Surviving or overcoming insuperable obstacles is often referred to with the slang expression, “Hell or High Water.” Ironically the alternative rock band As Cities Burn has chosen to title their third studio project after said expression, which releases April 21, 2009 on Tooth & Nail Records.

The band’s fearless leader since the release of their sophomore project, Cody Bonnette, connects the dots with the title and content of the album. “This title just sat well with my soul. It felt like a closed chapter in our book moving onto something new.” 

Recorded in Cleveland, TN at First Street Studio over three months, Hell or High Water, takes the band in a new direction with more focus on creating an ambiance and musical groove as opposed to the previously recorded heavily guitar and scream-o-driven albums. Produced primarily by Bonnette along with the aid of Tyler Orr, Jae Ham, Robert Chisolm and Tyler Schwindt, the album was recorded to sound more similar to the band’s live sound.

“I was tired of songs that had so many riffs and changes,” shares Bonnette of the musical direction. “We wanted to create an album with that groove-ability that gets your head bobbing as well as your mind thinking.”

One such track that fits the goals of the album is the steady paced “Daughter,” which showcases a somber jazz feel with Bonnette’s sultry voice. “Made Too Pretty” bears a spiritual correlation to being made in Christ’s image, “We bear your name and you let us say you are something that you are not...” The song ends with the accusation that that humans don’t understand why they were created, “We don’t want a god we don’t see ourselves; don’t see we’re in need; I think we became too pretty so much we don’t see it yet.”

Hell or High Water is comprised of many tracks that will compel the listener to understand that people and things change. With that in mind, the band asks fans to come to their own conclusions on the meaning and significance of the tracks rather than being told.