London duo The Survival Code offer up a deliciously riff-heavy and catchy rock sound that they describe as “powerful, melodious and energetic.” And the band has plenty of content to treat your ears to, as they trickle their new album out with one song released every month of 2023.
The band technically started out in 2011 and has existed in various guises since, but really found its feet in 2018 when they slimmed down to the current duo of Simon (guitars and vocals), who enjoyed some success in Asia and Europe with a band called The Barbs in the early 2000s, and Gary (drums and vocals).
The band’s success really got going with the release of their 2018 album Hopelessness Of People, which was followed by their 2019 single So Serious, which has amassed more than 1.5 million streams on Spotify.
And on the sound the duo has honed in that time, Simon says: “There is a radio rock element to the music which makes it really approachable, so you would be inclined to say something like ‘Foo Fighters’ or ‘Biffy’ as the melodies and many of the choruses are anthems. You could easily see them as a fair comparison.”
And Gary added: “Fair, our sound is a bit edgier due to our tuning and guitars. So if you like the above bands just with more riffs and a guitar sound that’s huge then we are well worth checking out.”
The Survival Code are nearly halfway through a 12-month process of releasing one song from their new album Whispers Of Woe every month. The process offers a comprehensive overview of their musical talents, which begins with releasing an official music video for each track, followed by an acoustic version, live studio version and a few instrument-focused videos. And the full album will be completed and officially released on 15 December.
On the album, Gary told us: “We started writing this album in the middle of touring our last EP in 2019 so it has been a long time in the making. When Covid hit we managed to distract ourselves with a single release and live streams, but all the while we were planning this release. It’s exciting to finally have it out there and we’re looking forward to sharing all aspects of it as we go.
“The idea of 12 in 12 months formed itself once we had decided it would be an album and we would make videos for all the songs and release them all. 12 made more sense as we had more tracks that we didn’t want to lose or use on a future release. The remaining tracks will come as bonus tracks with the album releases in December 23, more details on this to come.”
And Simon added: “The whole release is tied together by drawings and animations that we created as a new way of telling the story of our music. We have made over 140 original pieces of art, some we have animated, to help express the messages in music in a new way. They’re all based on lyrics from the music and many feature in the upcoming videos.”
The most recent release is the lively Sum Of All Our Parts, which was released last month. It opens up with chunky guitars that sandwich a funky little riff and drop into an engaging opening verse. Laid-back vocals with a little lick feed into a catchy chorus “We are just the sum of all our parts, Your actions speak much louder than your words.” Another chorus drops into dramatic vocals before a cool little guitar solo leads into a final blast of the chorus. Check it out in the video:
That followed April’s release We Are Just Fooling Ourselves, which starts out with palm-muted guitars and dual vocals nicely build up to a singalong chorus. March’s release For Right Or Wrong, For Better Or Worse has a real Biffy Clyro feel about it, starting off with a chunky guitar riff and feeding into engaging vocals over a driving light riff and drums. The vocals intensify and the chunky guitars kick in through a really fun chorus. Check it out in the video here:
That followed Never Knew You Existed, which opens up with intriguing vocals and a stabby riff. A lively chorus sees the vocals imitated by a bouncy riff, and we love the moody little guitar section that tees up a lively conclusion. Check it out in the live studio version here:
While the first release from the album was January’s The Heart Will Bleed, which starts out in lively fashion with engaging chorus vocals “There is no going back, And the heart will bleed, Time will help solve most of this, But some things just can’t be fixed.” A big drum roll drops into chunky guitars under singalong vocals that feed into another catchy chorus. A funky little high-pitched lick drops into stabbing guitar chords that pick up pace alongside staccatoed vocals, which build up to a final blast of the chorus. Check it out in the guitar playthrough video:
The Survival Code sound is influenced by bands like Foo Fighters, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Deftones and Alkaline Trio. And Simon tells us key lyrical influences include “losses and handling them, the Importance of being resilient, never giving up, and comprehending what’s around us.”
And Gary explained: “Like many people, music is my medicine. I found life a lot more fulfilling and easier to digest since I was able to write songs and reflect my thoughts in music. “The Survival Code” is the songwriting, it’s a vocation. It’s the searching and constant creation that’s always evolving and has never felt like it was nearly complete at any stage of the journey to date. That is why we keep going and releasing new material and searching for new ways to communicate our stories and music
There’s plenty more to come from the band, starting with their latest track Built To Break being released tomorrow. That’ll be followed by a new release every month through the rest of this year, with the full album Whispers Of Woe being completed and released on 15 December.
And Gary says: “2023 will be a far better year for all of us if you follow our journey to the release of our album Whispers Of Woe. We have dozens of themes and stories, jokes, new ideas, art and performances, more videos and content than you could shake a stick at… We promise.”
You can follow The Survival Code on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
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