Today, we are pleased to present to your eyes and ears the official track-by-track commentary of Chicago hard rock outfit Aeraco’s sophomore album Baptized By Fire. As the album has yet to be released, we have exclusively embedded the title track within the article, just to give you a teasing taste of the impending catchy, fire-fueled musicality of Aeraco- all of which is for the betterment of your reading and listening experience. Enjoy!

“Back With Vengeance”

“Back With Vengeance” is about being stronger, tougher and more powerful than anything that comes your way. No matter what hits you and how hard you get knocked down, you always have to get back up. There is a lesson to be learned from every time you get your ass kicked. When you rise, you will rise enlightened, more durable, faster and better than you were previous to getting the shit kicked out of you. You will be back with vengeance. That’s why this song has more of a militant flow to it with a battle-like percussive edge. For me, it definitely gets my adrenaline going and I feel motivated whenever I listen to it. Finally, it’s definitely a salute to our first album All or Nothing. I feel like we came back with a vengeance with Baptized By Fire and it’s an awesome follow up to our freshman release.

“Cum to Rock”

Turn your brain off; don’t think and don’t analyze. This song is meant to be fun, straight forward and simple. The riff is super old school metal, the lyrics have a slight layer of cheese and overall the song is just fun to listen to. It’s about just letting loose and rocking out. Metal does not have to be so complex, progressive and complicated all the time so we wanted to break things down a little bit. Sometimes, the more straightforward a song is, the more relatable it is as a result. You can expect some old school guitar chugging and semi-predictable lyrics. All of the above is intended and it’s okay to indulge in “predictable” from time to time!

“Baptized By Fire”

Lies, broken promises, second guessing, heartache, pain, trusting yourself, all of the above, etc etc.. This song is about cutting your teeth and getting tossed in the fire. But from getting tossed in the fire, your trade off is knowledge and an understanding of how your passion works. We’ve dealt with shitty managers, terrible booking agents, promoters who are sharks, venues that are cheats, bands who don’t get it among a billion other things… The only way to learn is by throwing yourself in the fire and learning the business. Books, teachers, school- they will only teach you so much. The real learning is by just getting up off your ass and doing it. That’s what this song is about. It is the epitome of our lives as musicians and people in general.  Poetic verses intertwined with catchy pre-choruses and a cool metal riff followed by a chorus that highlights how we feel all amounts to a song called “Baptized By Fire.”

“Stab In Dim Light”

This number is about the one you can’t have. No matter how fair you play your ball game and despite your efforts, you just can’t get a grip on “her.” You wait by the phone, take her in when she needs you, provide warmth/shelter/food… but in the end, it’s never good enough. You get half-assed effort in return and barely get the time of day. You want to take a “stab” at really trying to make things work but her “stab” is one in dim light. She may hit the target and become the woman you want, she may stab you in the back by doing something you thought she was incapable of doing, or she may stab you right in the heart. In the end, you come to terms with knowing where you stand… and where you’re standing is nowhere on her radar.

“Tequila And Lime”

Go to the bar, order a shot of tequila, grab some lime wedges, and get so trashed you can’t remember her name… Or your name, for that matter. Have you ever been so heartbroken you just wish you could take back all the memories and forget everything that happened? This song is about when a relationship goes south and you find yourself at the bottom of a tequila bottle. You’re probably going to regret saying the things you say, or getting as trashed as you’re going to, but it makes no difference. You’re on a mission to wipe the slate clean and let loose for the night. Just be sure to drink responsibly and take a cab like I do in verse three, HA!

“All I Know”

All I Know is our first “ballad” type song. It starts soft and then moves into a heartfelt heaviness that lasts damn near until the end of the song. The title is derived from Socrates’ quote “all I know is I know nothing.” The song was derived from the opposition of Socrates words with the basis of there is only one thing that I know… and that is that I love “you.” The ‘you’ is subjective, but in the song’s case, it is about- no matter what- all you know is you love and care for one person and that one person alone.  There are a lot of emotions and thoughts to be had on this one, so I’ll leave the rest to the listener to interpret. What I can say is we wanted to give listeners a lighter side of Aeraco and something different. As a result of trying to throw a curve ball, we came up with lighter guitar riffs, softer gang vocal singing, a touch a synth and content that is definitely different than what we’ve done.

“Withered Rose”

“Withered Rose” is our horrific love tale that is entrenched in tragedy. It’s about a being that feeds off of energy and does whatever it takes to live by stealing yours.  It’s a tale of dancing with the devil and flirting with danger. Even though you know you are romanticizing with disaster, disaster itself has you hooked. As much as this beast is hooked on consuming your energy you are consumed with trying to save it from its haunting fate… a life of darkness and despair. You’re willing to be the martyr in the name of a foolish attempt to save something you know is hurting you. Despite your pain and regardless of your agony, you fight to show this beast a life without suffering. In the end, your efforts go unwanted.

“In Hell We Trust”

This is a song written from the devils point of view. It’s our literal version of a devil’s advocate. We explore the idea that the devil is angry with God because he feels his name, reputation and existence were sacrificed to glorify God himself. He has tried to feel, love and care but in the end it made no difference. The devil was tossed aside for God’s own benefit and the devil is not too happy about it. The devil feels the pedestal God has put himself on is narcissistic and unfair and mankind’s suffering is a direct result of this. In the end, the devil is willing to throw himself on the sword and annihilate his own existence to save the world from suffering anymore. We aren’t a satanic band to the slightest and certainly didn’t want to come off as blasphemous… We just wanted to write about an interesting point of view. What if the good guy is the bad guy and vice versa? That sorta thing.

“In Vain”

“In Vain” is about consumption and shit that just doesn’t matter. People spend so much time watching reality TV, competing with people they don’t even care about, and fighting for positive opinions from others. Our society has definitely encouraged a culture of materialism, consumption and indulgence. Nothing wrong with these things in moderation, but for a lot of people, it’s a way of life. Time moves quickly so it needs to be treated with more appreciation and not taken for granted so much. “In Vain” is about listening rather than talking; understanding opposed to seeking to be understood; internalizing the world and creating a legacy with the time you have in contrast to wasting time. We are captives to our own mental barriers. The only way to expand is to listen, understand and fight to know more. Reality TV, competing with uselessness and consuming needlessness are byproducts and side effects of living a life in vain. Go out there, use your time wisely, and kick some ass.

“Bad”

I think we all wanted a song that you’d enjoy listening to while cruisin’ on a motorcycle… This is that song. “Bad” is about having no rules, zero laws, and living life on your own terms. In this song’s case, it’s kind of the root of your own demise because excess and indulgence are highly encouraged with this track. Don’t live your life ‘In Vain’ but it’s okay to be ‘Bad’ once in a while! No? Too cliché’? Alright, Alright, HA!

“Fighting The Fame”

Ah, yes, a song that represents our middle finger to the music industry. What’s funny is we attack the music industry and record labels in this song and then signed a record deal right when we finished recording everything. I’ll laugh out loud and in my head at that hilarious piece of irony! Anyways, this song is about fighting the “non-existent” fame we “have” and is kind of us poking fun of ourselves with a bit of musical humility. The music industry is so plastic, over produced and fake sometimes, it definitely sets itself up as an easy target. “Fighting the Fame” is a promise to never fall into the trap of being consumed by fame and never forgetting where you come from. Aeraco won’t be asking for the green M&M’s to be removed from our backstage snack bowls any time soon… even though Van Halen had a very logical reason requesting that! HA!

“Lone Wolf”

“Lone Wolf” is narrated by a hunter who is hunting a wolf who turns into a woman. A pretty farfetched idea, but I caught some inspiration for this one a few years ago. The hunter is infatuated with this wolf/woman and spends his days hunting her. He wants to catch her so he can keep this beauty for himself. After he catches her he realized how badly he hurt her and the wrong he has done. He eventually releases her and comes to realize by releasing her, he gained the ultimate catch. You decide what you think that might be.

“The Outlaw”

“The Outlaw” is a bit heavier, a bit more progressive and shows a different side to Aeraco, I think. “The Outlaw” is about a guy who travels the West stealing valuables. But, instead of stealing gold, money and riches, he steals women’s hearts. He’s the renaissance man of the West that possess charm, charisma, wit, and everything else that a woman would want in a man. He uses that to get what he wants and then rides off to his next victim. In the end, he has a posse of women after him seeking revenge. But, he’s the man with no name, the one they can’t catch, and is too fast for love. He’s the outlaw.

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“Overall Aeraco’s album ‘Baptized by Fire’ is a really good mix of new rock/metal with some throwbacks to the 80s metal scene. The production is perfect, the vocals are stellar and the band just rocks this album from beginning to end.” – Empire Extreme