Since the release of the milestone debut album, 2009’s To Plant a Seed, diehard fans depend on We Came As Romans to deliver intimate, confessional, and autobiographical anthems, each one challenging, triumphant, and passionate. Darkbloom is a bright light in the darkness with the strength of every WCAR album before it. Singer David Stephens, guitarist Joshua Moore, bassist Andy Glass, guitarist Lou Cotton, and drummer David Puckett usher in an ambitious, courageous new era, while honoring the legacy and memory of their fallen bandmate, co-vocalist and keyboardist Kyle Pavone.
We Came As Romans’ initial ascent was quick and assured, catapulting the band (who met as teens) into the hearts of diehard fans immersed in the metalcore, post-hardcore, and Warped Tour subculture. Their hookfilled heavy music carried an uplifting message and connects with even greater urgency live. The increasingly diverse catalog of metallic might, melodic strength, and electronic atmosphere soars in clubs, theaters, and fests. They’ve supported tastemaker acts like Bring Me The Horizon, I Prevail, A Day To Remember, Falling In Reverse, Bullet For My Valentine, and The Used.
Moore and Stephens are a formidable writing team. Crowds connected with the songs on To Plant a Seed and its follow-up, 2011’s Understanding What We’ve Grown to Be. They entered Billboard’s Independent Albums chart at No. 1 with 2013’s Tracing Back Roots. Metal Hammer described 2015 self-titled fourth album as “a massive departure from their comfort zone. Where once there was positivity, patience, and platitudes, there is now pain.” AltPress declared 2017’s Cold Like War a “milestone,” noting the “expanded range of sounds, emotions, and songwriting capabilities.”
Roughly a year after Cold Like War’s release, an accidental overdose took Pavone’s life. A devastated WCAR vowed to continue, in his memory, for each other, and for their fans. Each record marks a moment in time, a stage in the process of continuing evolution, none more so than Darkbloom. Shaped by their collective loss and grief, the album balances the optimistic vitality of WCAR’s most beloved work with stark realism and emotion. Like a flower emerging through concrete, We Came As Romans symbolize the transformative power of perseverance.
