“Blood,” the 10th studio album by Atlanta rock band Collective Soul, is chock full of crunching guitar riffs, thought-provoking lyrics and just enough production quirks to blur the line between classic rock and new wave.
In other words, it sounds like Collective Soul.
“Once you become successful, you can’t change too much,” says the band’s frontman, E. Roland. “I think you can experiment, which we do. I mean, if I came in and said, ‘Hey guys, I have a song I want to put a banjo on,’ first, my brother [guitarist Dean Roland] would knock me over the head, and second, our fans might react in the same way, because there’s an expectation. With that being said, there’s always U2. But we’re not U2.”
Like “Shine,” the hit single which put the band on the map in 1994, much of its music contains spiritual messages and religious imagery. The new album drops references to the Virgin Mary, a crucifix and a “Jesus piece” — and that’s just in the first four songs.
“It’s very honest, because I’m a preacher’s son, and for 18 years of my life that’s pretty much all I knew. … That’s just what I grew up on,” Roland says. “And I have no problem being spiritual and just being honest. If you’re not spiritual, don’t be, but as a songwriter you have to be honest with yourself.”
The band recorded enough for a double album, but management advised against releasing a two-disc effort. The rest of the songs will come out on a second album next year, says Roland.
Collective Soul — the Rolands, Will Turpin (bass), Jesse Triplett (lead guitar) and Johnny Rabb (drums) — often road tests new songs before recording them. “Right as Rain,” the infectious lead single on “Blood,” was even included on 2017’s live album.
“Our fans are awesome, I think they want to hear new music, and we see that when we perform,” Roland says. “We saw that when we played ‘Right as Rain’ two years before they heard it on a recording. And a lot of what we do is we consider that our preproduction. Back in the day you’d go in the studio and you’d work the songs out, then you would record them. With us, we go and play it live and see what the fans think.”
A resurgence in interest in ’90s music has led to package tours featuring bands like Collective Soul joining up with Tonic and Gin Blossoms, who were on the summer portion of Collective’s Soul’s ongoing 25th-anniversary tour.
“Gin Blossoms came out a couple years before us,” Roland says of the “Hey Jealousy” hitmakers. “You do it long enough, you do it for the right reasons: first, to make the best music you can and then to enjoy yourself while you’re doing it, and to be around people like Robin [Wilson] and the rest of the boys, I mean, it’s fun. They hang out on the bus. We’re buds. It’s like a PG-13 frat house,” he says, laughing.
A stricter rating might have been needed for the band’s 1995 tour — when it opened arena dates for the notoriously debaucherous Van Halen.
“We were green, and they kind of took us under their wing and helped us and explained a lot of things, not only from how to perform but business,” says Roland, adding that “there were some fun nights.” “To this day I still talk to Sammy [Hagar] and Michael [Anthony] three or four times a year, just to check in and shoot the s–t.”
The band will perform Saturday at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey, and Wednesday at The Paramount in Huntington, New York. The setlists have been a balance between “Blood” material and hits like “Shine,” “Gel,” “December” and “Heavy.”
Asked which of the old tunes hold a special place in his heart, Roland doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“Well, of course, Shine’s going to be the first because it’s the one that gave us recognition, it gave us success, it gave us the ability to make more music,” he says. “So that one is first and foremost. And every time we play it live, it takes on its own energy and its own spirit. I don’t go home and listen to Collective Soul, but man, I sure enjoy playing it live with the boys.”