“‘The Ocean Between Us’ is about being set on one life path, going through the motions until something or someone stops you in your tracks,” the band says. “It’s about seeing an alternate version of your life and wondering what if. What if you took the leap and started over somewhere far away, with someone new?”
The song expands upon Conquer Divide’s heavy sound, balancing melancholy and euphoria over an expansive ambient rock soundscape. The ending offers no resolution, leaving the listener unclear on whether they should escape the unfamiliar or immerse themselves in it. Knowing that either path would change reality forever, they feel they can do neither, but they must choose one. Listen and watch the video here.
The track follows “Bad Dreams,” featuring Michigan metalcore band Of Virtue, which arrived at the top of the year. Watch the lyric video here.
Conquer Divide is currently at work on their next album, set for release in 2026. They’re already confirmed for ShipRocked (as ‘Stowaways’) and Sonic Temple, with 2026 shaping up to be a busy one.
Since forming a decade ago, Conquer Divide has evolved from their melodic metalcore-inspired roots into a powerhouse hard rock act. In 2020, they returned to the studio with 2x Grammy nominated producer Tyler Smyth (Falling in Reverse, I Prevail) and 4x RIAA certified Gold record producer Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Of Mice & Men) and began recording their most recent album Slow Burn.
To date, the album has notched 52 million worldwide streams to date, while “Paralyzed” was one of the Metal Hammer 2023 tracks of the year. They’ve picked up support from Rock Sound, Distorted Sound, Alternative Press, Revolver, GuitarWorld, SXM Octane, Loudwire, and more. The band has toured with 10 Years, The Warning, New Years Day, Ankor, Electric Callboy, Funeral For a Friend, among others. Conquer Divide have also released collaborative tracks with Electric Callboy, 10 Years, and Of Virtue.
With “The Ocean Between Us,” Conquer Divide proves once again that there’s no ceiling to what they can achieve—and 2026 is set to be their biggest year yet.
CONQUER DIVIDE ARE: Kiarely Taylor — Vocals Kristen Sturgis — Guitar Izzy Johnson — Guitar Sam Landa — Drums
Photo credit: Jim Louvau (Conquer Divide) & James Coffman (Of Virtue)
Conquer Divide have just revealed their latest single, “Bad Dreams” featuring Michigan metalcore heroes Of Virtue. The single drops ahead of their U.K. and European tour dates with New Years Day from 21 January – 1 February and then with Ankor from 7 February to 16 March. You can get tickets here. Listen to “Bad Dreams” HERE.
The song combines Conquer Divide’s ability to mix luscious and captivating vocals and hooks with their crushing intensity, both musically and lyrically, on this introspective slab of inner turmoil, which is complemented by Of Virtue’s vocalists Tyler Ennis and Damon Tate’s melodic turned raging contributions.
Talking about the personal tones of the song, guitarist Izzy Johnson says,”We are stoked to bring the next era of Conquer Divide with our new song “Bad Dreams ft Of Virtue”. Lyrically it touches on the feeling of wanting nothing more than to succeed but being sabotaged by your own thoughts. Analysis paralysis is real and creates cycles that sometimes feel unbreakable, something that we have all individually experienced. Just like our other songs Paralyzed, Pressure and N E W H E A V E N (that also have introspective themes), we hope this song is something our listeners can relate to and find comfort in. Big thanks to the guys in Of Virtue who made the song come alive, we are blessed to create music alongside such talent.”
Of Virtue’s Tyler Ennis adds, “I’ve been a fan of Conquer Divide ever since I heard Messy. It’s an absolute honor being asked to bring both our bands together on their newest single and we’re excited for it to finally be released!”
They recently had two recordings that are having wide success at the US Active Rock format. First, a new version of the band’s hit “Paralyzed” (featuring Attack Attack!); which became the band’s first entry on the Billboard charts, and re-release of alt-rockers 10 Years hit “The Optimist” which featured Conquer Divide’s Kia, ahead of the two bands touring the US together in October.
In January 2025, Conquer Divide will return to Europe and the UK for a tour with New Years Day between the 21st of January and the 1st of February. Right after, the band will appear with Ankor starting on February 7 in Cologne, and will call through Germany, The Netherlands, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and will finish on March 16 in Kortrijk, Belgium.
A Deluxe Edition of their most recent album ‘Slow Burn’ was released digitally on 27 September and featured an additional six recordings. Three of these are from Sirius XM Octane’s Next Wave Concert Series, which are “Bad Guy,” “Atonement,” and “Paralyzed.” Alongside “Paralyzed (Featuring “Attack Attack!),” “Only Girl” (Acoustic), and “80 Proof.”
The band hailing from the U.S., U.K. and Canada have made a steady progression from their melodic metalcore inspired roots, maturing into a formidable hard rock act, nearing the end of their first decade together. In 2020, they returned to the studio with 2x Grammy nominated producer Tyler Smyth (Falling in Reverse, I Prevail) and 4x RIAA certified gold record producer Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Of Mice & Men) and began recording of SLOW BURN.
SLOW BURN picked up multiple playlisting including All New Metal, Rock Hard, The Core, Heavy Queens, Kickass Metal, New Nu and more. They picked up multiple BBC Radio 1 plays alongside playlisting at Kerrang! Radio, Kerrang! TV and Primordial Radio. “Paralyzed” was one of the Metal Hammer 2023 tracks of the year with the album also being amongst the ‘Albums of the Year.’ They’ve picked up support from Rock Sound, Distorted Sound, Alternative Press, Revolver, GuitarWorld, SXM Octane, Loudwire and more. The album has now exceeded 40 Million cumulative streams.
Conquer Divide are Kiarely Taylor (vocals), Kristen Sturgis (guitar), Izzy Johnson (guitar) and Sam Landa (drums).
Tour dates supporting New Years Day Jan 2025: Tue, 21 Jan – Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands Wed, 22 Jan – Luxor, Cologne, Germany Thu, 23 Jan – Les Etoiles, Paris, France Fri, 25 Jan – Engine Rooms, Southampton, UK Sat, 26 Jan – Key Club, Leeds, UK Sun, 27 Jan – Thekla, Bristol, UK Wed, 29 Jan – Slay, Glasgow UK Thu, 30 Jan – O2 Academy2, Birmingham, UK Fri, 31 Jan – O2 Academy Islington, London, UK Sat, 1 Feb – Academy 3, Manchester, UK
Tour dates supporting Ankor, Feb-March 2025: Fri, Feb 7 – Club Volta, Köln, Germany Sat, Feb 8 – Frannz Club, Berlin, Germany Sun, Feb 9 – De Helling, Utrecht, Netherlands Tue, Feb 11 – Asylum, Birmingham, United Kingdom Wed, Feb 12 – Classic Grand, Glasgow, United Kingdom Thu, Feb 13 – Think Tank, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom Fri, Feb 14 -The Underworld, London, United Kingdom Sat, Feb 15 – Rebellion, Manchester, United Kingdom Sun, Feb 16 – Fleece, Bristol, United Kingdom Tue, Feb 18 – Petit Bain, Paris, France Wed, Feb 19 – Rex de Toulouse, Toulouse, France Thu, Feb 20 – Copernico, Madrid, Spain Fri, Feb 21 – Apolo, Barcelona, Spain Mon, Feb 24 – Legend Club, Milano, Italy Tue, Feb 25 – Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland Thu, Feb 27 – Barba Negra, Budapest, Hungary Fri, Feb 28 – Flex, Vienna, Austria Sat, Mar 1 – Feierwerk, Munich, Germany Sun, Mar 2 – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart, Germany Tue, Mar 4 – Storm Club, Prague, Czech Republic Wed, Mar 5 – Hydrozagadka, Warszawa, Poland Fri, Mar 7 – Melna Piektdiena, Rīga, Latvia Sat, Mar 8 – On The Rocks, Helsinki, Finland Mon, Mar 10 – Kollektivet Livet, Stockholm, Sweden Tue, Mar 11 – John Dee, Oslo, Norway Wed, Mar 12 – Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, Denmark Thu, Mar 13 – Logo, Hamburg, Germany Fri, Mar 14 – Chemiefabrik, Dresden, Germany Sat, Mar 15 – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany Sun, Mar 16 – DVG Club, Kortrijk, Belgium
Conquer Divide and Mascot Records have announced the release of a new digital deluxe version of SLOW BURN this week, alongside a new visualizer for “80 Proof” which captures a tender and emotional solo performance of Kia Taylor on an acoustic guitar. You can watch the video HERE.
Talking about “80 Proof”, Kia says; “I wrote 80 Proof during a time in my life that was complicated and hard. Although it is a deeply personal song, I hope that listeners can connect with it, and even feel a sense of healing similar to what I experienced when writing it.”
The announcement coincides with two recordings that are having wide success at the US Active Rock format. First, a new version of the band’s hit “Paralyzed” (featuring Attack Attack!); and a new 10 Years re-release of their hit “The Optimist” which features Conquer Divide’s Kia. 10 Years and Conquer Divide will stage a US tour together this Fall from October 11 through the 26th.
This past year, the band staged a run of performances as direct support for The Warning across the U.K. and Europe. In January 2025, Conquer Divide will return to Europe and the UK for a tour with New Years Day between the 21st of January and the 1st of February. Right after, the band will appear with Ankor starting on February 7 in Cologne, and will call through Germany, The Netherlands, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and will finish on March 16 in Kortrijk, Belgium.
Conquer Divide’s Kia Taylor shares, “We are so excited to be returning to Europe in 2025! When we toured with The Warning last spring it was our first time touring outside of the U.S. as a band, and we had so much fun meeting new people and exploring new cities. We are looking forward to meeting even more people and making new fans in cities and countries we’ve never been to before! This will be the longest amount of consecutive touring dates we’ve ever done together, and we are excited and hopeful!”. Tickets are available here.
The Deluxe Edition of Slow Burn digitally presents an additional six recordings. Three of these are from Sirius XM Octane’s Next Wave Concert Series, which are “Bad Guy,” “Atonement,” and “Paralyzed.” Alongside “Paralyzed (Featuring “Attack Attack!),” “Only Girl” (Acoustic), and “80 Proof.”
The band hailing from the U.S., U.K. and Canada have made a steady progression from their melodic metalcore inspired roots, maturing into a formidable hard rock act, nearing the end of their first decade together. In 2020, they returned to the studio with 2x Grammy nominated producer Tyler Smyth (Falling in Reverse, I Prevail) and 4x RIAA certified gold record producer Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, Of Mice & Men) and began recording of SLOW BURN.
SLOW BURN picked up multiple playlisting including All New Metal, Rock Hard, The Core, Heavy Queens, Kickass Metal, New Nu and more. They picked up multiple BBC Radio 1 plays alongside playlisting at Kerrang! Radio, Kerrang! TV and Primordial Radio. “Paralyzed” was one of the Metal Hammer tracks of the year with the album also being amongst the ‘Albums of the Year.’ They’ve picked up support from Rock Sound, Distorted Sound, Alternative Press, Revolver, GuitarWorld,SXM Octane, Loudwire and more. The album has now exceeded 34 Million cumulative streams.
The all-female lineup of Kiarely Taylor (vocals), Kristen Sturgis (guitar), Izzy Johnson (guitar) and Sam Landa (drums) have seen an emerging global fan base emanating from their power as a band.
Tour dates supporting New Years Day Jan 2025: Tue, 21 Jan – Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands Wed, 22 Jan – Luxor, Cologne, Germany Thu, 23 Jan – Les Etoiles, Paris, France Fri, 25 Jan – Engine Rooms, Southampton, UK Sat, 26 Jan – Key Club, Leeds, UK Sun, 27 Jan – Thekla, Bristol, UK Wed, 29 Jan – Slay, Glasgow UK Thu, 30 Jan – O2 Academy2, Birmingham, UK Fri, 31 Jan – O2 Academy Islington, London, UK Sat, 1 Feb – Academy 3, Manchester, UK
Tour dates supporting Ankor, Feb-March 2025: Fri, Feb 7 – Club Volta, Köln, Germany Sat, Feb 8 – Frannz Club, Berlin, Germany Sun, Feb 9 – De Helling, Utrecht, Netherlands Tue, Feb 11 – Asylum, Birmingham, United Kingdom Wed, Feb 12 – Classic Grand, Glasgow, United Kingdom Thu, Feb 13 – Think Tank, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom Fri, Feb 14 -The Underworld, London, United Kingdom Sat, Feb 15 – Rebellion, Manchester, United Kingdom Sun, Feb 16 – Fleece, Bristol, United Kingdom Tue, Feb 18 – Petit Bain, Paris, France Wed, Feb 19 – Rex de Toulouse, Toulouse, France Thu, Feb 20 – Copernico, Madrid, Spain Fri, Feb 21 – Apolo, Barcelona, Spain Mon, Feb 24 – Legend Club, Milano, Italy Tue, Feb 25 – Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland Thu, Feb 27 – Barba Negra, Budapest, Hungary Fri, Feb 28 – Flex, Vienna, Austria Sat, Mar 1 – Feierwerk, Munich, Germany Sun, Mar 2 – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart, Germany Tue, Mar 4 – Storm Club, Prague, Czech Republic Wed, Mar 5 – Hydrozagadka, Warszawa, Poland Fri, Mar 7 – Melna Piektdiena, Rīga, Latvia Sat, Mar 8 – On The Rocks, Helsinki, Finland Mon, Mar 10 – Kollektivet Livet, Stockholm, Sweden Tue, Mar 11 – John Dee, Oslo, Norway Wed, Mar 12 – Pumpehuset, Copenhagen, Denmark Thu, Mar 13 – Logo, Hamburg, Germany Fri, Mar 14 – Chemiefabrik, Dresden, Germany Sat, Mar 15 – Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany Sun, Mar 16 – DVG Club, Kortrijk, Belgium
CONQUER DIVIDE have released a new video for ‘N E W H E A V E N’. Listen to the new song here: https://lnk.to/ConquerDivide
“N E W H E A V E N was born out of the idea that you’ll never be satisfied with what you have if you don’t define your expectations,” the band offers. “We got together in Atlanta with Johnny Andrews for this one, and he’s a musical mad scientist. We played with religious metaphors, although the song is not about religion. You throw your whole life into something, and then you finally reach the pinnacle and get to pull the proverbial curtain back, but it’s not what you expected at all. So now you need a new high to chase. We did crowd-sourced gang vocals on this one, and it was fun to make that come together.”
As for the accompanying video, the band shares, “This video was sort of a continuation from last music video where in the opening scene you see the Grim Reaper take his hood off to reveal he is now the priest overseeing the funeral. Kia figuratively ‘went to heaven’ and came back after realizing heaven wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.”
CONQUER DIVIDE — vocalist Kiarely Taylor, bassist/vocalist Janel Duarte, guitarist Isabel Johnson, drummer Samantha Landa, and guitarist Kristen Sturgis hail from the U.S., U.K., and Canada and have generated support from BBC Radio 1, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, SXM Octane, Revolver, Alternative Press, Loudwire, and more. The band will release Slow Burn on September 8 via Mascot Records, pre-order it here, and have now released fifth single “N E W H E A V E N”. The visual is rife with religious imagery but it’s hardly about religion, watch it here.
Conquer Divide will spend the rest of 2023 on the road — supporting Electric Callboy in late August through mid-September and with Icon For Hire in September and through late October.
Slow Burn continues to, well, burn at a fever pitch. Previous single “Atonement” has grabbed nearly 5 million streams, while “Paralyzed ” is over 3 million streams. “welcome2paradise” has surpassed 1.2 million streams.
Slow Burn ushers in a new era for CONQUER DIVIDE, one defined by breathtaking sonic refinement, intensely personal lyrical storytelling, and a seamless balance between hard-hitting modern metal and irresistible melody. Slow Burn is stacked with confessional expressions of vulnerability, frustration, and, ultimately, hope. Each song on Slow Burn summons forth brand new levels of catharsis. There are anthemic hooks throughout the energized songs, addressing social unrest (“system_failure”) and environmental destruction (“welcome2paradise”), with Biblical references (“N E W H E A V E N”), and intensely personal revelations of abuse (“the INVISIBLE,” “Playing w/ Fire”).
They’ve highlighted frustrations and struggles they’ve come across in the music industry on the album closer “gAtEkEePer.” “It’s a giant F U to all the industry gatekeepers who minimize women’s participation in rock and metal spaces,” they say. “Keep your damn gate. We’ll take the throne.”
Described by Rock Sound as a “monster” track “designed for arenas,” “Paralyzed” offered the first taste of CONQUER DIVIDE’s long-awaited album. Inspired by guitarist Kristen Sturgis’ “harrowing experiences as a nurse amid the pandemic” (Revolver Magazine), the emotional and vulnerable “Paralyzed” was nominated by Metal Hammer for Best Metal Song of 2022. Hammer said, “Shimmering notes of electronica mix with heavy metalcore beatdowns, but the true MVP of Paralyzed is the absolutely enormous chorus, an emotional call-to-arms with an explosive crescendo that calls to mind the instant anthem qualities of Spiritbox.”
Tracklist 1. Atonement 2. N E W H E A V E N 3. Paralyzed 4. welcome2paradise 5. PRESSURE 6. system_failure 7. playing w/ fire 8. Over It. 9. Afterthought.wav 10. the INVISIBLE 11. wide awake 12. OnlyGirl 12. gAtEkEePeR
CONQUER DIVIDE — the international five-piece band hailing from the U.S., U.K., and Canada who have generated accolades from Octane, Revolver, Alternative Press, Modern Drummer, Loudwire, and more — recently announced their new album. Slow Burn will arrive September 8 via Mascot Records. Pre-order it here.
The band — vocalist Kiarely Taylor, bassist/vocalist Janel Duarte, guitarist Isabel Johnson, drummer Samantha Landa, and guitarist Kristen Sturgis— have today shared the new single “the INVISIBLE.” Listen here.
” the INVISIBLE.” has many lived-in, emotional layers that paint a picture that takes you right back to your youth, especially if you are part of an alt scene and made to feel like an outcast,” the band explains, offering insight into the song. “It confronts the dynamic between your true self and your desire to be accepted by the ‘cool kids.’ One day, you realize that you don’t need to seek validation from those in a sad state of affairs. They project their insecurities onto others because they lack emotional maturity and self-esteem.”
Landing on the Billboard charts, the band’s 2015 self-titled debut racked up more than 30 million streams, driven by powerful tracks like the Kerrang! Awards Best Song nominee “At War.” After a hiatus, CONQUER DIVIDE re-emerged on the scene with the heavy and anthemic “Chemicals” in 2020, which Alternative Press called a “contender for best hard rock/metalcore crossover of the year.”
The following year, “Messy” became the No. 1 Most Added on Billboard’s Hard Rock Indicator Chart. Described by Rock Sound as a “monster” track “designed for arenas,” “Paralyzed” offered the first taste of CONQUER DIVIDE’s long-awaited sophomore album. Inspired by guitarist Kristen Sturgis’ “harrowing experiences as a nurse amid the pandemic” (Revolver Magazine), the emotional and vulnerable “Paralyzed” was nominated by Metal Hammer for Best Metal Song of 2022. “FCKBOI,” a collaboration with Electric Callboy, has been streamed over 13 million times on Spotify alone. They’ve had multiple singles on SXM Octane and were featured in the Next Wave Concert Series.
Slow Burn ushers in a new era for CONQUER DIVIDE, one defined by breath-taking sonic refinement, intensely personal lyrical storytelling, and a seamless balance between hard-hitting modern metal and irresistible melody. Slow Burn is stacked with confessional expressions of vulnerability, frustration, and, ultimately, hope. Each song on Slow Burn summons forth brand new levels of catharsis.
CONQUER DIVIDE — the international five-piece band hailing from the U.S., U.K., and Canada who have generated accolades from SXM Octane, Revolver, Alternative Press, Modern Drummer, Loudwire, and more — have just announced their new album. Slow Burn will arrive September 8 via Mascot Records. Pre-order it here. https://lnk.to/ConquerDivide
The band — vocalist Kiarely Taylor, bassist/vocalist Janel Duarte, guitarist Isabel Johnson, drummer Samantha Landa, and guitarist Kristen Sturgis— has also shared the video for new single “welcome2paradise.” And it lets out a thunderous roar. Watch it below.
“This song is special to all of us for a lot of reasons,” says Sturgis. “We really wanted to stretch our musical muscles and play around with time signatures. We recorded some of the production ourselves, including drilling sounds you’ll hear sprinkled throughout the song. Artistically, we really stepped out of our comfort zone and we ended up with something really special.”
The song also takes a close look at a very important topical issue.
“It’s sad that humans don’t care about our environment,” Sturgis continues. “I was especially inspired by a situation close to my heart. I live on the Great Lakes, which contain 20% of the earth’s freshwater. There is a 70-year-old pipeline called Line 5 that is in very rough shape and runs through the water where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet. The current is especially turbulent there. The pipeline keeps getting hit by boat anchors. I am not here to preach anti-fossil fuels, as electric vehicles come with their own environmental tolls, and touring bands have to drive gas-guzzling vehicles to play for our fans. But if a spill happened in that spot, it’s in the worst possible place, due to the strong currents. A Great Lakes spill could affect major cities like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Windsor, Toronto, and Rochester, NY. Tourism, fishing industries, and boating would all be affected. And with all of the droughts happening around the U.S., it’s going to be everyone’s problem soon. Right now, there’s just one small local organization trying to draw attention to it, but If I can do anything with this song release, it would be to shine a spotlight on something I care so much about.”
Landing on the Billboard charts, the band’s 2015 self-titled debut racked up more than 30 million streams, driven by powerful tracks like the Kerrang! Awards Best Song nominee “At War.” After a hiatus, CONQUER DIVIDE reemerged on the scene with the heavy and anthemic “Chemicals” in 2020, which Alternative Press called a “contender for best hard rock/metalcore crossover of the year.”
The following year, “Messy” became the No. 1 Most Added on Billboard’s Hard Rock Indicator Chart. Described by Rock Sound as a “monster” track “designed for arenas,” “Paralyzed” offered the first taste of CONQUER DIVIDE’s long-awaited sophomore album. Inspired by guitarist Kristen Sturgis’ “harrowing experiences as a nurse amid the pandemic” (Revolver Magazine), the emotional and vulnerable “Paralyzed” was nominated by Metal Hammer for Best Metal Song of 2022. “FCKBOI,” a collaboration with Electric Callboy, has been streamed over 13 million times on Spotify alone. They’ve had multiple singles on SXM Octane and were featured in the Next Wave Concert Series.
Slow Burn ushers in a new era for CONQUER DIVIDE, one defined by breathtaking sonic refinement, intensely personal lyrical storytelling, and a seamless balance between hard-hitting modern metal and irresistible melody. Slow Burn is stacked with confessional expressions of vulnerability, frustration, and, ultimately, hope. Each song on Slow Burn summons forth brand new levels of catharsis.
Track list
1. Atonement 2. N E W H E A V E N 3. Paralyzed 4. welcome2paradise 5. PRESSURE 6. system_failure 7. playing w/ fire 8. Over It. 9. Afterthought.wav 10. the INVISIBLE 11. wide awake 12. OnlyGirl 12. gAtEkEePeR
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