We Came As Romans Announce First New Album Since the Death of Vocalist Kyle Pavone in 2018

June 22nd, 2022 at 8:26am
Emperor Rhombus

In August of 2018, the metal and hardcore world were heartbroken to learn that Kyle Pavone, vocalist for Michigan metalcore outfit We Came As Romans, had died at only 28 years old. That September, the band revealed that they intended to continue on without him, but would not replace Kyle. Now, the band have announced their first new album in five years, and their first since Pavone’s death.

We Came As Romans’ new album Darkbloom drops October 14th via Sharptone Records, and is available for pre-save, with a limited-edition vinyl version available for preorder. You can find the tracklisting and cover art below.

Of the album, guitarist Josh Moore says:

“We are so excited to finally be able to announce the release of our next record Darkbloom. This will be our first record in five years, and we want to thank you all for being patient with us as we were figuring out if we could, and how we could continue moving forward as a band. We wrote this record about all the feelings we felt, and all the emotional places we lived in, navigating the loss of our brother Kyle. Every song is about a different part of our lives over the past few years, an insight to the struggles we had, and how we were able to make it to where we are now. We hope you all can take a deep dive into these songs and connect with us — and if you’re feeling any of the ways we did, we hope these songs can help you push forward.
“This record is dedicated to Kyle – we’ll never forget you, and we will never stop saying your name.”

The album announcement comes with the release of the new single “Plagued,” which can be heard below. The song is pretty traditional and anthemic, but definitely goes for a shimmery, beyond-this-world reach, which has always been a staple for the band.

Says Moore of the single:

“We’ve been waiting forever to release this song, and we’re stoked to finally put it out! We finished writing ‘Plagued’ in January 2020, so it’s great to finally share it with our fans. My friend who I do a ton of writing with, Nick Sampson, texted me a little video of this idea for a riff he was working on — and I loved it. So I drove over to his place and we finished the song together — and then our friend Ryan Leitru came in and we all sat down and wrote the vocals to it. Over a year later, when we were in the studio recording the album with Drew Fulk – we smoothed out just a few parts and the song was done! And now here we are — over two years later, able to share ‘Plagued” with you!
“Lyrically, Plagued was about a part in the grieving process we all went through — feeling like the anguish you’re dealing with, then anger you’re dealing with, is turning you into a different person. That you’re watching yourself change into someone you don’t want to be — being consumed and overwhelmed by your grief. It’s an incredibly difficult thing to live with, and I hope this song can help anyone who’s feeling the same way.”

Check out the track below.