Meadows have returned with the announcement of their sophomore album, Familiar With Pain. The new album follows the band’s successful debut, In Those Days & Also After, and will be released March 29, Good Friday.
Familiar With Pain is a concept album which explores the thoughts and themes chronologically from Palm Sunday through the flogging of Christ that took place on that fateful Good Friday. The album considers each moment woven into the story of how Jesus knew what was ahead of Him, and chose to endure it for us.
Today, Meadows released the album’s two lead singles “Barabbas (Silence of Innocence)” and “Old Friend, New Leaf.” The singles herald the band’s distinct brand of modern hardcore which weaves melodic rock and atmospheric guitars into a classic hardcore influence.
The band shares more about the new singles:
“’Barrabas’ cuts straight to the point both musically and lyrically. We wanted to encapsulate a crowd truly wrapped in envy through the heavy hitting nature of it. In a lot of ways it’s a cautionary song that allows us to look inward through the eyes of the crowd being so hellbent with envy and unforgiveness that we would rather choose wrath and carnage, and the pain that it brings, instead of thinking it through to accept grace offered.”
They continue: “’Old Friend, New Leaf’ reminds us that long-lasting friendships and community are what help us strive for more and become more than we could have ever done on our own. This song is a reminder that it is important to strive for those connections and to look for ways to put others before yourself. Touching on themes within the Last Supper for Jesus with His disciples, this is a punchy song that is best sung alongside friends both new and old.”
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Josh Ford at Audiostate 55 Recording Studios in Birmingham, AL, the new album will be released via Facedown Records on Good Friday, bringing with it the focus title, “Familiar With Pain,” which is derived from the book of Isaiah referring to Jesus as a man of suffering and familiar with pain, a man who understands us.