Content by Tiana Speter
Melodic hardcore group Bloom are set to release their sophomore album, The Light We Chase. on October 31st via Pure Noise Records, The Light We Chase reflects a period of emotional turmoil – relationship breakdowns, struggles with trust, and wrestling with hopelessness – offering the band’s most visceral collection to date.
Ahead of the album’s release, Jono Hawkey and Jack Van Vliet gave us a breakdown of songs that helped inspire the creation of the new record!
Jumpdafuckup – Soulfly feat. Corey Taylor
Jack Van Vliet: The first song on the list is Jumpdafuckup by Soulfly. Do you remember when Sam Bassal brought that up? I think when we were doing a jump thing?
Jono Hawkey: It coincides exactly with Sam’s methodology of “put some swag on it.” If something feels stale, or it doesn’t flow, you really need to strip it back to that hip hop-inspired sound. There was a lot of nu-metal getting played around the same time, but Soulfly has that bounce that ended up at the core of many of our heavier songs on the album.
Demigod – Behemoth
Jack: Another one is Demigod by Behemoth. We listened to it when trying to get a riff for Life Moves On Without Us, especially for the post-chorus.
Jono: I remember Sam kept pulling it up and was like, “you guys don’t know Behemoth?!”
Jack: We definitely learned about Behemoth.
Head in the Ceiling Fan – Title Fight
Jono: Head in the Ceiling Fan by Title Fight is definitely another one.
Jack: Yeah, that was huge. Every time Oliver Butler picked up a guitar, he played Title Fight. The start of Head in the Ceiling Fan was especially influential. Keep You on The Light We Chase is our attempt at a Title Fight-esque song.
Jono: The feel of that song, and the Hyperview album overall, was something we kept coming back to. We wanted something more open, shoegaze-y, with space to breathe. Adding subtle layers quietly in the background was new for us.
Jack: And when Ollie had the idea for the chorus melody with some lyrics from Jarod McLaren, it reminded me of The Smashing Pumpkins and other nostalgic rock like Silverchair.
Nights – Frank Ocean
Jack: Whenever I’m writing lyrics, I aim to write like Frank Ocean. Nights would be a huge influence. I probably listened to Blonde five times that week — it’s my favourite album ever lyrically.
Turning Hate Into Rage – Boundaries
Jono: Turning Hate Into Rage by Boundaries really defines what modern metalcore records sound like, and it’s the style Oliver and I love the most. It’s got grit, and guitars that are a bit dirty and “gross,” which we wanted for the heavier songs.
Jack: Yeah, the breakdowns in Withered and endings like in Life Moves On Without Us were us pushing that sound further than ever before.
[I Dreamed A Dream – Les Misérables] + The Wizard and I – Wicked
Jack: For lyrics, concept, and melody, we also looked to musical theatre. I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables came up a lot. Its melody is super sticky, and it really encapsulates themes we wanted on the album.
Jono: And The Wizard and I from Wicked helped inspire big, singalong-style melodies. Musical theatre aligns with how Bloom writes lyrics: direct, from the perspective of the character — in this case, us.
Jack: It just permeates in naturally.
Jono: I grew up doing musical theatre and my mum’s a drama teacher — the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
Something Beautiful – Robbie Williams
Jack: We were listening to Robbie Williams a lot, especially Something Beautiful. That middle-of-the-chorus melody is awesome.
Jono: Credit for the Robbie phase goes to our bassist Andrew Martin. For a while, our sets were starting with Rock DJ. It kept spirits high, even if it didn’t directly influence the album much.
Pittsburgh – The Amity Affliction
Jack: Pittsburgh by The Amity Affliction was an obvious influence for Out Of Reach. We wanted the album to feel suited for large crowds and festivals.
Jono: Definitely an “arms up” moment. Sections in songs were intentionally made to feel bigger.
Mirror Reaper – Bell Witch
Jack: And we have to include Mirror Reaper by Bell Witch. Our previous records were very full, with little breathing room. On this album, we wanted space — even in big, full songs.
Jono: I almost drove home from the studio listening to Mirror Reaper every day. At an hour and 23 minutes, it’s doom metal, but it’s slow, drawn out, and full of repeating motifs. It’s depressing but rewarding.
Jack: There’s lots of space to breathe.
Jono: It’s the kind of song where you can drink a bottle of wine in the bath while listening — by the end, you feel like a different person.
Renowned for their open-veined take on the melodic hardcore realms since forming back in 2017, Bloom’s ability to balance catharsis with rage, despair and full-blown bangers has seen them recently tick off performances alongside Silverstein in Europe earlier this year, Chelsea Grin and Currents down under, their debut Japanese headline shows (with Tokyo entirely sold out), Miss May I, Polaris, Make Them Suffer in 2024, and a completely sold out headline tour for earlier single The Works Of You. In 2023, Bloom ticked off an appearance at Good Things Festival, supporting Bad Omens and Thornhill with Holding Absence, with their live performance equally renowned to be as potent as their commanding releases.
THE LIGHT WE CHASE – OUT OCTOBER 31
https://purenoiserecs.lnk.to/
