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Track By Track: Madina Lake ‘World War III’

Frontman Nathan Leone walks Rock Sound through the band's emphatic comeback album 'World War III'.

Back from the brink with an album that admirably pushes past adversity into a long-overdue bright future, today Rock Sound proudly brings you a track by track description of Madina Lake's third album 'World War III' by frontman Nathan Leone.

01. Howdy Neighbor
"In a lot of ways I feel like WWIII has written itself. Our life circumstances at the time were such that all we really had to or were even capable of doing was letting it out. Over thinking it or contriving sentiments wasn't an option yet neither was holding anything back. Hence it's lyrical content is blunt and couldn't be more honest. When Mateo [Camargo, guitar] played me the riff for 'Howdy...' I knew immediately what it was going to be about. He had only sent that riff so when the band got to it we started our typical Madina structure/arrangements, however Mateo canned it and convinced us to just develop the song instrumentally instead of adding chord changes, arrangement developing and changing parts. This way each of us had to use our respective parts to give the dynamic and it turned out way cooler (imho). Matthew [Leone, bassist] added these percussive bass stabs which defined the song to me. Dan [Torelli, drums] was able to play his ass without all his parts getting chopped down to straight beats/no fills and vocally we left all kinds of cracks and imperfections, leaving the song as raw and real as it's subject matter."

02. Imagineer
"Getting to work with Billy Corgan was fucking ridiculous. He's the most talented genius we've ever had the privlege of meeting, much less working with. He invited Matthew and I out to Sedona, AZ where they were working on the new Pumpkins record. Coincidentally we were planning on going to Sedona so Matthew could rest and heal because it's a very spiritual and energetic place. So we flew out and stayed in one of the cabins they had rented. It turned out that it was just Billy, his engineer and assistant. We sat next to them as he went through countless song ideas each day and every time he played this one riff Matthew and I couldn't contain our fanboy enthusiasm for it. After three days he just turned around and asked us if we wanted it. That night at the cabin I essentially finished the lyrics and we brought it back to Madina, added guitars drums and bass in two days. The record had taken on a few themes at this point, one being human nature and/or animal instinct because at this point we'd essentially been surviving off it. It's about life breaking you down to your absolute core and finding beauty and peace in that."

03. They're Coming For Me
"Mateo had this bit he'd written but didn't think would work for Madina. We found it while creeping through his computer and loved it. Ultimately we recorded everything but bass on it cuz Matthew couldn't settle on his part. He and I sang the lead on the chorus for a sort of gang vocal effect and it felt really powerful. It inspired him and he tracked bass that night, the next night was when he got hurt."

04. Hey Superstar
"This was one of the first songs we'd written for WWIII and sort of a pinnacle sentiment with regards to the Madina story line. There's a rash of materialism and superficiality these days undermining integrity. Ironically we wrote this right after getting let go from our old record label, we then realised nothing would stop us from doing what we love to do."

05. Fireworks
"We'd been heading in several different directions sonically and Mateo had a bunch of almost clubby, hip-hop beats and loops we were working on. I met this gorgeous girl around that time that had a relentless sex appeal. She definitely inspired it lyrically, plus I'm engaged to her now so that worked out ha."

06. Across Five Oceans
"We'd been on a bit of a downward spiral after the Attics tour cycle and I got hit with a pretty bad break up. I remember thinking I felt totally hopeless but I didn't feel hopeless at all. Musically this song felt exactly like I did so there's this juxtaposition between pain and inspiration in the verses and choruses."

07. We Got This
"Pretty difficult to talk about this one but personally it's one of the most important songs I've ever been a part of."

08. What It Is To Wonder
"This was one of the first songs we worked on. Mateo always comes up with these tapping bits that I feel define a lot of our songs. We tracked a lot of this one in a house we rented in Florida when we were recording 'The Dresden Codex' EP. At the time I think the screws were starting to come loose, so psychologically we were all over the place. This song is about wondering in a positive way as opposed to a negative one. If you constantly wonder what could go wrong, something will. If you wonder what you could become or achieve or fullfill, that will manifest as well."

09. Heroine
"Heroine's about having such a relentless passion for something that life ultimately tries to take away. At the end of the day if your passion is real, nothing can stop you from manifesting it into reality. Having careers like ours can be a constant rollercoaster ride of highs and lows but we wouldn't have it any other way. We'll never stop doing what we love to do."

10. The Great Divide
"This was initially meant to be an instrumental track but Matthew had this idea to build the dynamic by introducing drum and bass teasers. Mateo kept the integrity intact by denying my many attempts at repeating the chorus three times and there ya have it. Lyrically it was inspired when Matthew got hurt and for the first time I felt split in two."

11. Take Me Or Leave
"This songs about accepting yourself for the best and worst parts of you. If you don't accept yourself you'll never be able to have a peaceful mind, relationship and/or life. It came at a time where we were being judged left and right and had to fight through questions ourselves. We had one of our best friends/crew dudes track the bridge which gave it a cool genre dynamic. Thematically it's another one of these broken down to your core and finding the strength in it."

12. Blood Red Flags
"We were on the fence with this one forever because we couldn't settle on a verse strategy. Mateo had this raw rock riff and we kept over thinking it trying to make it more interesting but at the end of the day, the more we took out, the better it got. It's one of the heavier tracks on the record which are always my favorite. Lyrically it's about heading straight into a situation you know is bad for you. As if your heart and subconscious can see it crystal clear but your mind denies it I think so many things are lost in psychological torment as opposed to just letting them happen."


Madina Lake tour the UK in November, click here for all the dates.