Alive In Barcelona Take Another Leap with Their Heavy-Hitting ‘Flatline’ EP

Fans must be joyed beyond measure as West Coast hard rock band Alive In Barcelona finally released their emotionally heavy Flatline EP via Smartpunk Records, which shows off the bands’ strong attributes of using music as an art and expression to voice out what’s happening around them and the world.

Alongside the release is a special music video for the final single “Decay.” The collection of tracks, co-written with Landon Tewers of The Plot In You, is equal parts heavy and melodic, showcasing the band’s range of masterful rock instrumentals and soul-penetrating vocals.

Their mission is equally important – their struggles with loss, emotional pain, and grief have paved the way for them to develop their mission statement: “to inspire hope in those that have none.” This EP is a true example of that mission coming to fruition:

“We are really excited to release this EP. Our roots are seeded in heavy music, and I think these songs do a great job staying true to that, all the meanwhile, trying to encompass the way that people in different societies around the world are feeling. We hope that our music speaks to fans and newcomers alike and that each listener finds a deeper personal meaning in each track.” – Matt Hoos, Vocalist of Alive In Barcelona

Having a total of three tracks, Alive In Barcelona’s Flatline EP goes straight to the point and hits your eardrums hard and quickly with raving guitar sounds, drums and vocal appeal using a range of instrumentals.

Dealing with loss and the other hardships that often befall us every day, you can feel and emotionally tell how hard Alive In Barcelona worked on this EP to convey a multitude of emotions relating to pain, substance abuse and so much more. Tracks like Asphyxiate, Decay, and Parasite are the very epitome of the band’s ability to tell their own story and also that of others who are no longer with us.

Listening to Decay, one can easily see how such a hard rock track can send you jumping and screaming and yet at the same time remind you how deeply destructive and unforgiving this world can be towards us and our loved ones.

Something similar can be said of Parasite, another awesome track from the Flatline EP which is fun to listen to given how hard the band goes on it. You can feel and hear the vocals reap through your soul reminding you about the band’s mission to use its lyrical mastery to penetrate as many souls as possible and also tell a story about choosing between feeding your inner parasite, succumbing to societal pressures, and deciding who you are meant to be amidst questioning your fate.

Honestly, once the EP has reached its end, you’re left feeling maybe there should have been more but yet again, that’s what makes Flatline are good EP to dive into. Alive In Barcelona doesn’t waste any time and gets right into it off the bat with its soul-penetrating vocals and good use of instruments to produce that high-quality edgy sound.

Alive In Barcelona Release Heavy-Hitting “Flatline” EP

Hard rock band Alive In Barcelona, ignited the airwaves with their explosive self-titled album, ‘Alive In Barcelona’ which debuted at #6 on Billboard.com Heatseekers, #35 in Rock, and #76 on Media Base Active Rock Charts.

The five-piece from the Pacific Northwest have been to hell and back, suffering losses both personal and public. Persevering through the death of Jesse’s Father, a mentor and confidant for the band, AIB has set out to seek the lost, the broken, and the hurting.

The group refocused their efforts in order to pursue a message of hope after losing many friends to depression, substance abuse, and consequently, suicide. These trials paved the way for AIB to develop their mission statement: “to inspire hope in those that have none.” The band uses their own stories of personal hardship, struggle, and loss, to relate to their fans, in order to achieve this.

Signing with SmartPunk Records in the Summer of 2018, Alive In Barcelona released their debut album in collaboration with Paul Leavitt (All Time Low, Darkest Hour, Emarosa) Jeff Juliano (We the Kings, PVRIS, Shawn Mendez) and Brad Blackwood (Lamb of God, Sara Bareilles, Maroon 5) in February 2019. The album has amassed over 3 million streams as of July 2022.

For 2022 AIB teamed up with Landon Tewers of The Plot In You to write new tracks for what would become the Flatline EP. Tracks Parasite and Asphyxiate were co-written instrumentals that Jesse and Matt collaborated on with Landon.

Matt Hoos – Vocals | Jesse Barton – Guitar/Vocals | Chase Williams – Drums | Cameron Douthat – Guitar | Colton Anderson – Bass

We reached out to the band with a few questions about their latest EP release and what makes them tick and this is what they had to say:

1. With your band’s mission “to inspire hope in those that have none,” the Flatline EP feels like a true testament to that very dream – calling upon the masses to take control of their lives back and fight for what really matters. Does the band feel the EP has slowly achieved this and still has an impact on whoever listens to it?

While it’s a bit early to tell what impact this EP will have, what I can share is that the response has been amazing so far. These songs were a bit of a stylistic change for us. So we didn’t know if our fans were going to be accepting or if there would be pushback from listeners. That being said, we have had nothing but love coming in our direction. People have really been able to relate to these songs in a more profound way than our previous release.

2. While working on the Flatline EP, what experiences excited you the most as a band?

I’d say writing with Landon was one of the biggest highlights of the early stages of this EP. Tewers is such a talented musician and ability to write in so many styles, so it was an honour to work on these songs together and bounce ideas off each other.

3. Is there a song on the EP that the band loved working on the most and why?

We all have our own favourite. I know Colton loves Decay the most because it was the one song that wasn’t a cowrite and we had that song on the back burner for years. My personal favourite is Asphyxiate because I feel like you can draw something new out of it with each listen. I think the instant crowd favourite is Parasite because of the intense bridge/breakdown and the aggressive vocals which showcase a side of my vocal range that I had never utilized before.

4. Asphyxiate and Decay are both songs that have a powerful message behind them and see them as an anthem to set one free from the trials and bondages that hold them back. Does this somehow feed into the band’s mission of helping those who struggle with substance abuse and other issues every day?

One thing this band has always prided itself on is that we are able to bring deep lyrical content to the table that is still vague enough that it can be interpreted a dozen different ways. When we wrote both of those songs they actually had nothing to do with substance abuse. They are directly related to how we felt during the pandemic about our music careers and the industry as a whole.

It felt like everything we had grinned so long for came to a sudden stop and we were all lost. We all questioned what the fuck we were doing with our lives and wondered if we’d ever get the opportunity to make music again. We had a lot of built-up animosity at the state of the world with the lockdowns and mandatory vaccines etc. This isn’t political, but it felt personal.

5. What is your creative process like? Anything exciting you would like to share with your fans?

Every song is a bit different, but it usually starts with Matt or me creating a simple demo. Then I’ll take that as far as I can before sending it to Matt to write lyrics for. I send Chase the session files so he can write the drum parts that make his playing style unique. From there, when we feel like we have taken it to our best, we will all get together and produce the thing for real at the studio.

6. What do the band members usually do for fun in their free time when they’re not creating music?

Oh man, we all have our outlets. Colton, Matt, and Chase, love video games. Cameron travels more than anyone I’ve met. I race motorcycles and like extreme sports such as Supercross, Motocross, FMX, Snowmobiling, and Snowboarding, and I also love to be in the woods. On top of that, we all love spending time with our families.

7. With the Flatline EP finally out, is the band already working on something or should the fans lay in wait as there could be some surprises on the way?

We are going to take the rest of 2023 to work behind the scenes, enjoy the holidays, and look forward to getting back on the road in 2023.

8. What message would you love to give to your fans?

 

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