Like Moths to Flames Share “Dissociative Being” Visualizer

“When it breaks, what piece am I left with?,” ponders frontman Chris Roetter over the rousing, palms-to-the-sky outro of “Kintsugi,” an emotional thunderclap of a song that forms somewhat of a centrepiece to Like Moths To Flames’ career re-defining sixth album, The Cycles Of Trying To Cope. Whilst the anthemic track’s title pays homage to the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, for Roetter and his bandmates [guitarists Zach Pishney and Cody Cavanaugh, and drummer Roman Garcia], the notion of “Kintsugi” comes loaded with the profound human experience of seeking to find light in the dark, to birth good from bad — indeed, the cycles of trying to cope: “The record encapsulates the varying emotions we go through when trying to grow through life,” says Roetter. “Over the last few years, I’ve really tried to harness my emotions as a catalyst to get through whatever I was facing at the time. I think we all have our own unique ways to cope — these are mine. Just being able to write about this stuff and put it out into the world makes it feel like I’m not so alone.”

Segmented into four chapters, dubbed LIMBO, FRACTURE, DISSOCIATE, and MELANCHOLIA, The Cycles Of Trying To Cope album plays as an intense exploration of the Like Moths musical arsenal, straddling the ugly and the beautiful in equal measure, whilst Roetter’s raw introspection pierces the heart of every vicious breakdown or soaring chorus with cathartic power. Though not originally designed to be a concept album, Roetter’s reflections on these diverse, complimentary, and contrasting facets of the band’s latest opus revealed common threads which led the singer even deeper into his internal landscape; exploring the ways in which differing stages and aspects of the record were connected evoked in Roetter thoughts of the terraces in Dante’s Purgatory and the “cycles” were given shape.

“A big focal point for Moths has always been writing about things I’m actively going through,” Roetter details. “But when I realized that each song on the new album covers a unique approach I’ve had to a specific emotion, it felt like we needed something that could escort listeners through the record. It definitely helps it all feel cohesive and complete; Sometimes an album can just feel like a collection of songs, but I think this is more an experience to the band — I hope that people are able to find some solace in knowing someone else out there is dealing with these things too.”