Last year, the rock world was introduced to Royale Lynn with “Six Feet Deep,” which blended rock and country genres together to create a “punktry” vibe. Then, she released “Death Wish” this year, which featured Asking Alexandria singer Danny Worsnop, and things continued to get bigger for her.
Now, her latest single- “Sacrifice” is out now and Lynn sat down with us just weeks before the single released.
FRR: What a year for you, I mean, Octane, festivals, tours, singles going crazy. Can you put into words what this year has been like for you?
RL: It’s been a dream come true, honestly. I feel like we’ve been working so hard, and to finally see some things pay off, it’s just been incredible to see the fans and watch it grow. It’s been incredible, I’m so grateful.
FRR: I’m new to the Royale Lynn music. I caught on after I heard “Six Feet Deep,” and “Death Wish,” I’m hooked! The music’s changed a lot since “Six Feet Under,” I’ve gone back and listened to a lot of the early stuff, and you definitely have a country background.
Even “Six Feet Under” had some country undertones, but as things have progressed, it’s a lot more rock-based now. Was that on purpose? What prompted you to go switch directions?
RL: So, I’ve always been a metalhead at heart. I grew up listening to hard rock and bands that have really influenced me to this day, and I always wanted to create something in the genres that I love, which like I said, is the metal hard rock genre.
So the fact that we got to do that with a segway such as Six Feet Deep, that started with a country root, but then into this rock thing, which is super cool to join forces. And then I was like, well, if we just keep creating art and it’s sounding this way, and this is what’s genuinely authentic to me, we should continue this. And that’s how we ended up here with “Death Wish” and the next single as well.
So, I’m really excited, you know, I’ve got country roots and I grew up in the middle of nowhere, but I’m a metalhead and I want to create hard rock.
FRR: One of my favorite quotes I saw on your Instagram was when you’re doing the “Six Feet Deep” video is mental health isn’t talked about enough in small towns.” I’m from a town like four or five, six hundred people, small town, Iowa, middle of nowhere.
RL: Where abouts?
FRR: I’m from Wayland, Iowa, so middle of nowhere. I’m in Indianapolis now, so I’m around civilization, thank God. But I know what it’s like in those small towns, you don’t talk about your problems, you don’t talk about not being okay. It’s “have another drink, sweep it under the rug, move on, be a grown up and just you’re fine.” How important is it for you to talk about that part of your roots and bring that to light?
RL: So, one of my main things is I like to write what I know, and I am no different than everyone else. I struggle with my mental health too and that’s kind of where all of these songs have come from, is a mental health point of view.
And like you said, it is not talked about enough and I’m here to kind of do that, but also do it in a way that it doesn’t feel like you’re listening to a mental health song. But a lot of songs that we actually grew up with are based around mental health.
So it’s kind of cool to be able to be in this journey and talk about these important things that maybe wouldn’t be talked about otherwise.
FRR: Yeah, I honestly didn’t even realize a lot of your lyrics are about mental health, and honestly, you go into some dark areas and really go down deep. One of my favorite lines in Death Wish is “Life is a funeral home and everyone’s dying alone.” Where did that come from?
RL: Well, when we were writing “Death Wish,” I knew that I wanted to have it relate to people who put their life on the line every day and how mentally taxing that must be and how hard it is to leave home and leave your loved ones and go and do these heroic things, even at the expense of that.
And that’s ultimately why we started writing this song, that song is very much about first responders or anybody who puts their life on the line and their mental health state as well.
That one is such a special one to me in the video, like totally encompasses what I was thinking when we wrote the song. My uncle is a firefighter, and he actually got to be in the video. and it’s so wildly based on my family members.
FRR: Going back to small towns, where are you originally from? What small town are you from?
RL: I’m from southern Ontario in a very small town called Elmer- it’s a very, very small town. I loved that I got to grow up in such a small town, it’s totally shaped who I am as a human being, and being able to like, you know, the smaller high schools and just learn about country upbringing.
I grew up on a farm, and before that, my parents were in a trailer. So, there’s been very [important] moments of my upbringing that I would never trade for anything else.
FRR: I love how all the singles are very different from each other, none of them are the same; They all sound unique, but this is probably…I feel like the heaviest one that we’ve heard so far. You’re very honest about how, I feel like you’re honest about how you feel like people perceive you in the song.
Tell me about “Sacrifice.”
RL: This one is honestly about my mental health, it’s about navigating the music industry, prior to even having labels or anything, just trying to navigate this space, especially with mental health.
[It’s] a very raw and authentic one for me, it is the opener of our show. We’ve been playing it for a while, so it’s cool to finally see it come out and get the life that it deserves, it’s been in my heart for so long now and I’m excited for the world to hear it.
FRR: Playing a song like “Sacrifice” for so long, then going in to record it, did you feel any pressure to get it just right when you went in to record that song?
RL: This one, from playing it live so many times, I definitely formed like a special bond with it and I feel like that’s when you learn the songs the most, is just doing it every single night. So, I really wanted to make sure that it was given the life that it needs and that it wants.
But with this one, especially, I was like, if this is the first one out of the gate, then we want to make sure it’s perfect.
FRR: I’ve got to ask how you got connected with Danny [Worsnop] from Asking Alexandria for “Death Wish.”
RL: I have been a long-time fan, long-time fan of Asking [Alexandria], long-time fan of Danny, I think his voice is incredible, and we wrote this song and I was like, you know, this song would be so cool if it had, you know, another voice on it.
And it’s so funny because he is like the only person who popped into my mind, and I was like, what if? Like, what if in a world like this happened and he listened to it and loved it and made it his own as well?, which was super important to me that it…it was also his, you know, he loved it and got his seal of approval.
So, you know, the fact that he wants to jump on a song with a girl that no one knows about and, you know, wanted to do it with me, it was so special and, you know, we got to sing it live here in Nashville, which was so much fun a couple months ago.
I’m so grateful and I still look up to him so much, but also, he’s a great friend now.
FRR: Thank you for being so open about your mental health and what you struggle with. Is it difficult to revisit those emotions and places and mindsets when you’re going on and performing these songs live, or is it therapeutic to get it out?
RL: For me, it’s healing; It’s healing every single night that I sing every single song. I write to heal, and if it relates to people and people can grasp on and love the songs as much as I do, you know, I’ve kind of done my job because we’re gonna talk about things that are hard and we’re gonna, every night that I get on stage, like I know we’re gonna be talking about certain things throughout the set and it’s very mental health based.
If someone out there is like, you know what, like I am now gonna talk about my mental health and it helps someone out there that’s struggling, that’s truly the most important thing of what I do is just talking about it so that others feel like they can talk about it.
Royale Lynn just kicked off her first-ever full-length tour, which she told Front Row Report she’s more than excited about. Catch her at one of the following tour dates with Skillet, Seether & Tim Montana:
9/17 — Asheville, NC — ExploreAsheville.com Arena
9/19 — Baltimore, MD — Pier Six Pavilion
9/20 — Boston, MA — Roadrunner
9/21 — Bethlehem, PA — Wind Creek Event Center
9/23 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE Outdoors
9/24 — Chicago, IL — Radius
9/27 — Huntington, WV — Marshall Health Network Arena
10/2 — Kansas City, MO — The Midland Theatre
10/3 — St. Louis, MO — Saint Louis Music Park
10/5 — Houston, TX — White Oak Music Hall Lawn
10/6 — Dallas, TX — Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie
10/8 — Lubbock, TX — Lonestar Events Center
10/9 — Albuquerque, NM — Revel ABQ
10/11 — Mesa, AZ — Mesa Amphitheatre
10/15 — Denver, CO — The Mission Ballroom
10/18 — Omaha, NE — The Astro Amphitheater
10/19 — Des Moines, IA — Vibrant Music Hall
10/20 — Minneapolis, MN — The Armory
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Watch the “Sacrifice” music video: