No Devotion Stream “Addiction”

image

A week after unveiling the official release date for their debut record, Permanence, No Devotion is giving fans another new song off the impending record.

The new song, which the band confirmed would be released this week, is titled “Addiction.”

“Addiction” marks the second “official” single from the record with “Death Rattle” being the first. “Death Rattle” is the song that plays in the background of the video the group released last week to announce the release of Permanence.

Also feature on Permanence are “Eyeshadow,” “10,000 Summers,” and “Stay” which were all released last year by the band and is also part of their singles boxset.

Stream “Addiction” below.

Permanence will be released on Sept. 25 through Collect Records, frontman Geoff Rickly’s record label.

The full track list for Permanence can be seen below.

PERMANENCE TRACK LIST:

01. “Break”
02. “Permanent Sunlight”
03. “Eyeshadow”
04. “Why Can’t I Be With You?”
05. “I Wanna Be Your God”
06. “Death Rattle”
07. “10,000 Summers”
08. “Night Drive”
09. “Stay”
10. “Addition”
11. “Grand”

Mikey Way (ex-MCR) Reveals Battle with Addiction, Rehab Stint

image

We will admit to being one of the first to joke about how all the member of My Chemical Romance have been able to transition to their own solo musical endeavors, but how we’re still waiting for former bassist Mikey Way to put out his new album.

Earlier in the year, Alternative Press had written that Way’s new project, electro-duo Electric Century was one of the year’s “most anticipated” groups, but that was at the beginning of the year. 2014 is quickly wrapping up and we still have no album or new songs since their first song was revealed at the beginning of the year.

Turns out, things were a lot more serious than what anyone thought. Today, Way acknowledged the repeated questions about EC’s new album, but due to personal demons, that was not happening anytime soon.

In the post, Way writes how he had been battling addiction for years and when MCR broke up, it got worse and even with a fresh slate in the form of a new band, things did not get better. Under a false pretense, Way was led to the recording studio to finish recording Electric Century’s debut album, only to come to the realization that it was an intervention for rehab.

Read the full statement below which also touches on the subject of touring, something Way says he is not completely interested in doing, at least not at the current moment.

“It’s been a minute since the last time we talked. There’s something I have needed to get off of my chest for quite some time – Because most of you have stuck by my side and supported me for over a decade now and you deserve the truth. The program is about brutal honesty, not only with your self but with others too.

I can’t tell you how many times I have opened Twitter or Instagram over the past 7 months to see someone asking about Electric Century and what is next for the band. I want you all to know why I went dark earlier this year and why I haven’t addressed any of your questions about the band up until this point.

In February of this year, I flew to the East Coast to finish up the EC record. Upon my arrival, I was told “you aren’t here to record” and I instantly knew what was going on. I was going to rehab. I felt an odd sense of comfort and thanked my friends for doing this for me. In the months prior I had come to realize that my addiction was far past me being able to beat it alone. In all honesty, at that point I was lucky to be alive. I have talked about sobriety in the past but frankly it was all just wishful thinking, I could talk with the best of them but now it’s time to do the real work or as they say in the program, “walk the walk”.

Physically entering the rehab facility was one of the most terrifying yet rewarding things I have ever done. Getting onstage and playing in front of tens of thousands of people used to be the most frightening thing for me, but getting the help I knew I needed made that look relaxing. During my 31 plus days of treatment, I learned a lot about myself and a lot about what I needed to do to never go back down that path I had been stumbling upon.

I had been self medicating for more than half my life. And as the band grew, so did the introduction of more drugs and more alcohol. Each time I thought I had hit rock bottom I really hadn’t seen the worst yet. When the band broke up, my using had intensified and I fell into total darkness. In the true form of an addict, I disconnected from everyone I knew and pushed away every one I loved. At that point in my life, I was not only lost but in complete self-destruction mode. In February, I was told I should never have woken up.

Electric Century started because I still had something I wanted to share with the world. I wanted it to be a special project that showed another side of me, and told a story I had wanted to tell for quite some time. During my stay in rehab, I was finally ready to admit something I hadn’t said out loud yet – Touring was just not something I was ready for or wanting to do. I was going along with everything up to that point because that is what I had always done. But, I no longer want to be that person, and I am trying to learn to say no and to put myself, and my mental health first. Will I ever tour with EC… maybe? Where I am in life right now, I want to continue to create and release music. For now, I am letting the chips fall where they may and I am hoping to get this music to all of you as soon as humanly possible.

You don’t really believe them when they warn you about the difficult road ahead. You think it will be easier than it really is. They were right. A few months ago, I was afraid to leave my apartment, afraid to drive my car- afraid of absolutely everything.

But now I can say it’s getting better every day and for the first time in my life I am saying that in all honesty. 8 months in I have more clarity than I have had in decades.

The only thing I am still working on getting past are the decisions I made when I wasn’t me. I still have to own up and take responsibility for these things. I lost friends and I lost time, but those closest to me have accepted my apologies are still by my side and that means so much to me. There are still friendships I am mending to this day, but that is all part of this new life I am creating for myself. You can’t un-ring the bell, but you can always learn to ring it better.

I learned through all of this that it’s okay to ask for help. So for all of you struggling – seek help. Tell someone close to you that you are struggling and allow the program to do it’s work. It saved my life and I am eternally grateful for that. You will be hearing much more from me and EC in the coming months, that I can promise you. Here is to the next chapter in my life and to taking things one day at a time…because that is all we really have.”

Panic! at the Disco’s Spencer Smith to Sit Out Tour

panic-at-the-disco

After revealing last week that he had been recovering from addiction, Panic! at the Disco drummer, Spencer Smith has officially decided to step down from being part of the band’s arena tour.

Singer Brendon Urie released a statement explaining why Smith had decided to do so. The full statement can be read below.

HI. I’M BRENDON URIE FROM PANIC! AT THE DISCO.
And my band has been through a lot.

From graduating high school to almost immediately getting an indie record deal. To having to become best friends with new acquaintances in the close quarters of a conversion-van whilst touring the country. To dealing with animosities inside and outside of the band. To dealing with “creative differences”. New band members joining. Old members quitting. And now this: one of my closest friends has been struggling with addiction.

I guess I never thought that last one would ever really be a “thing”. Ever. I figured if we ever got into drugs or partying that we would phase out just as quickly. And for a while, we seemed to do just that. Phase in and out of consciousness without worrying about future consequences; or, “future tripping”.

But over the course of the last 6 years or so, I’ve learned that not everybody deals with things the same.

I don’t know why that particular lesson took so long for me to learn. I mean, I’ve always understood that people are different and you can’t judge someone you don’t know because you haven’t walked a mile in their shoes and so forth. But when it happens to someone close to you whom you love and respect… It’s just a different story altogether.

I first joined this band (then under a different band name) as a replacement guitar player. Initially, I had no intentions of being a permanent member. I was just filling a space as a temporary solution to a not-so-serious problem. But within a couple month’s time, I was a lead singer of a growingly popular rock band out of Las Vegas. So, things were pretty damn good for a hyperactive high-school kid with sub-average grades and no plans for college.

My initial impression of Spencer was that of intrigue and curiosity. Most of the time he was quiet and reserved, but every now and then he would unleash his wit of which I was an immediate fan. We seemed to share the same brand of comedy which was a breath of fresh air to me. That initial connection became a fully-fledged friendship that would become stronger over the course of many years. And many fights. Many tears and many laughs.

Writing our first album together was so much fun. Even sometimes cutting class to work more hours for more pay at a smoothie hut just to make ends meet for gas bills and a rehearsal space couldn’t have been more fun to me. And when that album became popular, it was so completely surreal. My entire childhood was spent practicing for and dreaming about entertaining crowds of people. I lived to perform. To sing. To dance. To play music. And I was finally getting to fulfill my dream.

And through the years of changing sounds from one album to the next, of fighting over who should still be the lead singer, of being around people who were so completely done with being a band, I never gave up. I just showed up. And hoped that there were people like me who wanted to make a difference. People who wanted to create something. Because they needed to. Because if they didn’t, it would drive them insane. And luckily, I found people like that.

I guess what I’m saying is that Spencer and I have been through a lot of hurdles together, but witnessing one of my closest friends immersed in such a battle has been the most difficult. There was never anything I could say to comfort him or empathize with his situation. What the fuck could I possibly say to him to make him feel like everything was gonna be okay? So I told myself that all I could do was work even harder with whatever I was doing to make sure he didn’t have to stress about anything. So I did.

And I wrote as sincerely and honestly as I could for this album. I didn’t want to hold anything back. No one was telling me what I could and couldn’t say. This was my diary and the pages were filled with confessions. About everything. About my story. What I had gone through and what I was going through. I kept writing and never really stopped.

So, here’s another confession for my diary. Only this time there’s no musical soundscape or background in which I can flood the message. All I can do is say it. So here it is.

Today is August 6th 2013, and it’s become evident Spencer still needs more time to take care of himself. I can’t expect him to be fighting addiction one minute and be fully immersed in a national tour the next.

With all that said, the tour will continue without Spencer while he is away getting the help he needs. Thank you all for your support and kind words.

I love you. I believe in you. Just show up and don’t ever give up.

Brendan Urie”

About a week back, the drummer revealed that he had been fighting addiction for quite sometime. He said that the addiction started with prescription medication and eventually just spun out of control. While being interviewed by MTV, Smith delved further into his addiction.

All we can say is get well soon.

Panic! at the Disco Drummer Reveals Addiction Problems

panic-at-the-disco

For fans of Panic! at the Disco, we can all say that the band went from being a little unknown Las Vegas band, to scoring hits on MTV really fast. But apparently things haven’t been all fine for one member of the band that has been there since the beginning, drummer Spencer Smith.

Last night, the sticksman released a message to fans where he explained about his drug and alcohol addiction that was pretty much unknown to anyone except himself. In the message he reveals that he had an addiction to pain medication and when he wasn’t int he public eye, things would get worse. He also confirms that he is indeed clean and sober as their new album is slated to be released in a few months.

The full message could be read below and believe us, it’s a powerful read, so get some tissues:

For the past 4 and a half years I’ve been battling addiction. Well, to be honest, I’ve really been battling it for the last two years. Those first 2 and a half years were spent in a place where I thought I had finally found the correct dosage of my personally prescribed medicine to feel “normal”…..In reality, I was mostly stumbling through my life hoping no one noticed I was high. 

Growing up I never used drugs or alcohol. I smoked weed and had my first drink in the same night when I was 19. I loved it, and from that point on I made sure to make up for all those years I had spent abstaining. I’d think to myself… “What have I been doing? This is it! This is what I’ve needed”. I didn’t know it then, but it would be the identical reaction to the way I felt while using that would later lead my drug use dominating my life. For the first few years, my life in a band afforded me the ability to maintain a drinking habit that wouldn’t have lasted a week at a day job. Being on tour left me with a very distorted view of what drinking habits are considered “normal”. But, unlike most of the other musicians I spent time with on tour, when I got home my drinking increased. My anxiety and depression became much worse, and I used alcohol to attempt to numb it. It can be a shock to the system when you go from being on tour for 18 months, almost never being alone, always having somewhere to be and a show to play, to waking up alone having no clue what your gonna do for months on end. Now, if that sounds like it should be on the top of the list of first world problems, you’re right. No one deserves any sympathy for having too much free time. But for someone like me, an addict and alcoholic, free time can be dangerous. I need structure, and when I don’t put it in place for myself, I suffer the consequences. 

Then, a little over 2 years ago, something traumatic happened in regards to the health of a loved one. It was around this time that I started taking Vicodin and Xanax on a daily basis. It was an intoxicating mix. At the time, I honestly thought that I had figured it all out. That I could self medicate my way to always being happy and never having to deal with any underlying issues causing my depression. I quickly became a serious addict. As crazy as it seems to me now, when I was high, I felt like the person I wanted to be. I liked myself, and I thought that everyone else must like me more too. I’d become so used to functioning when I was drinking and taking pills that, in my mind, everyone else must think I’m not only acting “normal”, but happy! outgoing! and content. On tour, It became a balancing act between taking enough so I didn’t start feeling withdrawal symptoms and not taking too much that I couldn’t function. 

When we got off the tour we were doing for our last record, I slipped further into my addiction. With a lot more alone time and no worry of being presentable at an interview or a meet & greet, my life began to revolve around my addiction. Wake up: Take a pill to have the energy to get out of bed. Leaving the house: Make sure I have enough pills to last till I get back. I had back up pills in my car, my backpack, all over the place incase something happened to the ones I had on me. I couldn’t go more than 8 hours without feeling painkiller withdrawals. I was taking a dangerous amount of pills while drinking to chase that high, and just like with any other substance, the higher the high is, the lower the low is. What started out as a way for me to numb anxiety and depression had become the major cause of it.

Last fall, after months of trying to quit and only making it 2 or 3 weeks, I entered treatment. I was extremely lucky to have the support of my family, bandmates, friends and my girlfriend. I’ve met too many people who have lost everything and burned every bridge they have due to their addiction. I can honestly say that without the love and support of those closest to me, I wouldn’t be here, sober, and able to write this today. The thought of putting this on paper and out into the world is scary. Since I’m still so fresh in my recovery, I was questioning whether or not I should. But, as anyone who has dealt with this personally knows, recovery is not possible without honesty. I spent years hiding and lying about my addiction. A huge weight was lifted from me when I could look at my friends, family and band in the eye and tell them what was really going on. It didn’t feel like I had some sort of double life anymore. I don’t want that feeling in any aspect of my life again. 

Wow, now that I’ve put this down all my nerves have gonna away and it just feels freeing. My goal in releasing this is to try and relate to anyone who has experienced addiction personally or with a loved one, and to be honest with everyone else. To let people know that anxiety, depression, and addiction are not picky. They plague people of all ages from all walks of life. But, you can recover!! So, please seek help if you’re suffering personally, and urge anyone you know to get help if they are suffering. It gets better one day at a time.

Looking forward to seeing all of you on tour,

Spencer