After Red, Violet arrived without much forcing. It showed itself as the writing moved on, with darker lyrics, harder music and a more exposed emotional core. The color thread gives each record its own mood while keeping the full album in view, instead of putting all the weight on one song title, and on Violet, that full picture is the point. It is a record with real range, from the force of “I’m a Mess (God Bless)” to the fragility of “Lipstick Stains”, held together by instinct, chemistry and a shared sense of where a song should go.
With a listening party first and the “So Much For Love” tour right after, the band are stepping into this release with a record that feels personal without turning inward. We spoke to Marc and Dian about when Violet revealed itself, what keeps their songwriting open, and why some moments only work when you leave them raw.
You said the honesty on Violet was not planned at first, and that the songs slowly revealed a common thread. When did you realise this album was turning into something more exposed than the records before it?
Marc (guitars): Violet came together naturally, and quite fast, after we finished its predecessor, Red. To be honest, I found Red more challenging in terms of craftsmanship and just getting it done. But we learned a lot from that process, so recording Violet felt more natural and easier. At the same time, there were more personal elements shaping the lyrics and the overall approach, so it touched me more. In that sense, making this album felt more vulnerable, and I think that comes through in the lyrics especially. Violet is a bit darker than Red. The music is harder, and the lyrics are more personal. It is probably also a sign of the times we are living in. Finishing the album was a psychological ride, and I only really realised in the final stages how personal it had become.
Dian (vocals): It really just happened over the course of writing. The ideas, the riffs, the lyrics, the simple lines, the whole vibe of it, song by song, all of it felt like it came straight from the heart. Like Marc said, it came naturally. There was less thinking involved and much more feeling, aside from the obvious choices and fine-tuning that come with writing music. From the start, it already felt more personal. There was no agenda behind it. No plan, no target, we just went for it. “Quicksand” was actually the first song we wrote for the record, and from that point on it all seemed to fall into place. Maybe there were things we needed to get off our chests, but for me it was around the middle of the album when I realised Violet was taking on a darker, more sincere tone. It became more emotional, more honest, more true to whatever feeling was there. The more we wrote, the clearer that became.
“Colors create a different kind of picture in your head.”
Blue, Red and now Violet make that color thread feel deliberate. What is it about naming the albums this way that still feels right for the band?
Marc: I think using a song title or some other phrase would brand the album in a very different way. Colors signal progress and carry emotion. Words pin the album down too much. The moment you name a record after one song, that song automatically gets a different weight and sets certain expectations. I want the album to work as a whole. It is not one song, it is the sum of its parts. I like to think of our records more like classic rock albums. Every song is different, and they take you somewhere. The order matters. Maybe that sounds old-fashioned, but I still think there is real value in that, even with Spotify and this very fragmented, quick-access culture we live in now.
Dian: Colors create a different kind of picture in your head. They represent something more than they define it, and that gives people room to feel their own way into the record. For me, the color name helps unify the album as one complete piece of work rather than putting the focus on a few individual songs. Those songs can still stand on their own, but the album keeps its own identity. Using colors just feels like a better way of expressing what the record is while we are making it. Actual words can narrow the way people read the whole thing, and we never wanted that.
“Me in Enemy” deals with self-sabotage and the feeling of being your own obstacle. Why did that feel like the right song to open the campaign for this album?
Marc: Good question. For one, I like the wordplay in the title. It is also uptempo and has those rap elements, which is something new for us. In a way, it stands well as a representation of the album while still bringing something fresh, without losing the All Nine Yards identity. Choosing a first single is not always straightforward. We had some discussions in the band, but in the end this one felt like the natural choice.
Dian: That really is a good question. Like we said before, there was no real plan to make the album darker, it just turned out that way. “Me in Enemy” was one of the first really aggressive songs we wrote for the record, and it reflected that shift exactly. Darker, more all-out, no holding back. At the same time, it had something that reminded me of early and mid-2000s nu metal, and I thought, “You know what? I’m going to rap on this.” That was also something we had not done like that before. So the song felt like us, but in a way we had not shown before. That made it a strong opener. It feels familiar and unexpected at the same time, and it sets the tone for what comes after, musically, conceptually and lyrically. That is why it felt right as the first introduction to the album and as a way of saying hello again after some time since the last release.
There is a lot of range across the record, from the weight of “I’m a Mess (God Bless)” to the mix of sounds in “Quicksand” and the more fragile side of “Lipstick Stains”. When you were building Violet, what held all those songs together as one album?
Marc: We do not really think in those terms. What comes naturally to us just comes, and then it fits. Everyone in the band brings a wide range of influences, from pop to really heavy metal to old-school rock. At the end of the day, if we are all happy with something, it becomes a song. Of course there is sometimes back and forth over certain elements, but I cannot really remember a time when one of us thought something was great and another thought it was complete rubbish. We tend to click when it comes to final direction, and that is part of what holds us together as songwriters. A good album needs surprise. And once you know us a bit, you start to hear certain lines and ideas running through everything. If one of our songs pulls you in, that usually opens the door to the rest.
Dian: I can only agree with that. Of course you have a style, and of course you have a kind of musical home base, but I do not see why I should limit myself to one thing. Music has so much to offer. As a writer, you can explore all of that and turn it into something that feels like your own. I think that is what makes All Nine Yards what it is. We are not one fixed thing. We are all of our influences and ideas at once, shaped in a way that feels right to us. If a song is good, it is good, whatever style it leans toward. I would say metalcore, rock and pop are the main pillars of what we do, and those elements take turns from song to song. That is not about meeting genre expectations. It is about following the full range of what we want to make. That is really the core of the band, and because we all click so well, we have built a space where all of that can exist together.
“It came straight from the bottom of my heart. I do not think I could have been more personal or more honest than that.”
“Incompleted” was recorded in a single vocal take to keep the moment intact. What was happening in that song that made you feel it had to stay that raw?
Dian: What can I say? It came straight from the bottom of my heart. I do not think I could have been more personal or more honest than that. It is a song dedicated to true love in the deepest sense. When I recorded it, I did not think, I just felt. That was the whole point. It is such an honest song with such a strong meaning, and I was completely in the moment when I sang it. That also connects back to the honesty that runs through the whole album. “Incompleted” has a wild story in general. Thomas, our rhythm guitarist, first showed us just bits of the idea in the rehearsal room, and we all immediately said, “Dude, that is awesome. This has to go on the record.” Not long after that, friends of mine got married, and I took that as a sign. I channelled that energy and let it come out from somewhere very deep. The song really is an ode to love. Unison, unity, heart and spirit – that is the closest I can get to what I think true love is. Becoming more than you were before through a real partnership that goes deep and completes you in a way words cannot fully explain. That was the picture in my head when I recorded it, and it came out exactly as it felt: completely real. And yes, getting it in one take felt pretty great too. It is such a beautiful song, and we are all proud of it. Major props to Thomas for that one. It also goes back to something important for us as a band: we are never going to shy away from a big rock ballad just because we are also a metal band.
You are putting this record out with a listening party first and then taking it straight onto the road with the “So Much For Love” tour. At this point, what do you most want people to understand about Violet before they even see you live?
Marc: That All Nine Yards is rock’n’roll. It is about fun and about living life. I think that sits at the core of most of our music. Do not take everything too seriously. Just enjoy life for what it is, with all its rough edges, low points and especially the highs. That is what makes it worth living. We are not overly political, and we are not overly negative. We try to say things as they are. What better way to celebrate that than to put the whole record on and have a few drinks while you do it?
Dian: Exactly that. People should get ready for four guys really going the whole nine yards. There is a lot in this album that asks you to feel things honestly and be real with yourself, but at the centre of it is still the idea of letting life in and enjoying the moment. That is why concerts exist in the first place. To be here, now, together, and make the most of that shared time. Violet is full of emotion, and excitement is one of them. We cannot wait to get out there and play these songs live.
