“Indifference” begins the conclusion of the EP with a catchy and memorable hook you’ll have a hard time shaking – not that you’d ever want to. There’s an overwhelming emotion listeners will experience in this one that will have you paying extra close attention to the lyrics. The track is aimed at the responsible party in Connor’s passing, the accompanying music video released last month emphasizing the theme of the lyrics with the video’s dark tones. You can hear the anger and aggression within the instrumentals laced with the hurt within the lyrics. “Kin” kicks off the EP with a heavy guitar riff opening that immediately grabs your attention.

The EP is proof that music is a method of healing and support, garnering a special connection with listeners that not many bands are capable of pulling off. Recording this was a chance to be sad, angry, confused and trying to find a way to come to terms with the grief the best we can through music.”įollowing the tragic accident, the band hit the studio with producer Taylor Larson (The Word Alive, Asking Alexandria) to create a cathartic, synth-rock record with raw, brutally beautiful, honest lyrics relatable to anyone who has ever had to deal with loss. On the EP’s title, McKenzie adds, “Through all of the pain, our goal was to take a completely tragic situation and make something beautiful from it, inspiring the name The Beauty In Tragedy. On April 26 (Connor’s birthday) Awaken I Am will release their 5-track EP The Beauty In Tragedy via Victory Records. The release of this EP is our chance to give ourselves and fans something to always remember Connor by while giving us closure to move on to a new chapter as a band.” “During the writing, recording and the lead up process to completing these songs, it forced us to face grief and loss everyday as we worked through it.

We needed to regroup but it was very difficult, beyond our wildest reach,” drummer Luke McKenzie says. “Nevermind he was Awaken I Am’s guitarist, Connor was a friend first and foremost. On the band’s 24-year-old guitarist Connor Verner-Oakley had his life cut short at the hands of a reckless driver. It’s about who we are, what happened to us, and how our lives are affected.” Australia’s alt-rock outfit Awaken I Am know this better than most, taking a heart-wrenching tragedy and creating something universally beautiful from it.

Elizabeth Broun once said, “Art is not always about pretty things.

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