Following a yearslong hiatus, which was partially due to the lead singer\u2019s life-threatening medical diagnosis, alt-rockers The Calling are back with a new album and a record release show in Malibu. And for the band\u2019s co-founder, the new music is considered a comeback record as well as a continuation of where The Calling left off before the lengthy hiatus.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a comeback because obviously for me I didn\u2019t even know I would be alive or able to do this now,\u201d said Alex Band, The Calling\u2019s co-founder and lead singer. \u201cIt\u2019s the story of my life. It\u2019s an incredibly emotional record and the fact that it\u2019s coming out is a dream of mine that I didn\u2019t think would ever happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The new album, \u201cBefore The World Turns to Dust,\u201d which is The Calling\u2019s third studio album, is set to be released Sept. 25 and the band will mark the occasion with a show at Dreamland, an intimate live music venue in Malibu. It\u2019s the first full-length album since 2004\u2019s \u201cTwo,\u201d coming 25 years after the group\u2019s 2001 platinum-selling debut, \u201cCamino Palmero.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new 15-track pop-rock record features the band\u2019s familiar soaring melodies and anthemic uplifting rock-pop songs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSonically it\u2019s going to feel very comfortable for people who know The Calling stuff. I fought really hard to keep it sounding like that so this record sounds like what the third The Calling record would be,\u201d Band said.<\/p>\n
Music comes calling<\/p>\n
Formed in 1996 in Los Angeles, The Calling found massive worldwide success with the anthemic hit \u201cWherever You Will Go,\u201d from the debut album \u201cCamino Palmero.\u201d<\/p>\n
Written by Band when he was 15 years old, the breakout hit reached the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, spent 23 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard\u2019s Adult Pop Airplay chart, was named Billboard\u2019s No. 1 Adult Pop Song of the Decade, and has surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so overwhelming, all of that happening. I don\u2019t think I was thinking about anything but to make it to the next day,\u201d Band said. \u201cBut it was amazing once everything started blowing up. Nobody thought that song was going to do very well. It was all a surprise and once it became a hit I had no idea it would continue to be such an important song,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Calling\u2019s second studio album didn\u2019t have the same impact as its debut offering, although it did include the hit \u201cOur Lives,\u201d which was included in the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics<\/a> and was the opening song for the 2006 Academy Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the musicians faced some serious challenges thanks to label and industry complications that halted their rise. Band eventually released a solo album in 2010, but not long after that he received a devastating Parkinson\u2019s diagnosis and spent the next seven years struggling to regain his motor skills. He had to use a wheelchair to get around for about eight months, the lead singer recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cThat ended everything basically. That was the end of it all,\u201d Band said.<\/p>\n But in 2018 his condition started to dramatically improve and in hindsight Band thinks he may have been misdiagnosed. Regardless, his health improvement allowed him to turn his attention back to The Calling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was basically a new lease on life. I was kind given a go pass again to finally get back to making music. I\u2019ve been wanting to put this record out for 20 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n