Photo by Tom Ise
Australian heavyweights The Amity Affliction have been in the limelight for the past year. After a falling out with their bassist and clean singer, Ahren Stringer, the band had to find a quick fill-in replacement to finish out the U.S. portion of their Let the Ocean Take Me anniversary tour. Stringer finished out the Australian dates but then left the band. Fans were unsure whether or not The Amity Affliction would continue to make new music without Stringer. On May 28, Amity released their first single without Ahren, “All That I Remember”. You can watch the music video for it here!
The video flips between showing a burning fire and the band performing the song. As the song gets closer to the end, we see more and more of the wood pyre that the fire is burning on. As the video closes, we can see the full structure, and it is in the shape of the band’s new logo.
The Amity Affliction has never been afraid of writing lyrics from their darker experiences. When asked about the meaning behind the song, Joel Birch stated, "My mother knew only abuse and isolation, even in death as she cut her own children off. She died as she lived, paranoid and alone." Birch reached out to his siblings for their thoughts on the song as well. His brother Beau stated, "Time and again, our mother showed us that she would put herself first, and use life's pain to justify her actions of self-interests, while we were left to fend for ourselves." His sister, Chanel, commented saying, "This song reminds me how she would pit us against each other constantly, so much so I feel like my relationship with my brothers only grew after she was gone. When I was young, I couldn't see it, I didn't understand the manipulation until years had passed, and I crossed oceans to breathe."
The song is the first featuring Johnathan Reeves of Kingdom of Giants on clean vocals and bass. There was worry there that he wouldn’t be able to fill in the huge shoes that Stringer has left behind. However, Reeves is an incredible talent in and of himself in Kingdom of Giants and with his two other bands, Dark Signal and Saiko Mantis. His clean vocals mixed well with Birch’s harsh vocals in a way that sends chills down your spine. This song was quintessential Amity. Fans should be assured that they are in good hands and are not changing their style in any way. I’m excited to see what else Amity is cooking.
U.S. fans can check out Amity on the first annual Summer of Loud this summer. This is a star-studded tour with four headliners that you do not want to miss!
THE AMITY AFFLICTION ON TOUR WITH SUMMER OF LOUD:
6/21 — West Palm Beach, FL — iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
6/22 — Tampa, FL — MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6/24 — Atlanta, GA — Lakewood Amphitheatre
6/26 — Dallas, TX — Dos Equis Pavillion
6/27 — Austin, TX — Germania Insurance Amphitheater
6/28 — Houston, TX _ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
7/1 — Phoenix, AZ — Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
7/2 — San Diego, CA — Gallagher Square at Petco Park
7/5 — Irvine, CA — Great Park Live
7/6 — Concord, CA — Toyota Pavilion at Concord
7/8 — Salt Lake City, UT — Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
7/9 — Denver, CO — The JunkYard
7/11 — Somerset, WI — Somerset Amphitheater
7/12 — Green Bay, WI — Capital Credit Union Park
7/13 — Tinley Park, IL — Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
7/15 — Toronto, ON — Budweiser Stage
7/16 — Clarkston, MI — Pine Knob Music Theatre
7/18 — Mansfield, OH — Inkcarceration*
7/19 — York, PA — York State Fair*
7/20 — Wantagh, NY — Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
7/22 — Mansfield, MA — Xfinity Center
7/23 — Camden, NJ — Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
7/24 — Holmdel, NJ — PNC Bank Arts Center
7/26 — Bristow, VA — Jiffy Lube Live
7/27 — Charlotte, NC — PNC Music Pavilion
*Festival
