Acceptance's debut album, Phantoms turned eleven this year. We have commentary on the album from vocalist Jason Vena. Enjoy the read and let us know your thoughts on Phantoms eleven years later. You can also preorder their new record on PledgeMusic.

How did you feel when the album came out?

At the time it was pretty surreal. We had made the black lines to battlefields EP on our own and ended up releasing it through Sony/Militia Group. Phantoms was a culmination of everything we had worked towards for the previous 5 plus years. We really felt like we were going to change the world with Phantoms...as naive as that sounds. But it was real so...

Where do you think the album fits in the band's legacy?

Well... as of now it's right in the center because it's really the only complete thing we have done. I think we are fortunate to be able to go back to that record and still feel proud about it. We're pretty excited about what this next phase of music will feel like.

How did the band approach writing?

At the time we had a pretty straightforward process. We all got into a room and jammed out ideas for hours... tried to record them, and then hoped they were good. Going into this [next] record has been such an interesting experience as we have only been in the same room for about a week or two over a year plus. It's definitely forced us to evolve our process

What inspired the lyrics?

When we wrote Phantoms I was really interested in looking at the different iterations of love within different relationships. I really wanted to approach it from a different perspective. Not love in the traditional sense of falling in love but more from a place of our misinterpretations of love.

What were your hopes and expectations for Phantoms during the writing and recording process?

We wanted to write a record that people would take inspiration from. We wanted people to connect emotionally to the music and we hoped it would all feel sincere.

When you were in the studio, how was the morale of the band?

Being that it was our first experience making a full length, we went into the process about as excited as you could be. I believe we had about 5 or 6 weeks in the studio. As we progressed there were definitely times that we hit a wall if you will. Mostly I remember some of the more unique things that happened. Aaron [Sprinkle] was such a great collaborator as a producer and we had such a string connection.

We would find ourselves doing things just to push ourselves or just to make the process more interesting. On "So Contagious", I had written this higher vocal part at the end of the song and I remember Aaron being like, "you stand at the other end of the room and I will set the mic up next to these piano strings, I think it will sound cool." It was moments like that that we took away from the process.

When was the last time you listened to the record? Are there memories and emotions that come back?

Well... now that we are playing again, I have listened to the record a bit. I think the last time was about 3 weeks ago. Most of the time I am listening just to remember the songs. At this point, 11 plus years later I'm really just listening for fun. There are definitely moments that hit me though... moments hat I'm pretty satisfied with.

What do you remember most about making the album?

Unfortunately some of the most memorable stories are tragic. One of the better ones was the process of re-recording "Different". Once the album was done, Sony decided they were going to push Phantoms pretty hard. They felt "Different" was a "single" but they believed it needed to have a big name producer attached to it. We were pretty adamant that we wanted to original version on the record but we ultimately agreed to re-record with another producer. We spent about a week and a ton of money recording and mixing the song.

When it came back, it was terrible. I couldn't believe how far off it was from the original version. It had lost any "real" feeling it may have had. Anyways, we told Sony that there was no way we would use that version and they ended up agreeing. The experience embodied everything you were told to avoid when putting a record out on a major label. I think we took some comfort in knowing we were able to keep what we had originally created with Aaron.

What sort of place was your life in when the album came out?

I was in a great place. Doing exactly what I wanted to be doing. I felt like we were putting out a record that people would love and it was all going to be perfect. The evolution from naive musician to jaded musician came faster than I would have ever expected. Actually, I would have told you that it would never happen. Unfortunately the focus for me shifted from the love of music and people to the pursuit of financial and personal success. That's when I realized it was time to stop.

Did you ever expect the album to have the influence it did?

I hoped it would...but if you would have told me people would still love this record 11 years later as Sony was pulling records off the shelf because of copy protection lawsuits, I would have said no way. At this point it still surprises me when people sing every lyric like its the only thing that matters to them. Pretty cool.

Do you remember what you were listening to at the time?

A lot of Jimmy Eat World and Coldplay. I'm sure there was other stuff but that's what I remember most.

Is there anything about the album you'd change?

I don't think so... I think the idea is to always push yourself to do the best you can and then look at everything after the fact as a moment of your life that you can recall, enjoy, connect with, whatever. I think when you want to hear something different or push yourself in a different direction, it's just time to write something new. That's really what is happening now. We realized that there was something new to say/write and the idea of making a new record became real. The last year and a half has been an amazing journey putting that all together into a collection of songs that i hope have the same impact as Phantoms did.

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