New Years Day Vocalist Ash Costello Chats ‘Half Black Heart,’ Confidence and Online Hate

For New Years Day vocalist Ash Costello, the last ten years fronting the Californian modern metal band have all led to this moment and the release of their new album, Half Black Heart. A journey of growth, confidence, line-up changes, tough decisions and dealing with online hate has all been channelled into these twelve new tracks.

New Years Day hit the road with Lacuna Coil starting May 2nd, get all the dates here.

Ahead of the album’s release, V13 Media sat down with Ash to talk about the journey, her vision, and how she dealt with online hate.

I just wanted to start by going back to the end of last year when you toured with In This Moment. From a kind of theatrical and visual side of things, being out on tour with a band like that, what did you take away from it?

Ash Costello: “Honestly, being on tour with such theatrical and highly performative bands like Avatar, Ice Nine Kills and In This Moment we just felt so inspired every night. We feel like our show improved because we were performing with such high calibre showmen.”

What about from a personal level, working alongside someone like Maria and seeing how she acts and works every day?

“Being around Maria is so inspiring because I often wonder when that woman sleeps. She always makes me feel like I’m not working hard enough. She’s a powerhouse and she’s such a visionary. She’s so unapologetic about her vision and I love that so inspiring to me.”

“I’m proud of Unbreakable but, with this album, the vision was so clear because we were together as a unit. I think it’s very well-defined.”

I remember seeing that band the first time they came over to the UK and then seeing them again years later. It’s a completely different band now.

“They’re always evolving and it’s so incredible to watch as a fan. I’m a fan and you’re always wondering like what’s she gonna do next.”

Evolving is something you’ve talked about. That’s something you’ve said about the new record, it being a culmination of your growth as a band. When you listen to this new record and you compare it to even an album as recent Unbreakable, what are the main differences you see?

“Confidence and clear vision, 100%. I think on Unbreakable, I was feeling alone on a desert island. I did my best and I’m proud of Unbreakable but, with this album, the vision was so clear because we were together as a unit. I think it’s very well-defined.”

Where did that change?

“Well, when we did Unbreakable, Jeremy and Brandon they were no longer in the band at that point and they were the main songwriters for New Year’s Day. When they departed, I realised I had to work with outside songwriters and it was my first time doing that. It was a huge learning experience for me and I learned a lot. Without that experience, we couldn’t have made this record, but I was kind of grasping at what I thought my vision was for the future of New Year’s Day.

Looking back it’s a little muddy. It’s a little undefined. With this album, we had the return of our core band members and we got to write as a unit and it just felt like the vision was so crystal clear, no question about it. In that way, I felt more confident in writing. I felt more confident in all aspects of making a record.”

By working with outside songwriters, could you feel yourself grow as a songwriter given that it was not something you’d done before?

“Absolutely. I got thrown into the studio with the best of the best in the music industry. These songwriters, in any given week, had a top 10 song out there and they work with my idols. They work with my peers, my industry equals. You go to the studio and you don’t want to walk away with them thinking Ash is great or she’s a great person, but not a great songwriter but doesn’t have a vision.

You want to go in and you want to do your best so I honed my songwriting skills, learning from these guys. The testament to that was that I got to write with all of them again on this record. That shows that I impressed them and improved my craft. I take that very, very, very seriously so every time I was in a studio, I tried to pay attention and learn how they did things.”

In terms of your confidence, that must have been a massive boost getting that kind of feedback.

“After years of leaving the studios with these high-end producers and getting very good reviews about what I bring to the table, that is a huge compliment, and I have heard that quite a few times. They say they love the ideas I bring to the table and that they wouldn’t have thought of that. Or even going back and writing with them on a second record, they say I’ve improved. I’ve learned a lot so I do feel very proud of myself in that way.”

New Years Day ‘Half Black Heart’ Album Artwork

One of the songs on the album, “I Still Believe” was written during COVID. That song and, a lot of the songs feel like they’re written from your perspective about your own experiences, like Secrets and the title track of the album. Is that the case and could you just talk us through some of the inspirations?

“COVID was a weird time for everybody, obviously, but just speaking now from my perspective I had a very strange COVID. I lost a parent. I experienced a wave of online hate I’d never experienced before. I got married and divorced. I reconnected with old friends I thought I’d never reconnect with… lost friends I thought I’d never lose. People always want to know your response to these types of things but I don’t respond publicly. Maybe I should? I don’t because in my experience doesn’t help anything. My response is always through my lyrics so I always tell people, if you want to get to know me or know the details of a situation listen to the songs, it’s all there.”

How much does it help you be that honest through your lyrics?

“I have a love/hate relationship with it. It’s not the easiest. For “Secrets”, I sat in a songwriting room with four other people and I had to say that I was going to tell them some honest truths here. Don’t judge me and don’t feel sorry for me. I’m telling you this experience I went through so we can put it on paper and get the feelings out of my head that need to be said. I always give the disclaimer that it’s about to get real. I apologize if this is uncomfortable for you.

For me, it’s not uncomfortable, but I always worry about the other people, like they’re going to look at me and go, damn, you went through that.”

“My response is always through my lyrics so I always tell people, if you want to get to know me or know the details of a situation listen to the songs, it’s all there.”

It must be quite hard, but at the same time, performing those songs live, you must get a different level of release out of that?

“My release does come from that, but it also comes with the messages I get about the songs and people saying how they went through something similar, or this song helped them through a situation that sounded the same as what I may have gone through and that’s kind of the whole point. It at least makes my experiences not have been in vain.”

One of the things I wanted to ask about later, but you’ve brought it up now. When you guys broke in the UK a lot of young fans started to look up to you. Given what you’ve just said about writing about your own experiences and what you’ve kind of gone through, what do you hope they get out of this record?

“Gosh, I always repeat the same answer, but it’s true. I just hope that, if someone has gone through similar scenarios, they can look at me as an example of someone who always rises or someone who always stands tall, someone who always protects their being, doesn’t let the negativity affect them or at least tries in healthy ways not to. I just hope I can be a living, breathing example of that for younger people.”

You described the title track of the album as being your anthem about not expecting perfection from people specifically yourself. What would you say your biggest flaw was?

“My biggest flaw is not putting myself first a lot. I think that’s still something I struggle with. I think it’s still something I need to work on for sure.”

There have been several lineup changes throughout the journey of the band. When you look back at those, do you have any regrets or do you think they were important to get the band to where they are today?

“I’m not a regret kind of person. I don’t ever look back on old friendships decisions I’ve made or relationships I’ve been in and feel regret because I’m always really happy with who I am and where I’m at today. I call it the burnt toast theory where it’s like if you burn your toast in the morning and you get mad at the toast because then you have to remake the toast and you’re going to run late, be late for work, maybe that burnt toast saved you from a car accident you would have been in on the way to work? I just am a firm believer in that. I kind of let the universe guide me and keep me safe. So, if that’s how it all was meant to shake down, then so be it but I don’t regret, I don’t have any regrets.”

That vision for the band, you’ve said this album is a culmination of the previous albums and the hard work you’ve gone through. How close is this to where you wanted the band to be or sound?

“I’m never satisfied. I’m always wanting more. Wanting to try more, having new ideas. If the label would have allowed me, I’d still be writing this record, you know? Eventually, they told me it needed to be done now.”

“I just hope that, if someone has gone through similar scenarios, they can look at me as an example of someone that always rises or someone that always stands tall.”

One of the other songs I wanted to ask about on the record was “Bulletproof”. Could you talk us through the inspiration behind that song?

“It is about somebody… I have this saying, I would say the mighty always fall. Nobody is untouchable. Any attention fame or upper hand or power you have is fleeting. It’s all fleeting. No one is on top forever. No matter if it’s someone in your relationship someone in a powerful position or a boss, it doesn’t matter. The song is basically about how you can be sitting on your throne in your armour on top of a high castle, but you will fall. Everyone always does. Don’t act like you’re untouchable.”

As cliched as this kind of sounds, how bulletproof have you had to become within what’s a particularly brutal industry?

“Almost psychotically bulletproof. Even I have times when I wonder is worth it. Is being in this position worth it? I question that a lot, but I just have this psychotic nature about me that once I have my eyes set on something, I can’t let go of it.”

I was going to ask what, what, what gets you through those moments?

“Insanity.”

That goes hand in hand with this industry right?

“Yes. You have to have a touch of psychosis to be able to do this.”

With you being the focal point for the band, is there a common thing fans want to know about when they talk to you?

“Everything. Right now it feels like they want to know more about my personal life than anything odd to me because I’m not Beyonce. I’m not Taylor Swift. Why do you guys care so much? I guess, in our world, I have to kind of own that maybe I am those things. It’s still weird to me. It’s so weird to me that anybody would be so invested in my personal life, who cares? But that seems to be a thing right now.

Everyone wants to know and, as a musician in a band, you walk this fine line where you’re supposed to care deeply about your fan base, but you’re not supposed to care at the same time. I’m supposed to care and not care, which is very hard for me because I’m a very caring person. I care about every single one of our fans. I care about strangers in the street. For me, it’s hard to differentiate when to stop caring.”

Fans have already heard the singles. What’s the feedback been like?

“Yeah, everyone seems happy, really surprised. They seemed surprised with the sound in a good way. When we came out with “Vampyre”, I loved reading the responses because everyone was so surprised with the direction we went and we were so excited to get that song out just so we could see the response.”

Given what you’ve learned about the industry, what advice would you give someone starting?

“Practice but, above songwriting, above lyricists or lyric-writing, above vocal skills. Your biggest talent needs to be how confident you are in yourself. That’s the skill you need to master.”

Again, and I know this is a cliched question, but if you could go back to the start, what advice would you give yourself?

“Don’t put other people before you as much. That’s the thing that, if there’s any, any regret, if I did have one, it would be that.”

“It feels like they want to know more about my personal life than anything odd to me because I’m not Beyonce. I’m not Taylor Swift. Why do you guys care so much?”

As for dealing with online hate. How did you deal with that? And what was that like?

“It’s a weird thing. I don’t know if anyone is equipped to handle hate from total strangers properly or perfectly. I think when you get criticised or judged or critiqued by someone close to you, it’s different. When it’s people who have no idea about the nuances of your personality or your life or the details of your relationships, it’s a very strange feeling.

The type of person I am, I would reach out to every single one of them and just have an adult conversation and explain my point of view, but I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter when someone has already decided to believe a negative story about you, they’ve already committed to that’s how they see you. What I’ve had to learn is just to sit with it and be okay knowing there are people out there who don’t like me based on imagination.”

Just to wrap up then going back to the beginning, this is your fifth album now, where do you see the vision going forward?

“I can’t think about that right now because I get overwhelmed. I just have to sit where we’re at right now for a while. I’m excited for the fans to hear the record and I’m excited to see their response. I care about the response, so I’ll be looking forward to hearing it. We love the fans, we appreciate that they’re here and become family.”