Breaking Down

"Breaking Down" is a song by American rock band I Prevail. It was their first single off of their second studio album Trauma. In July 2019, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.[2]

"Breaking Down"
Single by I Prevail
from the album Trauma
ReleasedFebruary 26, 2019 (2019-02-26)
Recorded2018
GenreRock[1]
Length3:26
LabelFearless
Producer(s)Tyler Smith
I Prevail singles chronology
"Bow Down"
(2019)		 "Breaking Down"
(2019)		 "Hurricane"
(2019)

Background

The song was first released on February 26, 2019, a month before the release of its respective album, Trauma.[3] It was released within twelve hours of the first song released from the album, "Bow Down".[4] A music video accompanied the release, which contained lead singer Brian Burkheiser covered in a black sludge, said to be "lyrical and visual representation of depression".[4][5] It was later debuted in a live setting on March 11, 2019, at the Download Festival.[6]

Themes and composition

Thematically, the song's lyrics are self-referential to the band's recent struggles with their rising fame, depression, and mental health.[7][8] After working hard to establish themselves as a band, and succeeding in gaining popularity with their cover of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" and their first album, Lifelines, a doctor diagnosed Burkheiser with polyp on his vocal chord that required surgery. The experience caused him to suffer from depression and almost give up on the band.[9][7] Burkheiser explained of the song:

It’s taken me a minute to post about 'Breaking Down' because it's still a subject that is very hard for me to touch on...the last couple years of my life have been such a blur and even though there has been plenty of success, my mind put me in a place where I just couldn’t enjoy anything. I cut off so many people because I was in such a dark place and couldn't find a way out...This song means so much to me, and I hope even though it doesn’t end on a positive note, those who deal with similar issues can know that they aren't alone in this...I was at the lowest point of my life last year, and even though I still have my days where things can seem unbearable, I know that this band is where I am meant to be. If you’re like me, just take things day by day. Take the good with the bad, and know that there is something out there waiting for you. Sometimes it can just take time to find out exactly what that is."[5]

Burkheiser states that writing the song was therapeutic, and that it "given [him] a breath of life that [he] honestly never thought [he] would feel again."[10]

Personnel

Band

  • Brian Burkheiser – clean vocals
  • Eric Vanlerberghe – screamed vocals
  • Steve Menoian – lead guitar, bass
  • Dylan Bowman – rhythm guitar
  • Gabe Helguera – drums

Charts
gollark: https://www.theregister.com/2019/03/05/ai_gaydar/ (headline is vaguely misleading)
gollark: I blatantly stole it from helloboi.
gollark: I may be referred to as car/cdr if desired.
gollark: The problem with spaces is that you can’t actually see them. So you can’t be sure they’re correct. Also they aren’t actually there anyway - they are the absence of code. “Anti-code” if you will. Too many developers format their code “to make it more maintainable” (like that’s actually a thing), but they’re really just filling the document with spaces. And it’s impossible to know how spaces will effect your code, because if you can’t see them, then you can’t read them. Real code wizards know to just write one long line and pack it in tight. What’s that you say? You wrote 600 lines of code today? Well I wrote one, and it took all week, but it’s the best. And when I hand this project over to you next month I’ll have solved world peace in just 14 lines and you will be so lucky to have my code on your screen <ninja chop>.
gollark: Remove the call stack and do trampolining or something?

References
  1. https://loudwire.com/best-rock-albums-of-2019-so-far/
  2. "I Prevail Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  3. Hammer, Scott Munro2019-02-27T15:20:01Z Metal. "I Prevail roar back with videos for Bow Down and Breaking Down". Metal Hammer Magazine.
  4. "I Prevail Have Dropped Another Massive Track - News". Rock Sound Magazine.
  5. "I Prevail break down a two-day music video shoot—watch". 28 March 2019.
  6. "Download Festival – Review & Photo Gallery 9 & 11th March @ Sydney/Melbourne, Australia". Wall Of Sound. 14 March 2019.
  7. DiVita, Joe. "I Prevail Live Through Depression in 'Breaking Down' Video". Loudwire.
  8. "I Prevail unveil video for new song "Paranoid" off upcoming Trauma album: Stream". 19 March 2019.
  9. ""We Wanted To Push Our Sound": I Prevail On New Album 'Trauma'". Music Feeds. 18 March 2019.
  10. "I Prevail Return With Fiercely Honest New Album 'TRAUMA'". www.radio.com. 29 March 2019.
  11. "I Prevail Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  12. "I Prevail Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  13. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
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