Overview
Writer: Billie Beckett
Producer: Vin Peters and Avil Hartman
Length: 3:30
Label: Studio 60 Records
Format: Mp3 download, airplay, limited edition vinyl
Release Date: May 21, 2013
after months of anticipation from the release of two mysterious singles, "Lunar Utero" and "days Spent in the Dark' and finally the announcement of a sixth studio album titled "Rome", the lead sinngle and the most hyped single off of the oncoming album "Frosted Peaks" has been released. It is now available for streaming and can be bought on May 21st. The song was written specifically to only have the basic instruments of a rock band: drums bass and guitar. as recording took place at Sundlaugin Studio in Iceland the band stayed true to that. Lyrically it is about conquering and committing even to the point of death. It acts as an even greater preview into the album that is being talked about as "More closely related to the philosophical works of Socrates and Plato than to any popular music artist in the world today". The song should act to elevate Reported Failure further in their career as they step away from the orchestral emotion and drama of their previous release "Darkness" and even the full on punk-rock malcontented swagger of their 2011 release "Post-grunge Catastrophe" into a more nuanced, more intriguing, more immense and intent sound of "Rome" led by this single.
Creating "Frosted Peaks"
Writing
"One of the most sickening, yet exciting and unmistakably distinct feelings is that of realizing you're in love and not knowing what to do about it." is what Billie Beckett said when we first got to talking about "Frosted Peaks". For Beckett it was falling back in love with the woman he had a child with who had broken his heart but this time committing to her and their family. "I just imagined a mountain ahead because thats what its like to just want to stay in love with someone that it is hard and scary to love so much. That's what its like to just be a man looking at his own future as a father and one day a hopefully a husband and its terrifying but exciting and thats where this song came from."

The song progressed from there to encompass an entire image and evolution from just the cool soothing feeling of love and physical bliss to then realizing that there are consequences to that and having to face those consequences. "This song really became about committing to suffering in order to reach something that needed to be reached." says Beckett. From there Beckett was able to do something that has characterized his lyrics since the early days of the band: take a specific concept and make it apply to the general and relatable whilst still remaining specific and personal.

The way Billie Beckett did this was through the metaphor of the frosted peak. It became a challenge that anyone faces. Yet not just any challenge but rather the challenge of their lives. As the last verse shows Beckett would be fine to die atop the peak for he had accomplished what he set out for leaving his friends and risking everything. "What I had to reach was a sure love and trust for my family. Because I reached it nothing else at all mattered. Nothing else matters."
Recording
"For Frosted Peaks we knew from the beginning that we wanted to stick just with the basic instruments of a rock band and just make the best song we possibly could with those options." says guitarist and producer Vin Peters. As recording began it became apparent that Reported Failure could create diverse and haunting style arrangements with nothing more than a couple of guitars bass drums and vocals.

Soon the band decided not to really open up the song to the full band immediately as to add the impact when they finally did. "It really just made sense to start with only a guitar to keep the beginning calm and then expand the sound later. I felt like it fit with the lyrics very well." says Billie Beckett. THis meant that guitar was the first instrument to go. Beckett, himself, began working on the tone, adjusting the pedals, and finally finding a clean but slightly crunched tone that fit the mood. A riff was quickly arranged that was catchy and easy to duplicate live. The rhythm guitar draft track was done.

After the basic guitar had been added the weight went to Robert Edwards and Matt Collins to build the spine and structure of the song with drums and bass. The best word to define their contribution is power. The two added the power to the song that let it take shape. From there though more pwer even so was added as a slight overdriven rhythm guitar joined the mesh of instruments.

All of this layed the groundwork for the vocals and lead guitar to take the dominant foreground of the song. Reported Failure's most outspoken members creatively, Vin Peters and Billie Beckett, take center stage. Vin Peters gives classic Reported Failure fans a taste of the loud, distorted, heavenly punk guitar sound that he is in high demand for. Just a few takes and vin got a guitar track that he, Reported Failure, and Producer Avil Hartman were satisfied with.

Finally, it was time for Billie Beckett and the vocal magic that makes him one of rock and rolls greatest modern, contemporary vocalists. He and Matt Collins rehearsed twice to get the harmonies right and one take later the song was ready to be mixed.
Finished Product
Like steady footsteps on soft, snowpacked ground a simple guitar riff starts the song. Adding personality and tone to this footprint Billie Beckett begins singing smoothly but shyly as if afraid to hurt someone's feelings. Quietly honest he sings over just the guitar. Joined soon by harmonies as if to echo his point the vocals become more of a gospel preaching an unwanted truth. Suddenly drums join in the pounding of a racing heartbeat and the footsteps turn into a jog. Beckett picks up the confidence in his vocals yelling the line "but there's a frosted peak on the path up ahead". Then as he goes into the next line the jog becomes a sprint. The guitar joins in distorted agony like snow being pushed and moved by the new sprint. Bass and drums pound away driving the song forward through the storm. Beckett and Collins both sing with confidence in the fury of hushed desires as the rest of the instruments scream around them. in this manner the song continues in a desperate sprint through all the lyrics finally slowing over the tone of Vin Peters's distorted guitar until it stops.

The snow will fall
And we'll lay in it
we'll say we'll lay
But we're lying all the same
I'll wait for you
Let us grow old together
Lay in the cold
And we'll be lying together

One day we'll be friends in the sky
we'll see our lives fly on by
We'll count all the sounds and smells
And we'll sing ourselves hoarse

(We'll be lying we'll be lying
We'll be lying we'll be lying)

but there's a frosted peak
On the path up ahead
But back down here we've got so many friends
We'll take all we can
and there's a chill outside
As we fight off the wind
I want to be frozen but still to feel you again
Before I go away
Freeze away to oblivion

There's a man in a coat
Greeting us at hell
There's too much winter
Today I'm falling apart
It's the worst night ever
When you left me alone
Hold me forever
Answer your fucking phone
I'm desperate and hopeless
But I love you
So hold me in the cold
You can reach the peaks too
We'll be oblivion

So we finally climb
With this child we've made
Maybe we'll make it alive
Maybe we climb to our graves
But I'm ready for you
If you're ready for me too
There's a frosted peak below our family
You can leave if you want
But I love you so
So lets die if we must but not alone
I love you so
So kick off our clothes
Die together in the frosted peaks of our home

Sounds Like

Edited by user 21 May 2013 13:53:11(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

OOC: Thank you very much. I do love the artwork for this as well. Its some of my best.

Vin: Well I'm glad we can get you to expand your musical horizons. Maybe this song can be a gateway into even more music you didn't think was your style.

Vin: Thank you. We do everything we can to keep our music and thus our genre alive and thriving. we're glad to know its working.

James: Wooooo! What a fucking single guys! My favorite release of 2013 thus far! Always releasing consistently amazing material. I really cannot wait until Rome is released. That will be such a great day for rock music.

OOC: AMAZING work! Definitely deserves more attention!