INTERVIEW: Juliet’s Not Dead

Heralding from the North East, Juliet’s Not Dead are an adrenaline-fuelled, contemporary rock band with the sole intention of thrilling their audiences at every show. The group have paired with Mercury Prize and Grammy-nominated producer Romesh Dodangoda for their new album, which will be released this month.

Last year, the quartet announced the news that they had signed a publishing deal with high-profile label Earache Records, putting the band at the top of the league with rock luminaries such as Massive Wagons, Rival Sons, Those Damn Crows and the Kris Barras Band. There has been a lot of change in the Juliet’s Not Dead camp lately. Perhaps you could say a plot twist unfolded when the band formerly known as Twister announced their moniker would change. The band’s debut album ushers in a new chapter in their history and the band’s identity. “We spent 2023 chasing our tail a little bit. But then we got our ducks in a row; we knew where we wanted to go.” Said vocalist and guitarist Stevie Stoker. “We’ve had lots of conversations about doing the name change. The last time I named a band I was 13.So, this was very interesting and a process I don’t ever want to go through again!” Juliet’s Not Dead’s new album has a strong message running throughout. “The album is called This World Is Ours. And the basic message is that life is what you make it. It can be as miserable as you want it to be if you let it, or it can be the land of opportunity if you make it,” confirms Stevie.

The basic message is that life is what you make it.

Catchier than the common cold, Battle Scarred is the latest single to be taken from the album. The emotive context of the song catalyses the singer’s passionate rock anthem delivery; Battle Scarred was created during a time when a lot of movement within the Twister camp was taking place. “We were at the point where everything changed. We did the line-up changes, and we were in a really interesting moment where we had to use that negativity and turn it on its head into positivity. From that point, everything became a lot clearer. But we wouldn’t have been able to do that without the support of each other and the support of the people around us,” said Stevie. “And that’s why we’re doing this new single in support of Samaritans and the Durham Mental Health Alliance. Because if you haven’t got people around you, you can ring them and talk to them. And it’s important that we say what we’re thinking and feeling to try and get out the other side of it.”

Battle Scarred follows in the footsteps of recent singles Open Fire and Thrill seekers. Whilst Open Fire falls very closely sound-wise to Battle Scarred, Thrill seekers showcases a much heavier hard rock sound for the band, comparative to peers such as Alter Bridge or Shinedown. With a lot of material behind the band from the Twister days, how will the their live shows look moving forward? “We’re still going to be playing all the older Twister stuff. We’re in a very nice position now,” concludes Stevie.

Juliet’s Not Dead release This World Is Ours on 7th February.