Bush‘s new album The Kingdom is fortified with heavy guitars, big riffs and plenty of distortion. Speaking to ABC Audio, frontman Gavin Rossdale explains that he didn’t want the record to be able to rest on the laurels of any past glory.

“The idea behind this record…was always to make a record that stands on its own,”  Rossdale says, “and not make kind of a collection of mid-tempo, acoustic-driven slob-rock that just fills up space, [like] you’re fulfilling a contract or something.”

“It’s just so hard to matter. It’s so hard to strike a chord with people,” he adds. “Why should you? Most people are so busy and wrapped up in their own navels, you’ve really gotta touch them in some way to get people’s attention.”

Rossdale hoped to do just that with singles such as “Bullet Holes,” “Flowers on a Grave” and “The Kingdom,” which have reminded fans of Bush’s earlier work.

“People are saying, ‘Oh, it reminds me of the first record, the first few records,'” Rossdale shares. “It’s actually heavier. It’s actually heavier.”

Rossdale can list a litany of reasons why he wanted to pursue a heavier direction with The Kingdom, but above all, it just felt like the best and most honest way for him to convey himself as a musician at this point in his life.

“I just seem unable to mature in a way of doing fireside rock or something like that,” Rossdale laughs.

“I just want it to be lethal,” he adds. “That’s all I care about.” 

The Kingdom is out now.

By Josh Johnson
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.