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If you had to sum up the sound of “Escaping Darkness” in a few words, what would you tell someone to expect?
I’d describe Escaping Darkness as a visceral collision of crushing guitars, electronic textures, and high-emotion intensity—something we often think of as “chaos and catharsis” living in the same room.
We’re rooted in early 2000s nu-metal and post-hardcore, but we’ve pushed that foundation forward by blending in EDM, industrial weight, and synthwave atmosphere.
The goal was to make the record hit hard physically, but also feel cinematic—like you’re moving through a storm and coming out the other side.
What story does the album cover for “Escaping Darkness” tell the moment you see it?
The cover is a monochromatic, mist-shrouded forest—dense, quiet, and a little unsettling in the best way.
For us, that image is a direct visual metaphor for the album’s central themes: inner conflict, survival, and the feeling of trying to find your way when everything looks the same in the dark.
It isn’t just “gloom” for aesthetics—it represents the moment before emergence, when you’re still inside the fog but choosing to move anyway.
When we press play on your clip, what track are we hearing—and what should listeners notice first?
The video features our song “Crawling Back.”
The first thing I want people to catch is that catchy arpeggiated intro—the crisp, clean-picked guitars set the emotional tone before the heavier sections land.
That opening melody matters to us because it signals a sense of belongingness, like a thread you can hold onto before everything intensifies.
Which chorus or hook moment from the album feels like the emotional peak, and what’s the message inside it?
This snippet is from the track “Holding On.”
It’s built on a mix of nu-metal aggression and post-hardcore emotional depth, because we wanted the power to feel honest—not just heavy for the sake of heaviness.
That section speaks to the internal battle against self-destruction: the moment where you’re exhausted, but you’re still choosing not to let go.
Take us behind the scenes—who’s in these photos, and what was happening in that moment?
Everyone in those behind-the-scenes shots is part of the Shiverwood Shade circle—band members and crew together in the same space.
That particular moment was right after a live recording session, when the pressure finally lifted and we could breathe for a second.
It’s one of my favorite parts of making a record: the tiny “light moments” between takes where you remember you’re building something real with people you trust.
What pieces of gear were non-negotiable for this record, and how did they shape your tone on “Escaping Darkness”?
In those photos from our session at BlooperHouse Studios, you can spot the core tools that helped us build the album’s contrast—tight, aggressive rhythm tones alongside more atmospheric layers.
We leaned on an Ibanez RG-style guitar for fast, high-gain clarity; a Korg ToneWorks multi-effects unit and a Zoom MultiStomp-style pedal for stacked textures (drives, delays, reverbs); and a Vox StompLab-style bass processor to keep the low-end thick and flexible.
On the drum side, the Pearl kit brought the punch and attack we needed—so when the guitars get dense and electronic elements come in, the groove still hits with a physical, percussive impact.
What track are we looking at in your DAW snapshot, and which part of the process does it capture?
The screenshot is from “Crawling Back.”
What you’re seeing there is the arrangement stage—where the recorded stems are laid out and the structure becomes undeniable: the rises, the drops, and the moments where tension has to be earned.
That phase is huge for us, because it’s where a collection of parts turns into a narrative, and the song starts to feel like a lived experience instead of just a performance.
Looking at this quick “before and after,” what changed between the raw early moment and the polished shot?
In the raw image, we were younger and just starting our journey—still developing our identity as musicians and testing what we could be.
The polished image reflects us as seasoned professionals, and the biggest shift is that we moved from exploration to execution: we’re no longer searching for the sound, we’re sharpening it.
Over time we went from “capturing a moment” to deliberately building a statement—something that carries the weight of years, lessons, and a more focused sense of who we are.
Walk us through how your music journey began—when did it start feeling real enough to call yourselves serious musicians?
We’ve always felt fortunate because music was part of our family tradition—it wasn’t a hobby in our house, it was another language we spoke every day.
At first we were just passionate listeners, but things shifted once we started breaking down the sounds we loved and turning those influences into our own compositions and arrangements.
That’s when it became real: we went from speaking a language we were taught to writing a story only we could tell, and the commitment naturally followed.
What’s one honest moment of inner conflict that shaped “Escaping Darkness,” as much as you’re comfortable sharing?
The core conflict behind Escaping Darkness was the fear of losing our identity to the shadows of uncertainty.
There was a period where the creative path felt like a void instead of a destination—we were still “developing musicians,” but the world often demands “seasoned results” before you feel ready.
A lot of our personal experiences, thoughts, and emotions fed into that concept, and the album became our way of choosing direction when doubt was loudest.
Where was this live photo taken, and what does it say about your performance style?
This was taken during our live set at IIT Kharagpur’s Spring Fest 2015 rock band competition.
That show captures a moment where our raw potential met the reality of a massive stage—and we had to rise to it in real time.
Our nu-metal approach is heavy, groovy, and percussive, and that kind of environment amplifies what we do best: movement, impact, and intensity that feels unpolished in the most honest way.
Contact and Follow
Email: shiverwoodshade@gmail.com
