Bloodlust: Where Heartbreak Bleeds Into Death - An Interview With Heartbent.

Photos: Ray Lee Rose for TOP8 Scene

An Interview with Heartbent:

Bloodlust: Heartbreak or Death - the latest drop by Baltimore emo/post-hardcore band Heartbent came out in February, and we’ve been spinning it since. The album brings a visual story to listeners, bringing the ultimate goth vibes to post-hardcore. After catching up with the band during the kickoff of their tour in Nashville, we got the chance to chat about the new album. 

The name inspo started from a quote: “Love ends in heartbreak or death.” That began the 10-track concept piece, following the story of a vampire couple. “Their tale inevitably ends in Heartbreak for the woman, Dawn, & death for the man, Damien,” frontman Alex Folmer explains. “I didn’t add the bloodlust part until much later, and I feel like it’s very fitting given the vampiric themes of the album. If all goes to plan, this album is just the first story in the bloodlust chronicles.” And honestly? That kind of project really reels us in. It immediately throws us back to the storytelling era of Alesana and their Annabel Trilogy, when albums weren’t just drops, but stories you could escape into. If Heartbent turns this into a series, it could be one of the most unique projects in this current era of emo.

Naming the album after the single ‘Bloodlust’ was no accident; it’s a track that showcases the talent and diversity Heartbent has to offer. “The song has metalcore moments, a huge chorus, lustful verses, and is packed full of metaphors and Easter eggs about the album,” Alex mentions how the song is the climax of the story. “It’s ultimately about being painfully self-aware while losing self-control.”

Heartbent has a unique way of telling a story with their music and keeping you hooked, and they say the making of this album was a unique experience for them. “Originally, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the second Heartbent album, then one day out of nowhere, I was manically hit with inspiration to make our album a story about vampire lovers. It was honestly a life-changing experience to write the songs while writing the story. Creating a whole world around this album really pushed & validated myself as an artist.” 

Though the concept is exciting, Alex says the writing process wasn’t. “It was mostly me in my bedroom writing the story & lyrics, sessions with Neel Massey to match music to the story, and then studio time with Eric Taft to bring it all together.” 

Out of all of the songs on the album, Alex suggests new listeners should check out is one that steps outside of the box from Heartbent’s usual sound: ‘I Want You (Body & Soul).’ The track tells the story of the characters falling in love, Alex stating it’s why it was written as a pop song. “It’s supposed to feel like things are finally going your way/like all of the bad things that you’ve been through happened for a reason to bring you to this moment. There’s also a lot of dark foreshadowing in this song that shows how love can turn into obsession/loss of self.”

The one thing Alex says he wants people to take away from Bloodlust: Heartbreak or Death is that they are here to carve their own path and create community, “I want people to see this area of Heartbent and realize that we’re more than just a typical rock band, I want them to be able to lose themselves in this world that we’re creating through the concept albums & I want them to find excitement & solace in joining our growing community.”

The work they put into this project speaks for itself. Heartbent is creating their own career from the ground up, DIYing it where they have to. They headed out to tour the album in February, and completely did it themselves.  “Honestly, I just booked us this tour because no one else would.” Alex shares, “Something I’ve learned in this album cycle is that no one is going to do anything for you and that you need to lock in and do it yourself. I spent my younger years dreaming of going on tour and hoping that it would just happen; it never did (except for when we got added to the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus tour, but that was an act from god in my opinion).”

With such a massive concept album, the band wanted to make sure their tunes were heard (as they should be). “I wanted to make sure that as many people as possible could hear it, so I locked myself in my room for two months and came out with a very successful, fully self-booked 12-day album release tour. I really believe that we can do whatever we want to in this life as long as we lock in and push ourselves. This is something I hope to inspire our fans to do.” 

The dedication to the craft and growing their band is evident and admirable, especially in this day and age, where some artists solely rely on social media without putting in the effort when it comes to the physical side of being a musician. You can tell this band wants to succeed, and they’re paving their own way to just that: “almost anything is possible if you work hard enough.”

Their tour kicked off in Nashville the night before the album dropped, celebrating the beginning of this era in the best way possible, with their fans “Our former guitar player Neel Massey who I wrote the album with actually lives in Nashville now so it was a super beautiful and cathartic experience celebrating the release of the record with him as well as with our fans.” 

Now that the run is complete, Heartbent assured us that there will be more coming. “We’re planning to hit the ground running with this album! We currently have two more small tours confirmed for this year and plan to keep booking more!” Go say hey to the guys at the merch table and keep a look out for new Heartbent goods that are on the way.

“Check out the new record and music video, we have more music videos, tours, and a comic book coming next ❤️‍🔥”

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TOP8’s Take?

We’re SO ready for a Heartbent 2026, with a fun (and emo to the core) concept, we’re excited for everything that’s coming. As for the album? There can never be enough stories/music about vampires. It's something that can easily be overdone, but Heartbent did an amazing job at telling a story and making you want more. It’s a heartbreaking story about two lovers who will do anything for each other, that old school type of love that some of us have dreamed of, BUT it wouldn’t be a dark twisted love story if it wasn’t making you feel quite literally everything at once. You can easily picture the couple’s tragic tale, and we’re excited for you all to get lost in the Bloodlust.