Eric Vanlerberghe Says It Feels Great Handling All Vocals on New

“Honestly, it was great. Being creative and putting yourself out there, especially with something new, just full on singing — bearing it all and for lack of a better word, risking it.”

Eric Vanlerberghe joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday (July 23) to dive into I Prevail‘s upcoming album, Violent Nature, and opened up about how it’s been handling all vocal duties for the band following Brian Burkheiser’s departure.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“Having the guys that I have around me, it helps being very comfortable,” Vanlerberghe admitted to host Chuck Armstrong.

“We sat in a circle and strummed and played some chords and hummed some melodies that we liked … Let me try full on belting it, oh that’s a little out of my register. Okay, bring it down. Okay, I think I can go higher. Going back and forth and not being afraid to sound dumb.”

Vanlerberghe shared that much of the comfort he felt taking over all the vocal duties for I Prevail was simply because he trusted his bandmates. He was never concerned that they would be making fun of him or joking about his voice breaking or not hitting the note right.

“To have that confidence going in there with the support of the rest of the guys was huge,” he said.

“To really explore a new side of my voice, it was a lot of fun and a lot of really cool stuff came out of it. I learned a lot and I think it’s just this whole process of recording, it made me a better vocalist, even on the stuff that I already do.”

I Prevail Gets Ready For Their New Album, Violent Nature

In addition to diving into his new responsibilities, Vanlerberghe opened up about Violent Nature, I Prevail’s upcoming record that comes out on Sept. 19.

“It’s been exciting to get this stuff out,” Vanlerberghe said about the songs that have already been released from Violent Nature.

“I’m really excited to see what the response is. I know there’s a big question, like, oh what’s it going to sound like with just me on vocal duties? But there’s just a lot of excitement in this camp.”

The band has been open about calling the album’s title track one of the heaviest songs I Prevail have ever recorded, but Vanlerberghe said they didn’t necessarily set out to do that.

READ MORE: Daron Malakian Discusses Scars on Broadway’s New Album + Writing For System of a Down

“When we go into writing, I’d say almost every single time we don’t go in like, ‘Alright, let’s sit down and write a single. This is going to be a radio song. This one’s going to be a heavy one,'” he said.

“We kind of just get a vibe or have an idea or a little part … We call it ‘getting lost in the sauce,’ you know, you spend eight hours working on this 30-second section of music, whether that’s the bridge or the verse or whatever.”

What Else Did I Prevail’s Eric Vanlerberghe Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Why he enjoys exploring new sounds this many years into I Prevail’s career: “Ever since day one, we’ve always had this [idea that] I Prevail is going to be more than just one lane. It’s not going to be just what you would call radio rock or it’s not going to be a heavy band. It’s not going to be a pop rock band. We all have different influences.”
• Whether or not this feels like a new era for the band: “Every record we’ve done has always had this big change. Probably on the outside looking in, this is the biggest change we’ve had … Well, we’re going to just have to overcome this and put something out and really show that we’re not going anywhere.”
• Why it’s been tough working ahead on tour plans: “We’re kind of in a weird predicament. Our longtime agent and manager and good friend passed recently, Dave Shapiro … We were right in that process [of making plans], so a couple of things kind of have fallen through, but we’re working diligently…we’re not going to be off the road for too much longer after [the festivals]. We’ll be hitting it hard.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Eric Vanlerberghe joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday, July 23; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.