“It’s definitely been a time of reflection”, muses As A Rival vocalist & guitarist, Pete Cerni contemplating the impact of the past few years. “We were exhausted after the release of Griefers and we took a long deserved break to rejuvenate. With our fire rekindled, our first show back was late Feb 2020 and we all know what followed….”

 

With the entire world on hold, the music scene suffered incredible pain, anguish and loss. “Everyone went about it their own way. We all struggled to get our head around what this meant for our art, our future, our ability to play live! After the initial shock, I began to focus on writing, developing and honing in on what we had created and learned over the past few years.” And with that, the threads of new music started to take shape, returning to the bedroom demos that kicked off the early days of the band.

 

What started as a single release to signal their return, quickly grew into something with a bit more teeth. “We just kept writing. The lockdowns kept getting extended. We had the time so we took advantage.” The challenge of not being in the same room led to new ways to collaborate between band members. “I’d send out a demo to the crew and everyone would add their uniqueness, provide feedback and we would just pinball back and forth until we were all happy with the result.” It wasn’t until late in the piece that they could finally get together to jam what they had been working on until the enormity of what they had achieved truly sunk in.

 

The Only Way Out Is Together is a celebration of 10 years as a band, the nucleus of those formative years, mixed with the lessons learned from touring and working with some of their idols, TOWOIT shows a maturity in their delivery while remaining true to their roots. From the album’s searing opener ‘Lost At Sea’, to the power that is “All The Rage’, the intimate journey of “So Long” and to the statement that is the closer, “Hammerhead”, the album explores what we have grown to enjoy, but also dabbles into new territories.

 

After a 4 year wait’, As A Rival’s third offering is musically the most diverse and inclusive representation as a band, addressing perseverance, resurgence, and above all love. As the one thing that is quite clear through all of this is that whatever challenges we face, The Only Way Out Is Together.