Michigan metalcore outfit We Came As Romans have undergone a significant change these past few years yet still power through as one of the genre’s leading acts. Since the passing of vocalist and keyboardist Kyle Pavone in 2018, an integral member from their 2009 debut album To Plant a Seed onwards, WCAR soldiered on for their most emotional work to date with 2022’s Darkbloom.
We had a chat with guitarist Joshua Moore about the album, upcoming Australia tour and more.
“Dave (vocalist) and I just got back from golfing,” he laughs. “We had the day off today. So far we’ve been on tour for about a week and we’ve golfed twice! Obviously, this is not my everyday outfit,” he adds, donning a striped polo shirt and cap.
We kicked things off by asking how the year has been so far, currently touring the US and preparing to head Down Under.
“Busy. We did a headliner, we had some time off, we went to Europe, we did some writing, we had some festivals, flying to Montreal and Alaska. Now we’re on tour again and I think we’ve got six days between tours then we’re heading to Australia!”
Released in October last year, Darkbloom is the band’s sixth studio album and first without Kyle. Featuring the singles “Black Hole”, “Daggers” and the banger of a title track, the record also has some of their most tender moments in “One More Day” and “Promise You”. With every song hitting hard in more ways than one, we asked if Josh has a favourite.
“We did the record with Drew Fulk, who did our previous record Cold Like War, and Drew had a friendship with Kyle and really understood him. So he was like a part of our band, and he was just as invested as anyone else. It was one of those things where we could be like, ‘I wonder if Kyle would like this?’, and he would say, ‘Absolutely, he would jam stuff like this all the time’.
“I think my favourite track is number six, One More Day. It’s just incredibly emotional, and the last track as well. It’s not a super popular track ‘cause no one is like, ‘Hey, I want to get depressed as fuck and listen to music’, but it was incredibly special to me writing it. For the first time, I was able to sing all the harmonies on the record that I wrote. But there were definitely times when I was like, ‘Not today, I just can’t’.”
To celebrate with their long-distance fans, WCAR are bringing the Darkbloom tour to Australia this August and September for their first appearance since 2015. Joining them will be none other than Texas metalcore heavyweights Invent Animate for their live debut in Australia.
“I’m stoked, the tour is gonna go off! We haven’t been to Australia for years and last time we were there was with In Hearts Wake and Beartooth opened. We haven’t been back for so long, and not to get sad with it, but we weren’t the only ones who lost Kyle. Any of our fans in Australia haven’t been able to heal in the same way that we’ve been able to, so I think it’s gonna be a pretty emotional tour and I’m all for it.”
It’s also awesome to see them offering a leg up to the little guys, with local supports recently announced in promising emerging acts SIGNVLS, Harroway, ATLVS and Headwreck.
“Yeah! I got tagged the other day on Instagram in a post saying to check out the openers each day. I mean, that used to be us. It’s gonna make me seem old as hell, but yesterday was the 18th anniversary of us being a band and creating a MySpace page! I remember they were incomplete, I showed up to band practice and they were like, ‘We want you to be in our band’.
I remember way back in the day we were able to open a show for The Devil Wears Prada when they were coming up to play a show with a band called Corsets Are Cages, who later became Emarosa. We were just blasting this promoter with messages on MySpace and they finally let us play at this 300 cap hall – the biggest venue we had ever played and we were fuckin’ terrible. My parents even came to see it!”
Given that it’s been so long, we asked what Josh misses most about our country.
“I don’t know how to say this without like shitting on my own country,” he laughs, “but every downtown urban area is super clean and everything is easy to get to. You go to New York City and it’s like, welcome to fuckin’ Trash Land! There’s garbage bags everywhere, you’re getting hassled by random characters on the street, you know? It’s a whole different experience.
Every interaction that I’ve ever had with any Australian fan is just super grateful. It’s an insane pain in the ass to get to Australia from Detroit,” he laughs. “It’s like a five-hour flight to LAX, 12-hour flight to Tokyo, then to Brisbane, Perth or Adelaide, and it’s an 18-hour time difference but you just spent 26 hours on a plane with layovers. You’re just like, ‘I don’t even know who I am anymore!”
So with all these shows and flights in such a short time, how does Josh and the band unwind from tour?
“Easy! You get home, you don’t talk to anyone. Your friends text you, leave it on read. I’m sitting on my couch for three days straight, eating pizza and Taco Bell, treating my body like a real piece of shit, playing League of Legends and watching Netflix. I’m letting by brain unmelt into a form that is able to process thoughts and have social interactions. And lots of golf!”
We Came As Romans will hitting our shores this August for the Darkbloom tour with Invent Animate in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Get your tickets HERE!
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