For somebody only now crossing over into rock and metal, Nashville singer-songwriter ROYALE LYNN is completely at home in the genre. With roots in country music, her alt-rock debut album Black Magic pushes her into an entirely new realm, and so far, she has been welcomed in. Her style is bold, unique and refined, and having already toured with bands such as ASKING ALEXANDRIA, SEETHER, and SKILLET, there’s no doubt she will be hugely successful.
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Catching up with her just before the album’s release, she explains. “This record is kind of like I am a snake, I’ve shed my old skin and this is who I am.” She tells us that having always listened to metal music, and looking up to heavier bands, it only makes sense that she makes this transition. She says, “I’m so glad to truly become the artist I feel I am meant to be, that’s why I’m genuinely so excited for people to hear who I am and what I have to say on this album.”
While ROYALE LYNN is still fairly new in writing alternative music, it’s almost impossible to tell when listening to her debut. As a concept album, Black Magic tells the story of Pandora’s Box, with each song representing an evil that has escaped, and discusses a mental health struggle that she has faced herself. Combining strong visuals and a powerful vulnerability, the album takes listeners on a journey, where by the end, they should feel much closer to the artist. She explains, “I think that everybody will have their own perspective of what each song means for them, but for me it was healing just to write out all of these raw and vulnerable emotions. Watching every single part of my brain come out into this project is super cool.”
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A common misconception with concept albums is that listeners can feel disconnected from the artist, and where a wider story is definitely told, this album is so deeply personal in it’s lyrics, told through the vulnerability in her vocals. “Writing music is how I process. If I’m honest and open, maybe someone else out there can be honest and open about their feelings as well. If I need to talk about my feelings to get people out there to also talk about their feelings and their struggles, then I’ve done my job.”
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In many ways, the album is dark and dramatic, but there is so much hope and light woven throughout. ROYALE LYNN explains that while there is a lot of darkness to her personality, it wouldn’t make sense to have this be the overarching theme, considering how in her daily life, she is always encouraging the people around her to find some hope. She refers to the small positive moments in life as ‘little glimmers’, and asks her friends what their glimmer of the day was. She sees this as the way out of the darkness and hard times, finding more and more small moments of joy until they outweigh the bad. Naturally, this comes through in the album. She says, “it’s really cool to be able to guide people through a dark time and show them that there is going to be light at the end of the tunnel, you got to wait it out, figure out how to find it.” Recently, it seems as though bands have been fighting against the assumption that metal music is depressing and negative, and this album only compounds that. By acknowledging the difficult times and not sugar coating it, ROYALE LYNN is able to focus on the good. “Taking care of your mental health is so important, and music heals in that way ‘cause it makes you feel less alone. There’s moments in the meet and greet lines that truly mean the world to me, where people tell me of their struggles. It means a lot to me that people can come to our show and feel safe.”
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Although the music speaks for itself, a huge part of the appeal of ROYALE LYNN is her style and aesthetic. The image of the record is strong, but feminine, and really represents who she is as a person. “It’s important to me to show everybody who I was, and how much I’ve grown even as a woman in the last two years.” She is unafraid to tap into everything that inspires her, and more often than not, this is a 90s inspired glamour. As soon as she mentions that she is inspired by the SPICE GIRLS, her image makes a whole lot more sense, and she expresses the excitement of being able to live out wearing the clothes and looking the part of something that she always admired growing up. While of course, women in metal and alternative rock are huge inspirations to her, it is the style of pop and dance music that really comes through in her visuals.
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She jokes, “you should see my Pinterest board,” and it’s easy to imagine, with the 90s aesthetic combined with the aggression of metal style. Fundamentally, this crosses through into her sound, with influences of pop, dance and EDM throughout the album. “Every morning, I wake up and I go for a run. That’s when I’m listening to new music. Obviously, I’m keeping up with what’s happening in the metal, hard rock space, but I’m also listening to SABRINA CARPENTER and TATE MCRAE. I love when you’re able to appreciate upbeat music for what it is.”
For an album that has been a very long time coming, ROYALE LYNN is now just ready for it to be out in the world. “I’m just so excited for everyone to finally hear it. It’s raw, it’s real, it’s my feelings to a T and I just hope that it gives people strength out there. I hope it resonates with everyone, and they can hear of how dark it can really get, but know there is light.”
BLACK MAGIC is out now via Epitaph Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS122 here:
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