From Ashes to New

In a small town, you either die where you came from or dream your way out. From Ashes To New understand this choice. As such, the Lancaster, PA quartet—Matt Brandyberry [rap vocals, keys, synths, programming, guitar], Danny Case [clean & unclean vocals], Lance Dowdle [lead guitar], and Mat Madiro [drums]—churn out an anthemic hybrid of hard rock, hip-hop, electronic, and alternative with enough energy to inspire you to get up, move forward, and maybe even, make a change. Since 2013, the group have risen from humble beginnings to the top of the 21st century rock vanguard with hundreds of millions of streams, sold out shows across the country, and acclaim from LoudWire, Alternative Press, and more.

However, they tell their story like never before on their fourth full-length album, Blackout.

“Growing up in Elizabethtown, PA felt hopeless in a way,” admits Matt. “You go to college and become part of corporate America, or you’re just trash. For the longest time, I fell into the latter category according to other people. My mentality was, ‘Who are these people to fucking tell me what I’m going to do with my life?’ They don’t make my decisions; I make decisions for myself. It took a lot of ups and downs, but it’s paying off. I owe it to the small town blue-collar mentality that made me work harder. Danny grew up in Rochester, but his story is the same. We were the loners picked last. Everyone underestimated us. We fought through it for all of our lives, and we’re going to be picked first now.”

“I was always an outcast who nobody gave a shit about,” agrees Danny. “The only thing I ever dreamt of was music. Like the other guys in From Ashes To New, nobody was going to tell me otherwise or stop me.”

From Ashes To New utilize their outlier perspective to break boundaries. The group’s 2016 full-length debut, Day One, introduced a searing and scorching signature style. The lead single “Through It All” notably eclipsed 44 million Spotify streams. Powered by fan favorites such as “Crazy” and “Broken,” they maintained that momentum on The Future in 2018. However, Panic crystallized their approach on the likes of the title track, which reeled in over 20 million Spotify streams. Along the way, they toured with Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, Bad Wolves, and Ice Nine Kills in addition to collaborating with The Hu and Hollywood Undead.

Showing no signs of slowing down, they continued writing throughout the Global Pandemic. During 2021, the musicians holed up in Lancaster with longtime collaborators and producers Grant McFarland and Carson Slovak to assemble what would become Blackout. This time around, the band made a conscious decision to ignore outside influences and focus on what makes them From Ashes To New.

“We weren’t going to let other people tell us what to do,” affirms Danny. “We went back to guys who produced us for a long time, because they work cohesively with us.”

“We got back to the days of creating music to simply create,” adds Matt. “We ended up making the most genuine piece of art we could. At the same time, we applied everything we’ve learned as musicians, producers, and writers. We knew we were capable of doing everything bigger and better.”

The band bulldoze the way for Blackout with the lead single “Heartache.” Guitar creeps underneath tightly woven rhymes as the hypnotic hook assures, “I came from a dark place. I’m made from the heartache.”

“It was one of the first songs for the record,” Matt recalls. “It’s about my upbringing and being from a place of hard work and labor. You’re born, you’re taught to work, you work until your bones can’t move, and you die. You may be able to make a happy life, but is it the life you want? You may be born into this scenario, but you find your own path. It’s largely our story.”

Then, there’s “Hate Me Too.” Riffs toss and turn with buoyant handclap-laden verses as a chant rings out on the chorus, “You should hate me too.”

“It’s an observation of people around us and what we’ve gone through in the past,” Matt goes on. “I can remember a girlfriend in high school. We absolutely hated each other, but we stayed with each other for like a year-and-a-half. It’s a common theme.”

A cinematic hum and ethereal keys slip into a grandiose intro on “Armageddon.” Matt leans into a post-apocalyptic flow as the momentum climaxes on another skyscraping refrain boosted by a punchy riff.

“As a society, we don’t realize how good we have it,” Danny observes. “If you look at the past, you’ll see how awful everything was. Generations upon generations experienced plague, famine, and death. Here we are sipping our Starbucks and typing angrily on our phones from the back of an UBER on the way to a meal. It’s utterly ridiculous we can’t acknowledge how great everything is. There’s always going to be work that needs to be done, sure. It’s a system made by imperfect beings. ‘Armaggedon’ is just what we’ve done for centuries.”

“Barely Breathing” balances an emotionally charged acoustic bridge with a hard-hitting ebb and flow emblematic of a tumultuous breakup. “We tried to touch on the feelings of having someone, watching it turn for the worse, needing to end it, and enduring the void afterwards,” Danny reveals. “Oftentimes, a piece of you dies with the relationship and never comes back. It’s a hard look at the feelings after.”

In the end, Blackout is From Ashes To New’s story.

“We created the best possible version of what we can do,” Matt leaves off. “There’s an anthem for every walk of life on Blackout. I believe Blackout is going to take us to the next level we’ve always envisioned. It’s who we are.”

“This band is everything to me,” Danny declares. “There’s nothing I won’t sacrifice or give up for this. We’ve literally spent decades trying to get to this point. It’s all or nothing.”