For those of you who haven’t traversed Vans Warped Tour – what are you doing with your lives? Go on. I’ll wait for you to buy your ticket.

Back now?

On May 20, post-hardcore/metalcore band Issues released their second studio album, Headspace through Rise Records; singles off of the album include “The Realest”, “COMA”, “Slow Me Down” and “Blue Wall”, but these are just scratches on the surface of the albums gold. Touring with the likes of Of Mice & Men, Sleeping with Sirens, and more, they storm the scene with their creative approach to production and sick breakdowns.

Their self-titled debut album dropped in February of 2014 and took the world by storm, ultimately reeling itself into the Billboard top 200 at spot number nine.

What makes this band so unique to me – and what actually drew me back into the rock music scene – is the way that they include their influences in the writing and production of their songs. For example, “Late” from their self-titled debut is clearly influenced by the R&B and hip-hop genres, and one song in particular even has a gospel choir backing Tyler’s vocals in a touching tribute to a friend who passed away.

“The most beautiful angelic person and vocalist,… my best friend Rachel,… was singing with me, I thought we would be June and Jonnie,…take over the world singing. We had management looking at us,…and there was all of this stuff…and I was in high school thinking this is sick. And I got the worst phone call of my life. Rachel’s been hit by a drunk driver.”

The band has taken their music in a new direction, pushing themselves beyond what they thought possible. They took quite a bit of time to take their second album more seriously, to take it to that next level.

“We all listen to different music than we did a year ago, or even three years ago when we started the band…It’s cool to try new things and it’s definitely a stepping stone to making our band more melodic and more appealing and…we were into it,” Carter says about the new album.

Single “The Realest” is a universal anthem for all of the people who find that someone is making things tough in your life and rising above that, telling that person I know your tricks, don't act so proud, I'm moving up while you're slowing down.

Tyler Carter, lead singer of the band is also outspoken about his struggles and how his life has influenced his music and vision for the band, talking about his fears and mental illness. Their passion shows with the music that they’ve put out recently, and if you’re a fan of rock, I definitely recommend you check out their music.

Check out this acoustic version of “The Worst of Them” from their debut album, and be sure to pick up their new album Headspace.