“This is everything I have ever wanted…” Inside One Step Closer’s new album, All You Embrace

Earlier this year, when One Step Closer announced their brand-new album, vocalist Ryan Savitski teased that he wanted All You Embrace to showcase the band “in its fullest state”. So now, with the record almost finally here, the singer reveals exactly what that entails, song by song…

“This song is about having to make the hard decision of leaving someone who is not treating you fairly because you have grown apart. I think a lot of times touring challenges your relationships with your partners, friends, and even your family. A lot of times you lose people you care about or just slowly drift apart. Color You captures those feelings and shows how unfair it is to lose people because of your passion.”

“This is about being away from someone for so long that you forget how to interact and connect. It feels awkward coming back because it has been weeks or multiple months of not seeing them. You slowly become someone that was forgotten about within your friend group. Leap Years is more so saying fast-forward time. Skip months and leap years, work through all the changes.”

“Blur My Memory is about trying your best not to compare yourself and your work to others to avoid leading into a depressive stint. I have a huge problem with comparing myself to people because I never feel good enough or secure enough with my art and lifestyle. It sends me spiralling if I think about it too often, so I do my best to stay strong and set myself free of that. Easier said than done sometimes, but I wrote this song to hopefully push other people including myself that no matter what people say about you, always be your own person.”

“This song is exactly what you think: it is a break-up song. I wrote it about putting myself forward for once and acknowledging that this change was good for me and better in the long run. ‘When I close the gate’ is signifying walking away from someone, no matter how much you care or once cared. This whole song feels like personal growth to me, being able to overcome a changing period without feeling intense dread. Sometimes you need to put yourself first and do what is right.”

“This song is about feeling an intense hatred towards someone that you were once close with. Your Hazel Tree comes from the hazel trees in our area that covered the yards of our former friends. This is song is straightforward and to the point – we don’t like you and stay away from us.”

“Orange Leaf is a song about touring and missing out on our favourite time of the year in the Northeast. Feels like we always miss out on the fall and the leaves changing colours; we end up coming back to everything already dead with winter approaching. Talk a lot about constantly coming and going again. Sometimes you just miss so much being away, not only the changing of people, but the change of the seasons.”

“Or ‘curse’ backwards. This is about someone trying to make their way back into your life, but constantly changing their mind when it gets too serious. I feel like I have been cursed with someone like this that is constantly in and out. Eventually you reach a point where you must leave it be and grieve. That is what this entire song is about: grieving.”

“These two songs back-to-back kind of form a story, the grieving process in Esruc that lead to more of a resentment unfortunately in Slow To Let Go. This song is about being angry about the events of the song before, but also just saying maybe it’s not time or it never will be the right time. Through this entire song I am trying to tell myself to let it go and move forward, which eventually I seemed to get through to myself.”

“This is the other song about touring on the record. I wrote it while we were in Europe last summer. This song is more so about feeling that this is all I have and all though I miss people, I don’t know what else I would be trying to do instead. This is everything I have ever wanted and as much as it is hard sometimes, I must push myself to see the good in these experiences. Not many people – especially from our area – get to go the places we go and show their art to the world. It’s a special thing that I take for granted sometimes.”

“This is a special one for us. It’s named after an overlook in our hometown we grew up going to. This song is about feeling like you failed at life and feeling like you will be stuck forever. It’s me constantly questioning who I am and what I stand for, and if I am dreaming too big for myself. There has been so much change over the years with OSC, and reflecting on it is hurtful sometimes. We have been doing this band since we were teenagers and sometimes, I don’t know who I am without OSC. Take a leap of despair, at Giant’s Despair.”

“Tour is a good escape from reality, especially when you really need it. I wrote this song about running away from your problems and using tour as that excuse. It’s also about constantly having to say hi and goodbye to people so soon after being home. We are constantly on the move and sometimes as soon as you’re used to being home, you’re gone again. Then the cycle repeats. We thought it was the right song to end the record on since this song feels like the wind up to leaving for a tour and ending with a goodbye to everyone at home.”

All You Embrace is released on May 17 via Run For Cover Records

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