The Lancaster, PA quintet scrapped 14 demos and started over. The result is the most focused record they have made.
From Ashes to New released their fifth studio album, Reflections, today via Better Noise Music. Along with it comes the video for “Forever,” a song built around guilt, regret, and not being able to shake what you did wrong. It does not try to tie things up. That is the point.
The band released Blackout in 2023, which hit number one on several iTunes and Spotify rock and metal charts. After that, they went into the studio with 16 demos ready. Then they cut 14 of them and started fresh.
“I wanted to take what we are good at and push it even further. That was the process for this whole record.” — Matt Brandyberry
They kept two songs. The rest were dropped. It goes against how most bands work, but it paid off. The record feels tighter and more intentional.
The band describe the album as sitting in that in-between space. Not moving forward, not going back, just stuck there. It is not a concept album, but that feeling runs through every track..
“Forever” Review
The video was directed by Orie McGuinness. The song drops you right into the collapse.
This is not someone watching a relationship fall apart from a distance. He is already on the wrong side of it, stuck with the damage as it happens.
What keeps the song grounded is how direct it gets.
That last line lands because it is not dressed up. It sounds like something you say when you finally admit you messed everything up.
The chorus flips “forever” into something heavier. Being haunted is not romantic here. It is something you carry.
“How I pulled your strings” is the line that cuts the deepest. It points to something more than just a failed relationship. The apology that follows does not fix it, and it is not supposed to.
By the time the bridge hits, there is no real push to fix anything.
It settles into that feeling instead. The song ends the same way it starts, sitting in the damage without trying to clean it up.
Musically, the track shows a lot of restraint. The quieter verses give the chorus room to hit harder, and the payoff feels earned.
“Drag Me” is already in the Top 10
The album’s lead single is currently in the Top 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. It is a different energy from “Forever” — more direct, built for radio — and a smart track to lead the campaign with before the heavier material arrives.
Track listing
01 Drag Me
02 Forever
03 Villain
04 Die For You
05 Black Hearts
06 Upside Down
07 (Not) Psycho
08 Parasite
09 New Disease
10 Darkside
11 Falling From Heaven
12 Your Ghost
Vinyl and merch
Exclusive merch bundles are available on the Better Noise Music Store HERE
Touring through 2026
From Ashes to New — Danny Case (vocals), Matt Brandyberry (vocals), Lance Dowdle (guitar), Maty Madiro (drums), and Jimmy Bennett (guitar) — have extensive worldwide touring planned through 2026.
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