Following the thread that sophomore album “okay.” started to weave in the conversation on mental health, As It Is’s third studio album “The Great Depression” is taking things one step farther with a heavier sound and unapologetic themes. While only one song “The Wounded World” has been released thus far, we can expect great things from the new, highly anticipated era of As It Is.
The music video for the single "The Wounded World" features a modern dystopian museum of technology and tabloids warning its guests to be aware of disconnection and a lack of independent thoughts. Broken tablets, older generation iPhones, mock-tabloid magazines decorated with nasty Instagram comments by real people: it’s all a part of one overarching theme of the destructive behaviors that we have allowed ourselves to codependently adopt. The reality in the video embodies the wounded world we've all created, void of open-mindedness and empathy.
But the album is not strictly focused on the effect of social media on our cultural consciousness. According to the band, the album is a full concept piece not dissimilar to what they’ve done in the past. "The Great Depression" will be about “the societal romanticisation of depression, the despair of present day human connection, told through the story of a man who finds himself face-to-face with Death.” The band is also stressing the importance of finding a healthy way to approaching a sincere conversation on mental health with the respect and sensitivity it warrants.
The Great Depression's tracklist will be as follows:
Stage I: Denial
1. The Great Depression
2. The Wounded World
3. The Fire, The Dark
Stage II: Anger
4. The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry)
5. The Handwritten Letter
6. The Question, The Answer
Stage III: Bargaining
7. The Reaper (ft. Aaron Gillespie)
8. The Two Tongues (Screaming Salvation)
9. The Truth I’ll Never Tell
Stage IV: Acceptance
10. The Haunting
11. The Hurt, The Hope
12. The End.
You can watch the video for “The Wounded World” and preorder “The Great Depression” out August 10th on their website http://asitisofficial.com/
