Madina Lake 'Attics to Eden' album

For Chicago's Madina Lake, working with esteemed producer David Bendeth on the eagerly-anticipated Attics to Eden, the experimental follow-up to their 2007 Roadrunner Records debut From Them, Through Us, to You, was an honor and a sincere privilege. The man has worked with the likes of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Breaking Benjamin, and label-mates Killswitch Engage, and he's even helmed Paramore's breakout LP, Riot! Crafting and tracking what would become their sophomore full-length was an experience to rock and roll boot camp, according to bassist and backing vocalist Matthew Leone.

"David broke us down, he was like a drill sergeant," Matthew said, of the first time Madina Lake played some of the new material for Bendeth. "I was totally frazzled by the end of the first day. We thought it would be easy, because we knew the songs were there. We just thought we'd come in, and record them. But when we played them for him that first time, he just ripped us apart. He completely deconstructed us, and it hurt bad. But the pain was well worth it."

"It was challenging making this record," echoed brother and lead vocalist Nathan, of the band's hard-nosed producer. "But at the end of the day, we are super proud of how it came out. I think we blew the first album out of the water. I guess artists are artists, and in our experience, you bump into people who...let's just say some have a level of talent that qualify their attitude, and some don't. Bendeth is clearly a guy who does."

By the end of it, Madina Lake had churned out a monstrous collection of genre-defying, impassioned and infectious tunes which often meld the ethereal, hypnotic elements of Muse with the riff-rife potency of Linkin Park. And the band also found its true sound through the experience.

"The first record was us exploring," Matthew claims. "With more life and experience under our belts, discovering who we are as individuals and as a group, we made the record that fits who we are now. Every artist and musician, it takes them a minute. We took that time, we toured, and now, we know who we are and that's the record we made."

Attics to Eden (Roadrunner-release date-April 28th) is an album that proves maturity comes with experience. It's a sonic, rock and roll assault on the senses, and Matthew says that's just what the band, rounded out by guitarist and programming genius Mateo Camargo and drummer Dan Torelli was aiming for.

"Our favorite records were ones that didn't have one dull moment," Matthew said. "We wanted to make a real record, a genre-less record and a timeless record. I think there are musicians like the White Stripes, where less is more, undoubtedly. Then there are bands like the Smashing Pumpkins or Nine Inch Nails, where they want all of these components attacking the ears from different angles, at all times. We're the latter, the kind of band that wants as many components as possible."

The first single, "Never Take Us Alive," impacts Alternative on February 17th.

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Madina Lake - Attics to Eden