part of the bands Scars of Tomorrow and Catherine as well as serving as a past live drummer for MyChildren MyBride.
In April 2010, The Word Alive entered the studio in Ocala, Florida with Andrew Wade to record their debut full-length album, Deceiver. By June, Deceiver was fully mastered and engineered. On June 23, 2010 the band premiered their first single from the album, “Epiphany” as streaming media online.The following day, Fearless Records released their 2010 Summer Sampler which also featured the track "Epiphany". A week later, the album's album art and track listing was released. Guitarist Zack Hansen explained upon this premiere that "We all felt like that was going to be the best choice considering how comfortable the recording process is with Andrew. The tracking was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time. We got the opportunity to stay in a house while we recorded and surprisingly we didn't party as much as I thought we would haha." Hansen later followed along explaining that his favorite track on the record is “The Hounds of Anubis”, which was written by him and Pizzuti and stated that he "wrote this song with an 'Egyptian feel' to it and I think we got our point across." Smith described that its lyrics describe the times of when The Word Alive overcame their hardships that they face with the help and support from their fans. "The Hounds of Anubis" was released as the album's second single on July 26, 2010. It premiered on the official Revolver website.
By November of 2011, the band made plans to return to the studio on February 7, 2012 with Joey Sturgis to begin recording their next album, with an expected recording session lasting from that time until mid-March. However by February (and before the date of entering the studio), the announcement of two members leaving occurred; keyboardist, Dusty Riach and drummer, Justin Salinas were simultaneously confirmed to no longer be a part of the band. Salinas stated his reason was because he grew tired of touring, although Riach's reason was preferred to be kept silent.
In regards to the band's second studio album, it was reported that 17 songs were recorded in its process. 13 of those will be on the standard edition of the album, while the another three will be included on the deluxe edition. The name of the album will be Life Cycles and both editions will be released the same day.On March 23rd of the year, the group issued a statement that 18-year old Arizona resident Luke Holland has joined as the new drummer, however, Holland was not included for the recording sessions of Life Cycles. The drumming for the record was done by a friend of the band named Matt Horn wherein Holland joined after these sessions were already completed.
On March 18, 2014, the band released a new single entitled "Play the Victim." Along with the song, they also announced their third full-length album Real. would be released on June 10. The album would be the first to feature Luke Holland on drums.
The band released their fourth album, Dark Matter, on March 18, 2016. The band also revealed the tracklist and a headlining North American tour with support from Fit for a King and Out Came the Wolves. The album's lead single, "Trapped", was released January 8.
In November 2016, Luke Holland announced he would be leaving the band at the end of 2016 after finishing their last tour of the year to pursue other musical endeavors. In February 2017, the band announced that Matt Horn would be taking Holland's place as drummer. Shortly after, a new single "Misery" was released.
On August 7, 2017, The Word Alive and Daniel Shapiro mutually announced they were parting ways due to a "new musical adventure" of Shapiro's. The next day, The Word Alive announced that they would be joining I Prevail on their Rage on the Stage Tour along with We Came as Romans & Escape the Fate.
94th St
The Word Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have we lost our minds?
We can't keep running in circles
Have we lost our minds?
We search for the meaning that we can't find
We hope for the answers in time
But we all believe of love, life
What am I doing here?
What am I doing here?
This so clean just sedation
And losing (?) here
Loving, fight for resolution
Let the morning come again
We search for the meaning that we can't find
We hope for the answers in time
But we all believe of love, life
We search for the meaning that we can't find
We hope for the answers in time
But we all believe of love, life
I can't keep running in circles
The dangers live in your mind
I can't keep crashing in, take of my life
I can't take control
The absence of what we don't know
So I can't find the reason (?)
Too far away to let go
We search for the meaning that we can't find
We hope for the answers in time
But we all believe of love, life
We search for the meaning that we can't find
We hope for the answers in time
But we all believe of love, life
We can't keep running in circles
The lyrics to The Word Alive's song 94th St. depict the struggle of searching for meaning and answers in life. The repetition of the phrase "We can't keep running in circles, have we lost our minds?" highlights the frustration of feeling trapped and stagnant in life. The chorus speaks to the universal desire for understanding and purpose, as the singer searches for meaning he cannot seem to find.
The second verse starts with the singer questioning his own purpose and why he is where he is. The line "This so clean just sedation and losing" may suggest that the singer is stuck in a cycle of trying to numb his pain and escape his problems. However, he also fights for resolution and hopes for the morning to come again, hinting at a desire to break free from this cycle and find a way to move forward.
The bridge speaks to the inability to control life and the fear of the unknown. The line "The absence of what we don't know" suggests that not knowing what will come next can be more frightening than what is currently known. The chorus once again emphasizes the universal search for meaning and the need to move forward rather than staying stuck in the same cycle.
Overall, the lyrics of 94th St. convey a sense of frustration and confusion with life's purpose and the struggle to find meaning and answers. The song encourages listeners to break free from stagnation and aim to find purpose and direction, even in the face of uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
We can't keep running in circles
We can't keep repeating the same mistakes and expect different results
Have we lost our minds?
Are we unable to think clearly and make rational decisions?
We search for the meaning that we can't find
We look for answers to questions that seem unanswerable
We hope for the answers in time
We have faith that the answers will eventually reveal themselves
But we all believe of love, life
We hold onto the belief that love and life are worth pursuing despite the challenges
What am I doing here?
Questioning one's purpose and existence in the present moment
This so clean just sedation
The current state of being is too passive and unchallenging
And losing(?) here
Feeling disconnected and disorientated in the current situation
Loving, fight for resolution
Striving to find a way to reconcile feelings of love and conflict
Let the morning come again
Hoping for a new day and a fresh start
The dangers live in your mind
Fear and anxiety can be just as dangerous as physical threats
I can't keep crashing in, take of my life
Cannot continue to go through life recklessly and risk losing everything
I can't take control
Feeling powerless and unable to make a difference
The absence of what we don't know
The unknown can have a powerful effect and create a sense of emptiness
So I can't find the reason(?)
Cannot determine why certain things are happening or why someone feels a certain way
Too far away to let go
Difficult to accept or move on from something that feels too important or too distant
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY JOHN JR. PIZZUTI, DANIEL HARRISON SHAPIRO, LUKE HOLLAND, LUKE DANIEL HOLLAND, TONY PIZZUTI, TYLER SMITH, ZACK HANSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@arlenbales4508
I love the bells, they make the song so mysterious.
@zachschermerhorn8090
Possibly the best metalcore I have ever heard.
@mikeshaheen4850
You have to listen to this album on a real sound system. It will blow your mind. Massive bass drops.
@wanglucia613
Love the bell sound in the background, that make different feel to this song :D
@ISacredSniiperI
The new Astral Plane yo
@justSomeUserOnYT
Best song on album to me
@eenotana3563
Soul music..
@gabypereyra6086
This is the new astral plane... oh my God, its the great song
@tanguytornambe7510
Great song
@Alys224
Fanny Lord-Bourcier listen to the album stream. It's amazing :) I would say while pairing but I know that when you listen to music you want to do it "properly"