Boys Becomes Hero is a post-hardcore project of Kalamazoo, Michigan-native Andrew Brittingham. In partnership with To Write Love On Her Arms, the project is dedicated to creating a musical experience across the scene and other genres, all the while raising awareness for depression, self harm, addiction, and suicide.
The debut album from Boy Becomes Hero, Reverie, was mixed and mastered by Kris Crummett (Dance Gavin Dance, Sleeping with Sirens, Issues). Reverie is a story, Narrated by Katsuben (Kurt Travis of Royal Coda, ex-Dance Gavin Dance) that follows a boy named Tsukuyo (Brittingham) as he goes through his battle with the evil that has consumed his past, present, and even his future.
The 10-track concept album from Boy Becomes Hero also features appearances from other notable musicians like Garrett Rapp (The Color Morale), Aaron Gillespie (Underoath, The Almost), Darina Kayuokova (Moqumentary), and more that will all represent different characters in the story. All of it comes together for an amazing story, one that is incredibly personal to Brittingham — after being an addict for ten years, he became sober in 2017. While he had previously struggled to find his place in the music world, Reverie is the concept album he has always dreamed of making.
Today, we are more than excited to team up with Boy Becomes Hero to debut their new single, “Abstraction.” You can listen to the track below, and after the track, read a special note from Brittingham regarding the track and Reverie.
Boy Becomes Hero mastermind Brittingham had this to share with Substream:
“Reverie is a concept album that tells the story of a boy named Tsukuyo and his battle with the evil that has consumed his past, present and his future. ‘Abstraction’ is not only the climax in the album where our protagonist and antagonist are really fighting their battle, but this song also serves a much deeper importance. It helps link my partnership with To Write Love On Her Arms.
The lyrics make a clear distinction of what my mission statement for this album really is. ‘Don’t drop below, Stay a float, Grab my hand, I’ll be your gravity.’ Addiction, depression, and anxiety are abstractions themselves and feelings that are near impossible to explain. They’re even harder for people who haven’t experienced them to understand.
I wanted to create a space for those who are struggling to escape to and enjoy this world that I’ve created. This alone is why I began the ‘Gravity Initiative.’ Gravity is defined as
- The force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass.
-
Extreme or alarming importance; seriousness.
As humans we need to latch onto one another, like gravity pulling us together, for support, love, and belief in each other.
All proceeds from ‘GRAVITY INITIATIVE’ shirt sales and album bundles as well as 10% of all regular album sales will be donated to To Write Love On Her Arms in order to aid in raising awareness of alcohol and drug overuse and overdose, depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.”
To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
If you like what you hear from “Abstraction,” you can pre-save Reverie on Spotify here, or pre-order the record here. Additionally, you can keep up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
