A Million Miles
If you put your phone down for even a minute, you might just really live.
Saul issue a call for connection in their music. The Iowa quartet—brothers Blake Bedsaul [lead vocals] and Zach Bedsaul [lead guitar, backup vocals], William McIlravy [bass, backup vocals], and Myles Clayborne [drums]—continue to bring audiences together with a one-two punch of precise and pummeling metallic grooves and towering magnetic melodies. Amassing tens of millions of streams and earning acclaim from Revolver, Guitar World, Loudwire, and many more, the group fortify an unbreakable bond with listeners on their second full-length offering, THIS IS IT…THE END OF EVERYTHING [via Spinefarm].
“As a society, we’re so glued to our phones and social media,” notes Blake. “When we finally got out of quarantine, we personally needed to take a mental break from it. If you think about it, we don’t even have to talk anymore, since communication happens online. So, step back from social media, get out there, shake hands, and live a little bit. You don’t have to exist through your phone. Capture the moment in your head and tell the story out loud to someone.”
They tell their story through the songs…
Saul emerged out of the Midwest in 2017 and tirelessly bulldozed a path to the forefront of modern rock. They notably performed alongside everyone from Motionless In White, Atreyu, August Burns Red, Crown The Empire, Bush, and 10 Years to HELLYEAH and Nonpoint in addition to gracing the stages of festivals, including Rebel Rock, Rock Fest, Rock USA, Inkcarceration, and Blue Ridge Rock Fest with Rob Zombie, Mudvayne, and Slipknot. The group independently landed a bona fide hit in the form of “Brother”—an homage to the co-founders’ late brother Caleb. It marked their first #1 on Sirius/XM Octane in addition to gathering over 9 million Spotify streams and paving the way for their 2020 full-length debut, Rise As Equals. Co-written with David Draiman of Disturbed, “King Of Misery” reeled in 3.7 million Spotify streams, while “Trial By Fire” also surpassed 3 million Spotify streams. Of the former, American Songwriter praised”King Of Misery” wasted no time jumping into the heavy mainstream riffs that Saul set out to wrangle,” and Outburn hailed its “futuristic and cinematic video.”
Expanding the sonic palette, the guys collaborated with producer Kile Odell [Motionless In White, Nita Strauss] this time around.
“Kile has this mentality like, ‘Let’s hear it out’,” recalls Blake. “We would just create and see what happened. We were able to experiment, and it’s one thing I really appreciated about the process. We opened up the vocals and tried different keys. We wanted sick vocals, melodies, and lyrics.”
Now, they have unleashed the powerful new single “A MILLION MILES.” Co-written with Johnny Andrews [Three Days Grace, Starset, Theory of a Deadman], a seesawing riff and electrifying melody give way to a chant-able chorus laced with raw emotion befitting of the central theme.
“It’s the definition of what the album represents,” he goes on. “I can be sitting next to somebody within reach, but I’ll be a million miles away looking at my phone or watching a video. We feel like it’s the end of everything. We don’t even need each other anymore.”
In the end, SAUL create the soundtrack for breaking free.
“We’re writing from real personal experiences, and we hope you can latch onto them,” Blake leaves off. “SAUL is our lives. It’s not just what we do; it’s who we are. There are real guys behind this story.”