NEPA Scene Staff

Chart-topping metalcore band I Prevail returns to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Oct. 28

Chart-topping metalcore band I Prevail returns to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Oct. 28
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From a press release:

After playing there earlier this year, Detroit metalcore band I Prevail will return to the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 6:45 p.m. on their Rage on the Stage Tour with We Came as Romans, The Word Alive, and Escape the Fate.

Tickets, which are $25 in advance or $28 the day of the show, go on sale this Friday, Aug. 11 at 10 a.m. and will be available through the Sherman Theater box office (524 Main St., Stroudsburg), online at shermantheater.com and ticketmaster.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets. VIP boxes and sky boxes are available for this show and include eight tickets (VIP box) or 12 tickets (sky box), a fruit and cheese platter, and waitstaff. To purchase box seats, call the theater at 570-420-2808.

Certain moments in life change everything. The trajectory splinters, and there’s no turning back. I Prevail – Brian Burkheiser (clean vocals), Eric Vanlerberghe (harsh vocals), Steve Menoian (guitar), and Dylan Bowman (rhythm guitar) – explore this phenomenon with their full-length debut album, “Lifelines,” on Fearless Records.

“When we started diving into the record, we all sat down and thought, ‘Wow, everything has changed in the last year,’” explains Burkheiser. “Everyone encounters those moments that really define where the rest of their lives are headed. We’ve all grown from everything that’s happened. When we sat down and got to work, we really wanted to share our journey through these songs.

“Lifelines are a great visual for certain points in your life. It’s a line you can’t go backward from or ignore. For us, the path split from the moment we all created I Prevail.”

I Prevail are no strangers to this experience. After the release of the quartet’s 2014 EP “Heart vs. Mind,” nothing would ever be the same. The EP moved over 100,000 copies as the Michigan band toured with the likes of Hollywood Undead and Pierce the Veil. Meanwhile, the group’s cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” sold 500,000+ singles, went Top 20 on Active Rock Radio, and generated over 50 million views on YouTube and 30 million+ Spotify streams (earning them a gold plaque for their walls). The band was nominated for Breakthrough Band at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards and garnered features from Billboard, Detroit Free Press, Alternative Press, Rock Sound, AXS, Loudwire, and many more. Everything aligned and had set the stage perfectly their debut full-length, “Lifelines.”

In early 2016, the boys retreated to Wall of Sound Studios in the small and secluded town of Riley, Michigan to work with trusted producers B.J. Perry and John Pregler. With nearly two years on the road under their belt, the group fully cemented their style, merging entrancing hooks and a powerful music breakdown. “Lifelines” debuted on Oct. 21, 2016 and has sold almost 200,000 copies worldwide.

“On the EP, we were all getting to know each other’s style,” Burkheiser goes on. “We spent a year working on it without ever launching publicly. We wanted to make the best impression possible. Then when we put it out, we spent the next year-and-a-half doing everything we could to promote it. Writing ‘Lifelines’ was such a different experience. We had so much more time to grow together and really had a clear vision for the sound we wanted to create on the album.”

The first single, “Scars,” erupts from a propulsive riff into an unshakable anthem teetering between a hypnotic harmony and a hard-hitting groove. It’s immediately infectious.

“Being away from family members and going through relationships that have died off sometimes made me feel anxiety and depression,” he admits. “Sometimes, you have to look in the mirror. We wanted to create a song that was personal to us, but still relatable. That’s how we got the concept of ‘Scars.’”

Elsewhere on the album, “Stuck in Your Head” sees a magnetic vocal in tandem with a bombastic drumbeat and hyper-charged guitars, making the song live up to its name.

“Basically, we’re comparing a relationship to a broken record,” continues the singer. “It’s dedicated to a certain ex of mine, and I can say a couple of the others guys dedicated it to their former relationships too. Things are really good for a while. All of a sudden, the record starts wearing and things get rocky. In my case, I always felt like the bad guy. So, the song’s a final send-off saying, ‘Thanks for the memories, but I’m glad you’re out of my life. Here’s a song for you to go out to.’”

Ultimately, “Lifelines” sees I Prevail take another big creative step. “We wanted to create something that can showcase every emotion,” Burkheiser leaves off. “It’s anything you’re feeling or looking for.”

“Lifelines” debuted at No. 1 on the Alternative Albums, Hard Music Albums, and Rock Albums charts, No. 9 on the Top Albums chart, and No. 15 on the Billboard Top 200. Alternative Press named it one of the Best Debut albums of 2016, nominating them for Breakthrough Artists in the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards. The band’s singles “Stuck in Your Head,” “Scars,” and “Alone” have all reached No. 1 on SiriusXM Octane Radio charts.

See NEPA Scene’s photos of I Prevail playing the Vans Warped Tour in Scranton last month here and the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre back in 2015 here.