Anberlin

For more than two decades, Anberlin have remained a formidable force in the alt-rock world, boasting a wildly devoted fanbase who’ve come to rely on the raw cathartic power of their music. On the massively anticipated Vega—the first album in ten years from vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young—the Florida-bred band deliver a body of work forged with an explosive new energy, thanks in part to the addition of singer Matty Mullins (the Memphis May Fire frontman who’s stepped in as live vocalist for Anberlin, following Christian’s announcement that he’ll no longer tour full-time). The latest triumph in an extraordinary career that’s included selling over 1.5 million albums in the U.S. alone and turning out hits like the No. 1 Alternative Radio smash “Feel Good Drag,” Vega reveals a band whose creative passion and one-of-a-kind vision have only grown stronger over time. Arriving on the heels of two back-to-back EPs—2022’s Silverline and 2023’s Convinced—Vega emerged from a period of unbridled creativity for Anberlin, who parted ways soon after 2014’s Lowborn and reunited for a series of lockdown-era livestreams. In bringing their new album to life, the band embraced a deliberately free-flowing and DIY approach, building up songs in McAlhaney’s garage before self-producing the LP at Tampa’s Feral Sound Studios. “In the past we’d sometimes limit our sound to some preconceived idea of what Anberlin is supposed to be,” says McAlhaney. “This time the mantra was, ‘If it feels good, let’s try it.’ Because at the end of the day, Anberlin is whatever we say it is.” As a result, Vega encompasses everything from the shout-along-ready pop perfection of “Walk Alone” to the brutally heavy intensity of “Seven” (a shapeshifting and strangely enthralling epic featuring a savage vocal performance from Mullins). “I think after spending time apart we came back with a new perspective, where we were all