Early in their career Sydney rock outfit Chasing Lana managed to tap into that sweet spot of music that enabled them to appeal to a wide variety of music lovers.
By embracing their heavier elements but balancing them with equal parts accessible rock, the band burst out of the blocks largely on the back of their uncompromising live show that dripped with raw energy and old school mentality.
2016 debut EP Suffocate/Medicate showed glimpses of the boundless talent at their disposal, but it was the arrival of Chasing Lana's debut album The Fight in 2019 that demanded attention.
So much so that before the band had even shed their metaphorical baby teeth they had forced their way onto support slots with international heavyweights acts P.O.D, Trapt, Theory Of A Deadman and Saliva.
As to be expected for a band whose live sets are a major factor in their appeal, Chasing Lana stagnated somewhat during the COVID period. While the passion and fire still raged strong the growing demise of a world at war with the elements surrounding them stifled Chasing Lana's creativity and dragged them back to a pack from which they had led for the better part of half a decade.
But, in true Aussie fashion, you can't keep a good band down with Chasing Lana finally regaining their voice and harnessing it into their new single Breaking Free which will be released on November 25.
A product of its environment, Breaking Free also marks the next phase of Chasing Lana's musical development, with a harder edge and driving underbelly hinting at a more heavy handed approach to future music.
Frontman Dave Cutting sat down with HEAVY to discuss Breaking Free and its harder exterior.
"It's a lot different than what we usually release," he nodded. "We changed producers - we're working with Zak Knight from Earthtide Studios - to get something different. We thought we would try one track with him and the whole experience was mind blowing. It was a lot different to what we are used to and I feel that's what we really needed. It was good, man. I can't wait for everyone to hear it. It's definitely a different Lana sound to what everyone is used to, that's for sure."
As Chasing Lana's first new music since The Fight, Cutting agrees that Breaking Free is somewhat of a statement musically, sonically announcing that Chasing Lana have returned bigger, stronger, and better than ever before.
"It's been three years," he sighed, "almost three years since we have actually released anything. We released The Fight in 2019 and did a bunch of shows for that but because of the whole COVID thing - like everyone - we just got into a whole bubble and did nothing. I wrote a few songs, but nothing too much to actually do anything. It was hard to motivate everyone in the band, including myself. Once all of that died down and everything started to re-open it was time to do something, and do something fresh."
In the full interview, Dave discusses the heavier direction in greater detail, outlines the subject matter of Breaking Free, whether it is part of a bigger album picture, the modern dilemma of albums versus EP's, Chasing Lana's recent show at Frankies Pizza and the hole that venues closing will leave in the Sydney music scene, his recent catch up with manager Mark Dalbeth and what came out of those discussions, Chasing Lana's immediate future and more.