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.
Ambitionary
The Word Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't escape my past?
Oh
I wish I could have lived, without regrets
But I made, my mistakes so many times
Where do you go when the darkness finds you?
All I want is to see better days
All I want is better days
But where do I go? But where do I go?
I need a place to call my own
Where we can we find hope? Where can we find hope?
I need you to show me the road
Life shouldn't be this hard, not a reminder of
Of how much you've failed
Remind yourself you’ve come this far, you've come so far
Remind yourself you’ve come this far, you've come so far
But where do I go? But where do I go?
I need a place to call my own
Where can we find hope? Where can we find hope?
I need you to show me the road
But where do I go? But where do I go?
I need a place to call my own
Where can we find hope? Where can we find hope?
I need you to show me the road
Why wasted this for me?
Show me where to go
Show me anything, give me everything
Show me where to go
Show me anything, give me everything
I keep waiting more and more
But I can't see, Can't start alone
But where do I go? But where do I go?
But where do I go? But where do I go?
I need a place to call my own
Where can we find hope? Where can we find hope?
I need you to show me the road
But where do I go? But where do I go?
I need a place to call my own
Where can we find hope? Where can we find hope?
I need you to show me the road
Wanted you to show me the road
The lyrics of The Word Alive's song Ambitionary are a reflection of the struggles one faces in life. The song is an invitation to introspect and contemplate on one's past and present circumstances. The lyrics are a blend of despair, regret, and the desire for a new beginning. The lead singer asks a pertinent question that resonates with many: "How much further must I go before I can't escape my past?" The past haunts and weighs down on the present, making it difficult to move forward. The singer yearns to live without regrets but acknowledges that he has made mistakes many times.
The theme of hope runs through the song, and the singer seeks hope through different avenues. He initially contemplates where to go when the darkness surrounds him and wants better days. He yearns for a place he can call his own and find hope, and he implores the listener to show him the road. Despite the challenges that life presents, the singer urges himself and the listener to acknowledge the progress made so far. He declares that one must remind oneself of how far they have come and not be bogged down by the reminders of failure. The song ends with the repeated plea to be shown the road.
Line by Line Meaning
How much further must I go before
I can't escape my past?
The singer is wondering how far he has to go to escape his past mistakes.
Oh
I wish I could have lived, without regrets
The singer regrets the mistakes he has made in his life.
But where do I go? But where do I go?
I need a place to call my own
The singer is lost and looking for a place to belong.
Where we can we find hope? Where can we find hope?
I need you to show me the road
The singer is asking for guidance and direction from someone else to find hope.
Life shouldn't be this hard, not a reminder of
Of how much you've failed
The singer feels that life should not be so difficult and that failure should not be a constant reminder of past mistakes.
Remind yourself you’ve come this far, you've come so far
Remind yourself you’ve come this far, you've come so far
The singer is reminding himself that he has made progress and come a long way, despite the mistakes he has made.
Why wasted this for me?
Show me where to go
Show me anything, give me everything
Show me where to go
Show me anything, give me everything
The singer is questioning why he has been given these struggles and is asking for guidance and support to move forward.
I keep waiting more and more
But I can't see, Can't start alone
The singer is waiting for something to help him move forward, but knows he cannot do it alone.
Wanted you to show me the road
The singer wants someone to guide him on the path to finding hope and a sense of belonging.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY PIZZUTI, ANTHONY JOHN JR. PIZZUTI, DANIEL SHAPIRO, DANIEL HARRISON SHAPIRO, TYLER SMITH, ZACK HANSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Firetrigger2110
One of the more technical songs on the album. Awesome lead work!
Tyler Van Allen
The intro is awesome! "Where do you go when the darkness finds you?" and "I wish I could have lived without regrets." are two of my favorite lyrics from this phenomenal song.
Greedy Bastard
The intro to this song is fuckin amazing. Actually a lot of the songs the way they start off is really cool especially For Your Health. I'm very happy with how this album came out. Congrats TWA. But does anyone know where I can find lyrics for these awesome songs?
Justin G
I have the intro as my alarm clock so when i wake up I feel like I'm in a video game ;) whole song is amazing too!
John
Easily my favorite song off of this album. The chorus makes me feel like I'm flying
Sierra Williams
The intro to this was enough to hook me! SO sick!
urk lursnund
This and bar fight are my favorite songs on the new album
Jerrel Carpio
I wanna hear this song live already!!!!
Allan Petterson
Jerrel Carpio 3 years later and it never happened lol
Jorge Toro
why so low views? this song is amazing