Cristina Scabbia sagt über die Single und ihre Erfahrungen beim Videodreh:
““Oxygen” is a powerful exploration of emotional struggle and inner conflict. The lyrics convey a sense of drowning in a toxic environment, both literally (in the video) and metaphorically, where attempts at salvation, represented by “oxygen” are somehow futile. This song encapsulates the feeling of struggling to break free from what holds us down, when the journey is filled with difficulty. It’s a raw anthem of vulnerability, resilience, and the courage to face what seems insurmountable. Having to stay in the water for so many hours during the video shoot was cathartic for me, the realisation that the pleasant sensation of floating could in an instant become dangerous and deadly if I wasn’t careful was very fitting with the song’s theme.”
Die Inspiration für "Sleepless Empire" kam während der Sessions zu "Comalies XX" (2022), dem Remake ihres gleichnamigen Albums. Das Schreiben und die Aufnahmen fanden in Norditalien zwischen Mailand, der Heimatstadt der Band, und Como statt, wo sich die SPVN Studios befinden. Wie schon bei den Vorgängeralben wurde die Produktion von Marco „Maki“ Coti Zelati übernommen, das Artwork wurde von dem talentierten italienischen Künstler Roberto Toderico gestaltet. Zwei weitere Talente bereichern das Album, nämlich die Gastsänger Randy Blythe von Lamb of God bei dem Song „Hosting the Shadow“ und Ash Costello von New Year's Day bei „In The Mean Time“.
Das neue Album erscheint am 14. Februar 2025 via Century Media Records und umfasst 11 neue Tracks, zu denen die Band sagt:
Sleepless Empire captures, through our eyes, the chaos of a generation trapped in a digital world that never stops, where social media consumes identity and every day pushes us one step closer to becoming soulless zombies. We find ourselves in between, having witnessed a full analogic world and the modern one, confronting the evolution and searching for a true meaning of it all. Throughout every song, the journey is an undercurrent of rebellion, a desperate cry to reclaim oneself in an era that seems to have lost its sense of time and reality.
Tracklist:
The Siege
Oxygen
Scarecrow
Gravity
I Wish You Were Dead
Hosting The Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
In Nomine Patris
Sleepless Empire
Sleep Paralysis
In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
Never Dawn
