5X Platinum-certified alternative rock mainstays THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS. have released “X’s For Eyes,” the second single from their forthcoming album X’s For Eyes out October 3 via Better Noise Music. The guitars hit hard, the melody soars, and the rhythm jumps fast in this riveting song that extends a helping hand to someone who’s living close to the edge. With his signature wide-ranging voice, lead vocalist, guitarist, and founding member Ronnie Winter digs in deep with lyrics like: “Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?/Cause I’m scared you’re gonna die/Take control of your life/Wake up from this bad dream/You could end it all tonight.”
.X’s For Eyes is the first full-length album from THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS—vocalist Ronnie Winter, his multi-instrumentalist brother Randy Winter, guitarist Josh Burke, bassist Joey Westwood, drummer John Espy, keyboardist Nadeem Salam, and newest member K Enagonio on vocals—as part of a new partnership with Better Noise Music.
To write the title track, Winter reteamed with producer and songwriter Matt Squire (Panic! at the Disco, Metallica, Good Charlotte), who first worked with the band on “Slipping Through (No Kings)” that came out June 27. The urgent and impassioned rallying cry—written by Winter and Squire—compellingly looks at the societal chaos gripping America right now. Listen to “Slipping Through (No Kings)” HERE and watch the starkly animated video, set in the last days of an authoritarian society, HERE.
“What’s really exciting is that we basically rebuilt the same team for X’s for Eyes that we had when we made DON’T YOU FAKE IT,” says Winter. “A lot of the people who were behind the scenes back then–working on things like mixing, track sequencing, and artwork–have come back together, nearly 20 years later, to be part of this new album. It feels like a reunion in the best possible way, and if you were a fan of DON’T YOU FAKE IT we think you’re going to really love this album.”
“X’s for Eyes truly has something for everyone,” he adds, “including what came to be known as ‘The Lost Songs,’ songs from our original 2004 pre-signing demo that didn’t make it onto DON’T YOU FAKE IT. Fans have been asking for these for over 20 years and with the new album, they’re being commercially released for the first time ever. It felt like we were digging up something long buried, like raising a zombie from the dead.”
The video for “Slipping Through (No Kings),” directed by Steve Tramposch and Jamie Lewis, first introduced the concept of “X’s For Eyes.” In the clip, there is destruction everywhere in a world devoid of color. The main characters—“X boy” and “X girl”—watch as their friends and loved ones are snatched off the streets by masked men in menacing dark cars. The characters have X’s for eyes symbolizing their disillusionment, while others also have X’s for mouths, symbolizing that they’ve been quieted and have lost their voice. “X boy” and “X girl” are left to navigate the rubble and fend for themselves. An Alliance flag, the symbol of their rebellion (and the band’s fan community) is planted in the rubble at the end and the video turns from black and white to full color. The eyes of “X boy” and “X girl” return to full circles to emphasize their awakening and solidarity. These are the youth of the world planting their flag with open eyes after there’s nothing left.
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