THECITYISOURS: Pushing Boundaries To Spread Acceptance

Entering the world of metal sub-genres can sometimes be intimidating, for listeners and musicians alike. The music itself can seem occasionally formulaic and restrictive, leading to bands trying to meet certain conventions as to avoid not being accepted if you don’t play by the rules. As London based pop-metals-troupe THECITYISOURS prepare to release their all new album Will You Still Love Me?, singer Oli Duncanson speaks to us about how the band is trying to push against these genre boundaries and why this project means so much to him.

Metalcore as a genre has become especially over saturated in recent years, making it even harder for bands to make it through. THECITYISOURS don’t want to become another stereotype. “We think we’re a band who’s bringing back a bit of fun to a genre that’s lacked it for a few years, so many bands are taking it a bit too seriously when, let’s be real, metalcore isn’t that deep!” Oli says. “Most of us weren’t part of the cool clubs growing up, you most likely aren’t all tough and mysterious. There’s too many rules and gatekeepers deciding what is and what isn’t part of the genre. So anyone who likes riffs, grooves, sexy choruses, some fun breakdowns and a little bit of zestiness then you’ll love us!” 

A great combination to be sure, but it’s not as easy as adding a few different sounds into the mix. Music is an emotive art form and when listeners can truly connect with their favourite artist on a deeper level, it means so much more. Feeling heard and recognised in the music you listen to can sometimes be life saving.

This release in particular is really special to Oli, with the inspiration drawing from a really big step in his personal life. “The main overarching theme of this album was exploring my coming out process and self acceptance journey of being a gay/queer man. Covering the shame felt once coming to terms with being gay, to a celebration of people being unapologetically themselves and the safe spaces that nurture that and bring comfort to queer people. It touches on wanting to be that beacon of hope for people too, making sure that if anyone that is going through that experience and is listening to us feels seen.” 

Creating music with such an important message behind it could be an intimidating task, but Oli knows it needs to be shared, “I feel the subject matter/queerness in general hasn’t really been touched on in the metalcore scene. We want listeners to feel seen and hopefully find some solace to the lyrics if they relate to anything I went through and to know that our shows will always be a safe space for them.” Pushing the boundaries of metal and creating an accepting place for all? Sounds like a winning combination.

It’s not just the subject matter that has made this a landmark release for the band either. “Will You Still Love Me? differs mostly [from previous releases] because it’s the first collection of songs we have that’s all written by the current line up, the whole of Coma was written before David and I had joined, so having 50% of the members change will cause a change to the sound of the band, adding new sounds and points of view to our writing process. Touring Coma for two years also helped us hone in on making sure our sound matches our vibe on stage too, as we’re not a typical scary/tough guy band, we very much think the most important thing live is to be tight but also have fun and we made sure to include that vibe to our new material.”

Artists share a lot of their personal lives with their fans, and it’s easy to forget sometimes that their only human too. They have good and bad days, but they also sometimes struggle to be free and create these meaningful songs. “Personally, I’m not a very outgoing person, I don’t really speak my feelings out to the world or to my friends truly, a few of the subjects I hadn’t even spoken out loud to other people. The writing process was a bit over stimulating for me at times, but we feel it’s an important story to tell.”

Oli details the tracks on Will You Still Love Me? That really stand out to him. “Lyrically, my favourite is Enough just because its the best lyric writing I’ve ever done, covering how i felt before coming out. it touches on probably the majority of people’s fears of being estranged from their family for something that can’t be controlled. Sonically, my favourite is Dopamine as it encapsulates the new sound, riffs, hooks and fun.” This album really pushes against the hardened walls of the metal sub-genres, exposing this really personal story for all to hear and sympathise with. The band also wanted to make sure this came across in the visual aesthetics for the release, “Every aspect of the new album (apart from the production, mixing and mastering, which was done by our good friend Oz Craggs of Hidden Track Studios) was made by the band. The music videos, the artwork and the merch was made by us, and with the subject matter being so personal we wanted the visuals to be made by the perspective of how I was feeling. We liked the aesthetic of mixed media so we wanted to portray it through that medium and have it all look scrapbooked and hand written to make it seem as personal as possible.”

With this heartfelt letter to a tough journey many experience, the album is sure to garner lots of attention. THECITYISOURS have a tour coming up this March with SELF DECEPTION and EYES WIDE OPEN, but they’re always looking positively to the future and have some aspirations for this time next year, “Hopefully we’ll have played some more festivals! Playing something like 2000trees or Slam Dunk is always a bucket list moment to tick off! Hopefully do some more UK/EU tours! We just hope we see some people resonating with the album! Knowing how quick the music scene moves nowadays we’ll probably have written some more music too!”

Will You Still Love Me? is out now via Arising Empire. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS117 here: