New single and video, “Help Me” released from upcoming EP, Dear God
Toronto post-hardcore group, Napoleon, returns with a brand new single & video and the announcement of an all-new EP, Dear God – set for release on May 31st, 2024!
The gutting music video for ‘Help Me’ finalizes the story that began in the video for the band’s last single, ‘Heartless‘, which was released last month to wide acclaim.
Reflecting on their upcoming EP, vocalist/guitarist Jon Elameh says:
“Dear God is much darker than our last effort “Enemy Within” – both musically and lyrically. We dropped a lot of the hard rock influences in favor of a more post-hardcore/metalcore sound, there is a lot more screaming compared to clean singing than we have had before, a direction we have slowly been pushing in for the last couple of years.
Lyrically, Dear God is an EP about faith. More specifically, the lack thereof – both in God, and yourself. “Help Me” for example tells the story of a man who chose to dedicate his life to serving god at the expense of having a family/friends/life outside religion, meanwhile “Lord and Savior” asks the question I’ve found myself asking since I was young, which is if God is so great and good, and so real, why do terrible things still happen in our world, why isn’t God stopping them from happening if God has the power. Both “Heartless” and “If I Go” deal with themes of self doubt, from a religion and an internal standpoint, asking questions like “did god just abandon me because I’m not good enough?” or “If I died would anyone even know.”All around I’m very proud of this release, I believe this is our strongest effort yet, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.“
On the new song, Elameh shares that it
“tells the story of a man who followed a religion so closely and obsessively, that he pushed everything away – his family, friends, career, mental well being, etc. – in favor of prioritizing God, leading to a lonely and depressing life. All he is left to ask for is help from God, but there was never an answer. The value of religion is important for some, and that is totally okay, but it can never come at the expense of treating those around you with respect, regardless of their beliefs, background, sexual orientation, etc.“
Best served live, Napoleon has a lot of energy on stage and makes a point to get the crowd involved. While you can get a pretty good taste of just how wild it’d be to see them thrash in person by listening to the music, vocalist Jon Elmaleh says that “there is a certain amount of energy that is just not translated onto the record.”
Upcoming Shows:
06.06.24 Windsor, ON @ Meteor
06.07.24 Waterloo, ON @ The Yeti Cafe
06.09.24 London, ON @ Dundas and Sons
06.27.24 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee’s *album release show
09.07.24 Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground