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.
The Fortune Teller
The Word Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To find another soul that wasn't empty
Well I know now how hard it can be
To give and give not receive
Never guessing I'd have all the answers
I lost my mind chasing after her
This is not what the fortune teller said
Here I am now
Am I all alone
And I can't feel you now
Am I on my own? (Am I on my own?)
Here I am now
Am I all alone
And I can't feel you now
Am I on my own? (Am I on my own?)
Why does it always have to end this way?
History repeats and I just stay the same
The closer and closer I get
The more and more I choose to forget
I'm buried deep in this dream we conceived
Problematic, romantics, I'm lost you see
It's a difference of opinion, we think we know
The best way not to feel is to stay alone
Here I am now
Am I all alone
And I can't feel you now
Am I on my own? (Am I on my own?)
Here I am now
Am I all alone
And I can't feel you now
Am I on my own?
Separating what I feel from what I know
The heart feels what it feels, and then it slows
Taking prisoners but the head doesn't know
Self-destruction of our sanity
You'll get what you deserve
But never what you need
What do we need?
Here I am now
Am I all alone
And I can't feel you now
Am I on my own?
But I know I'm better this way
I know I'm better this way
I'm better this way
The song, "The Fortune Teller" by The Word Alive, is about the aftermath of being in a relationship with someone who was empty and not reciprocating the love that was being given. The lyrics explore the idea that true love involves both giving and receiving, and when that balance is not met, it can lead to self-destruction of one's sanity. The singer of the song is reflecting on how he gave everything he had, even to the point of losing his mind while chasing after her. The fortune teller’s prophecy provided a false hope, making it harder for the singer to accept that the relationship was doomed to fail. The chorus reflects the painful feeling of being alone even though he had been in a relationship. The singer questions why it always had to end this way, why he cannot stop history from repeating itself, and laments his situation of choosing to forget his own feelings to stay together with the other person.
The song revolves around the theme of love that is hard to understand or give up. It is evident in the repeated questioning of why things must come to an end, even though the singer loves deeply. The lyrics highlight an individual's internal battle between the heart and head, where the heart feels what it feels, while the head does not understand what the heart is feeling. The song also addresses the idea of self-improvement by reflecting on the need to separate what one feels from what they know, eventually improving their situation.
Line by Line Meaning
They never said that it'd be easy
No one ever claimed that finding someone genuine and true would be an effortless task.
To find another soul that wasn't empty
To encounter someone with a warm, full of life spirit is difficult, but not impossible.
Well I know now how hard it can be
After experiencing how tiring it is, I have realized how difficult it really is.
To give and give not receive
Providing and providing yet getting nothing in return is emotionally draining.
Never guessing I'd have all the answers
I never thought I would search and acquire all of the solutions.
I lost my mind chasing after her
I became obsessive pursuing her, and it consumed me.
This is not what the fortune teller said
The fortune-teller did not prognosticate this outcome.
This can't be how it's supposed to be
The current situation is not how it is supposed to occur.
Here I am now Am I all alone
In my current state, I wonder if I am by myself.
And I can't feel you now Am I on my own? (Am I on my own?)
I can't sense you, so am I here with nobody at all?
Why does it always have to end this way?
It's frustrating how the relationships always end in the same way.
History repeats and I just stay the same
It's a recurring pattern in my life, and I am stuck in it.
The closer and closer I get
As I move in closer and closer,
The more and more I choose to forget
The more I tend to erase and put the memories behind me.
I'm buried deep in this dream we conceived
We are obstructed by the dream that we developed together.
Problematic, romantics, I'm lost you see
Romanticism is causing a lot of issues, and I seem to be lost.
It's a difference of opinion, we think we know
Our conflict arises from a difference of perspective, and we both are confident on ours.
The best way not to feel is to stay alone
It appears that being alone is the best course of action to avoid getting hurt.
Separating what I feel from what I know
Distinguishing emotions from rational thinking.
The heart feels what it feels, and then it slows
The heart goes through emotions that slowdown with time.
Taking prisoners but the head doesn't know
The thoughts in one's head are oblivious of the turmoil in the heart.
Self-destruction of our sanity
Damaging oneself mentally and emotionally.
You'll get what you deserve
You will receive what you deserve.
But never what you need
But you will not receive what you truly crave.
What do we need?
What do we crave and yearn for in our lives?
But I know I'm better this way
However, I am self-aware that my current state is an improvement for me.
I know I'm better this way
I am confident that my current set of circumstances has bettered me.
I'm better this way
I have learnt and grown in ways that has made me a much better person.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TYLER SMITH, ZACK HANSEN, ANTHONY JOHN JR. PIZZUTI, LUKE DANIEL HOLLAND, DANIEL HARRISON SHAPIRO, ERIK RON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Brenton Judd
This one is defiantly my favorite along with Your Mirage, The Runaway, Terminal, & collapsing. Solid album that deserves a purchase. Support The Word Alive !
Simp Free Zone
Still jamming out to this album. This song is my favorite of the album. The outro is absolutely perfect.
FearlessX7
Perfect song.
trey murphy
I don't blame you they are great
FearlessX7
@AJ Smith Really? Twa, it's my fav band.
Yeet Smith
@***** their name is fearlessx7. twa are on fearless. i spy something wrong here
Alex Niki
This album is perfection, just like you guys told us!!
Vista Dashcam
Solo catchy! Love the tone and those feelers hah
jay
This is my favorite song off this album, especially because of the chorus.
Skylar
This song will NEVER get old. Fucking love The Word Alive.