So much is made of the sophomore album syndrome with bands, especially the belief that a second album can often be the making or breaking of a band in terms of longevity and success. Although personally I have never favoured that belief - good music is good music whether it's your first, second, third or fourth album - there are many bands who have dished up below-par second albums and never recovered.
The answer to that is pretty simple.
Attack each and every album with a wholehearted belief and trust in what has got you there in the first place. Or you could go one better and try to better yourself musically, which is exactly what emo rock outfit The Funeral Portrait have done with their second album Greetings From Suffocate City, which will be laid bare this Friday, September 13.
With the full backing of their label Better Noise Music, The Funeral Portrait have poured their entire beings into their follow up to 2016's A Moment Of Silence, creating a sonic tapestry of songs that showcases the band in a powerful new light bristling with confidence and expansion.
Plus, toss in the fact they have landed guest artists such as Bert McCracken of The Used, Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills, Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria and Eva Under Fire and you suddenly have a melting pot of bristling, emotive rock music that looks set to propel The Funeral Portrait into the next wave of rock royalty that they have tirelessly been working towards.
HEAVY caught up with vocalist Lee Jennings to find out more.
"It was a lot to do with…," he surmised. "Growing up, I was always the weird kid. I was always the loner or that kind of guy who was made fun of for being too tall or too weird or being into… I was always into anime, or musical theatre, just different from everyone else. Everyone else, especially around me, was into sports. I wanted to write a record that was kind of a love letter to the younger me, so every song has to do with some sort of experience that happened in prior years."
In the full interview, Lee talks more about Greetings From Suffocation City and what to expect, his inspirations behind the music, motivating yourself to put out the best album you can, the story arc across the 14 tracks, how this album differs musically to A Moment Of Silence, what he learnt about himself and his music between albums, the guest artists and how they came to be on the record, making a statement with music, the band's blending of genres and how they come together, the theatrics within their music, touring plans and more.