Interview with Four Year Strong; Vocalist and Guitarist Dan O’Connor Talks New Album, the Past and What’s to Come

Four Year Strong came back this year with a new EP, Go Down In History, featuring a much faster pace and heavier sound than In Some Way, Shape, Or Form, released in 2011. “I think there was just an energy back into it,” Dan O’Connor says of their new sound. “We wanted it to be live songs that would be fun in the festival world,” he says knowing that Go Down In History would be released part way through Warped Tour 2014.

On previous criticism, Dan can only say that they wanted to write the music that made them happy, “I don’t want fans to be scared or upset by this, but we really don’t try to plans things out,” by selecting a creative direction and sticking to it. “We just love to be creative and happy.” They wrote Go Down In History a bit differently, writing lyrics and music at the same time, as opposed to keeping the processes separate, doing so put the energy back into it that was heard on older albums like Rise Or Die Trying.

Four Year Strong took a break after Warped Tour 2012 to regroup, try to have a normal life, and spend time with family. After touring for nearly seven years straight, it took its toll on them and they needed time to recover. The time was wasted or taken in vain as Go Down In History is an amazing comeback.

Ever notice that the lyrics seem to flow between Dan and Alan Day as if they’re a conversation? Sometimes they actually are. On the song “One Step At A Time,” Dan wrote the lyrics so that “the part that I’m singing is the voice in my head, and the part that Alan is singing were meant to be the voice of reason.”

While Four Year Strong is back on their hardcore grind, they don’t want anyone to think they’ll never trying anything softer again, “you shouldn’t expect us to stay in a mould,” he says. Wanting to grow as artists, Four Year Strong is planning on trying new things as they see fit, and as fans they hope you’ll stick around to hear it.

Check out the song “Go Down In History”