Where the Cycles Align: A Conversation with The Rising Fall

The Rising Fall's Website: https://therisingfallband.com/home

Your influences range from bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath to Deftones, Evanescence, and Nine Inch Nails. How do you bring all of those different sounds together while still making the music feel completely like The Rising Fall?

Each of us draws a heavy influence from artists that would be considered “old school.” Those bands were the building blocks of our musical futures. Most people, when they describe our sound, say we remind them of a “throwback” to the artists and bands of previous eras.

However, none of us are stuck in that old-school mentality, and we all consume modern music as much as we love our classic bands and artists. Having a vast influence base really helps us construct songs in a way that is dynamic while also showcasing our songwriting ability.

Always pay respect and homage to the greats who came before you. If it wasn’t for them, we would not be here playing and creating music.

When you start writing a song, what usually comes first: a riff, a vocal melody, a lyric, a drum part, or something completely different? Or is it different each time?

It’s different every time. Many times, one of us starts with an idea, then the rest of us feed off of it. If Steve shares a new riff, Jon may get a good drum idea, KK comes up with a vocal idea, or Dimitri may get a vision of where to go next.

The same is true when anyone else comes up with an idea. It’s a very autonomous process in that way. All contributions are welcome, and every idea is investigated.

Your EP Cycles came out in May of 2025. What did the title Cycles mean to the band when you chose it?

Even though the songs on our debut EP don’t have one particular theme or message, we wanted the title of the EP to represent where we are, not only collectively as a band, but individually as people.

We formed in late 2022. That was at the very tail end of COVID, and times were still a bit strange. We didn’t have any expectations for this new musical venture, so we each felt very free, musically, to explore in any way we wanted to.

That said, had we met even a few years earlier, maybe one or more of us wouldn’t have been ready and willing to start a new musical venture. It all just depends on where you are mentally, physically, and emotionally.

In each of our lifetimes, you’ll go through many different cycles. We just happened to be aligned in each of our respective cycles to begin a new chapter musically. Call it serendipity, kismet, what have you. Our cycles were aligned at this particular moment, and it’s an accurate depiction of where we are in our lives.

Was there one song on Cycles that really helped you figure out who The Rising Fall was becoming?

I think we are still figuring out who we are. Every song we create becomes a piece of us. Strong riffs, soaring vocal melodies, and dynamics, however, are the staple of every song we write.

We just write and go out there and play for the audience. It’s hard to describe who we are because you don’t really think about it. We try to write the best songs that we can, and hopefully they connect with people.

There’s an old-school mix with a more modern sound, if that makes sense.

You mentioned having the next EP out sometime in 2026, how exciting! Does the next EP have an overall theme, or has that started to reveal itself naturally as you write the songs?

The next one is filled with songs that weren’t on the first EP. It’s a mix of some songs we wrote early on and some newer ones. There’s no theme.

We will combine both EPs on a full-length CD/vinyl with maybe a bonus track. Give people something tangible to have.

You recently performed on WGN’s morning news. What was it like playing your music in a TV studio instead of a traditional venue?

First off, this was an absolute blast, and we couldn’t believe that we were able to make this happen. A few of us have been watching The WGN Morning News since its inception and are fans.

But playing to a mostly non-tangible audience was not that different than if we were playing in front of 1,000 at Metro in Chicago. It’s a very “controlled” atmosphere, but in many ways, very similar to playing to a crowd, just with way fewer people.

Any nervousness we had dissipated once we got that countdown from the producer. Then, when you see the red light go on, it’s go time!

You’ve already played venues throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa. Is there one show that stands out as especially memorable or important to the band?

The gig we played at Punk in the Corn Music Festival in Iowa. It was the first concert we ever did where the audience was singing our lyrics back to us.

The bonds we made with the other bands from all over the world that performed were priceless. The show was great, but the bands and people we met were truly the pinnacle of the weekend. There were bands from Spain, the UK, Australia, and all over the U.S.

We built friendships with a lot of these bands, and most are coming back next year to play the same festival, just with a different name. We’ve stayed in touch with everyone, and we CANNOT wait to see everyone again.

It was awesome and a highlight for us during this journey.

When someone is hearing The Rising Fall for the very first time, which song would you want them to start with?

All of them, of course!!

When someone hears a band for the first time, you want them to hear a song with a hook or good melody. Grab their attention and keep them interested.

We would say “Artificial (de)Generation,” “Countess,” or “Breaking the Chain.” There are a lot of hooks and dynamics in those songs to keep a first-time listener interested and hopefully turn them into a fan.

People also generally love the guitar solo in “I Surrender” or the catchy groove in “Turn It Around.”