By August Edwards
ABQGR is proud to present an exclusive listen to OakVale’s latest single, “Through the Abyss.” The track will be available to stream on services tomorrow, March 17, 2022.
What happens when your love for someone else turns into something destructive? And what happens when you're ready to get better and move on, but your loved one isn't? Those are the questions that OakVale explores through their alternative rock lens. This four-piece is beastly, and while their sound is clean and snappy, there’s something jagged about how they slice their listeners' reality.
OakVale collectively had this to say about the significance of this track: “This single really hits home for us. It was written by our singer, Jude Anthony, whose father struggled with addiction. This song is from a person's perspective who loves someone struggling with addiction and is trying to separate themselves from the tragedy of it all."
"Our singer's father recently passed away in December of 2021," the band continued. "Unfortunately, the death was due to alcoholism and addiction. So, this song has really come full circle and means a lot to Jude and the band. We recorded this song one week after the passing of Jude's father along with the song we released last month 'Fire of the Heart.' Both songs were extremely hard to record due to the emotional state of our singer and the band. But, that being said, we couldn't be more happy with how the songs came out and believe the emotions really shine through in both the singles.”
The emotion in “Through the Abyss” burns like a furnace, but when listening to the song, instead of imagining a bottomless chasm, I imagine a wall being built. The toughness of the band together usurps hopelessness and doom. If we’re to identify the stages of grief in this track, I think there are tinges of anger, maybe some bargaining, but really the single lies on the brink of acceptance. Acceptance does not mean to be devoid of pain.
The band had this to say about the progression of their music through time: “We believe this song continues to push us in the direction we are seeking to go. A little more heavy, emotionally charged, and dynamic. We feel 'Through the Abyss' and 'Fire of the Heart' are the tipping point for us falling into what OakVale has been striving for from its conception. We have more singles to write and release in 2022 and feel this year is going to solidify who we are as OakVale, and what we bring to the music scene locally in Albuquerque and hopefully much further than that. We are very appreciative of all the support and can't wait for what the future holds!”
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