The world lost an incredible spirit yesterday as Kyle Pavone, lead singer for We Came as Romans, died after a near week stay at a Michigan hospital. He was 28. The cause of death has not been determined, but nonetheless, Kyle is going to be missed dearly. Kyle joined WCAR in mid-2008 and was amid his 10-year anniversary with the band. His personal and touching lyrics reached out to many and his voice has uplifted millions countless times.
This one feels personal to me. We Came as Romans has always been one of my favorite bands. I got into some of their music around late 2011. I had actually seen them perform live back in November of 2011 at the Family Arena. They were on tour with Asking Alexandria and the band formerly known as D.R.U.G.S. I was more of an AA fan back at the time and did not know much of WCAR. I only knew two of the songs WCAR performed that night, which were “To Move on Is to Grow” and of course their hit “To Plant a Seed.”
After the concert, I started diving into more WCAR material. They had just dropped their album “Understanding What We’ve Grown to Be” in September of 2011. After discovering this album, my love for We Came as Romans’ music took off. I greatly anticipated their next album releases and saw them live 3-4 more times including at Van’s Warped Tour in 2015.
A lot of what got me into this band it is due to the late Kyle Pavone. His voice is unlike any I have ever heard, even in bands with similar styles. His singing is so clean, and you can tell it comes straight from the heart. His singing cannot be duplicated. I was even more blessed to have witnessed it live several times.
We Came as Romans performing at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in July of 2016. Photo by Mick Lite.
Another thing associated with Kyle that got me into the band is the lyrics themselves. When you dive into WCAR song lyrics, nearly all of them stem from serious matters. That is what is wrong with the music industry these days. Songs that are on the Top 40 and mainstream are mostly garbage and there is no substance in the lyrics. This is what in part drove me to this style of music in the first place.
But We Came as Romans has incredibly relatable lyrics for everyone, and at least for me, hits home on a lot of subjects throughout all of their songs over the last decade. Now I know Kyle is not the sole lyrical writer, but I feel he needs to at least be somewhat attributed to it.
I had tweeted some thoughts on the subject of Kyle’s unexpected death yesterday. One of the things was this. I had never truly understood why people got so emotional and even shed tears over the death of an individual in the music industry. It just never made sense to me. But once I saw We Came as Romans post on Twitter yesterday, it hit me. It almost felt like a family member had died. I could not believe it. We Came as Romans has been a huge part of my life practically since 2011. Their music helped me through some very bad times. I still cannot believe Kyle is gone.
To Kyle, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for using the combination of your fascinating voice, brilliant mind, and songwriting prowess to entertain the masses. It was truly a spectacle getting to see you put on a show multiple times. You brought light to dark tunnels and were there for so many when they had no one. I truly cannot put into words how much you have meant to not only me, your fans, but the entire music industry.
To the rest of We Came as Romans, I want to thank you all as well. The show does not go on if it is not for each and every one of you. Josh, Dave, Lou, Andy, David, and the rest of the contributing members, thank you all for bringing us endless amounts of joy over the past 10 years. Losing Kyle is devastating and heartbreaking. This one is going to hurt for the We Came as Romans family for a long time. I hope you guys are able to eventually regroup and find a way to honor Kyle’s memory through music, and to keep making and performing music. No, it is not going to be the same, we all know that. But do it for Kyle. Just keep breathing. As it has been stated in many of your songs: Our vision for this world will not die when we are dead. Thank you. God Bless.
