Dead by April

Dead by April formed as a Swedish metalcore outfit in Gothenburg during 2007, issuing their first recordings that year as a self-titled ten-track demo that spread online. The group’s lineup consists of Jimmie Strimell on vocals, Pontus Hjelm handling guitar, vocals and programming, Johan Olsson on guitar and vocals, Marcus Wesslén on bass, and Alexander Svenningson on drums. An expanded nineteen-track edition of the demo appeared in 2008 and likewise circulated chiefly via the Internet. After securing a contract with Universal Music, the band delivered its first official single, “Losing You,” in 2009; the track ascended the Swedish singles chart to claim the top position for two weeks that May. Around the same period the self-titled full-length arrived, peaking at number two and later yielding the follow-up single “What Can I Say.”

Hjelm stepped away from performing duties in 2010 yet continued contributing songs, and vocalist Zandro Santiago took his place. The earliest material featuring Santiago surfaced on the early-2011 compilation Stronger, which contained heavier remixes of earlier tracks together with a cover of Killing Joke. That spring the band confirmed completion of its second studio album, Incomparable, before releasing it in September; the record entered the national album chart at number two. Although the group had signaled a new project as far back as 2012, Let the World Know did not appear until February 2014. During the intervening period founding singer Jimmie Strimell departed and Christoffer Andersson of What Tomorrow Brings assumed vocal responsibilities. The album also marked the final appearances of original drummer Alexander Svenningson, subsequently replaced by Marcus Rosell, and clean vocalist Zandro Santiago.

Work on a fourth studio album commenced with multiple social-media updates posted throughout 2015. The first video single, “Breaking Point,” surfaced late the following year, followed in January 2017 by a lyric video for “My Heart Is Crushable.” Spinefarm issued the completed album, Worlds Collide, that spring.