The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die Announce New Album, Illusory Walls

Emo titans The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die have announced Illusory Walls, their first new album since 2017’s Always Foreign. Taking its name from the videogame series Dark Souls, the title “refers to a hidden surface that seems to prevent entry, but upon inspection is nothing more than a visual illusion.” Written and recorded while quarantined in Connecticut and Philadelphia, the album’s themes relate to struggling in our modern dystopia, as well as personal and political anxiety.

The announcement comes with lead single “Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance” (also a Dark Souls reference), which meets the dramatic call at the core of the album’s writing process. Driven by thundering drums that sound at times like an avalanche and vibrant, ecstatic guitars, the track is a darker direction for the group, but ultimately ends in a bright and cathartic explosion of energy and emotion. Lyrically, David Bello laments the human condition, with lines like, “You ate at your desk, life-wide pressure, stress-induced aneurysm,” painting a gruesome and evocative image.

Arriving with the single is an Adam Pidetto-directed visual. Check it out below, along with the band’s 2019 Paste session and the details of Illusory Walls, out Oct. 8 on Epitaph Records.

Illusory Walls Album Art:

Illusory Walls Tracklist:
01. Afraid to Die
02. Queen Sophie for President
03. Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance
04. Blank // Drone
05. We Saw Birds through the Hole in the Ceiling
06. Died in the Prison of the Holy Office
07. Your Brain is a Rubbermaid
08. Blank // Worker
09. Trouble
10. Infinite Josh
11. Fewer Afraid