Seven Cities Dead Unleash Single “Take This To My Grave” feat. Josh Gilbert

Milwaukee outfit Seven Cities Dead released their latest single, “Take This To My Grave,” featuring As I Lay Dying’s Josh Gilbert. SCD’s new single embodies the best attributes of classic and modern metalcore, pulling influences from Trivium, Wage War, and Motionless in White.

The story of “Take This To My Grave” in the words of the band:

“All the way back in 2021, we had this new demo for a song that was a little different than anything we had written before. It felt heavier than anything else we made but also somehow the most accessible. It had blast beats and a nasty breakdown, but it was also still structured like a radio single with a really catchy chorus and epic singing outro. We were already excited about it, but this was also the time when Featured X first came out.”

The story continues… “This was a website where artists, including some big names, signed up to make themselves available for people to request as features. At first, when we saw Josh Gilbert there, we thought he was way out of our league. As I Lay Dying was one of our favorite bands as teenagers and even to this day they’re a huge influence on our style. But we fantasized about what it would be like to have him on our song, and it genuinely felt like he would be a really good fit. So we reached out.

“We weren’t sure if we’d get a response, or if he even checked his messages on the site. And if he did, what are the odds he would agree to feature on a song by a no name band like us? But… he did! A few days later we got an email that he really liked the song and he would do it. What’s more, we learned that he’s also a professional producer working with Joseph McQueen at Sparrow Studios in Los Angeles. This is where Shaped By Fire was recorded.

“They’ve also produced records by bands like Bad Wolves, Bullet For My Valentine, Jason Derulo. We knew it would be the best experience and also the best song possible if we could go down and record it with him in person. So that’s exactly what we did. It was an amazing experience! We had planned to release this song in 2022 with an epic animated video which we had a whole script drawn up for – but things fell through with the animator after several months and delayed deadlines. And then things fell through with the next animator. And the next one. Two and a half years later, we decided this song just HAS to see the light of day, one way or another. We still have dreams of bringing the full story to fruition, but for now – we just want to release the song!”

Seven Cities Dead “Take This To My Grave” (ft. Josh Gilbert) single artwork