INTERVIEW: THE WORD ALIVE IN CONVERSATION WITH TYLER “TELLE” SMITH
Interview by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Technical difficulties were not going to stop this interview with The Word Alive! I went old school fast typing on zoom and scribing to “talk-type” to lead vocalist Tyler “Telle” Smith about their coming tour to Australia with Escape The Fate as the communication lines to the US were intermittent.
What is vital to know is that The Word Alive are back! The band is in a great place as they celebrate the 15th anniversary of ‘Deceiver’, the 10th anniversary of ‘Dark Matter’, and almost three years of their fabulous album ‘Hard Reset’ being released.
“The band is looking forward,” stated Telle. “Our purpose was to turn the ship around. And, in turning it, to the sound of music that we love to write and play. We wanted to write an album like ‘Hard Reset’ that combined our love of metalcore, Nu-metal, and our own experimentation. It’s almost like a best of album. We wanted to know what that would sound like? And, I think we made that record”.
The album ‘Hard Reset’ is an absolutely amazing statement about death and rebirth: a new beginning.
“Yes,” explained Telle. “That was exactly what we were driving at as a band. We wanted to cover that perspective of starting fresh. Leaving the older self behind and moving forward. But keeping that drive to dynamic live performance”.
Telle continued. “We have been writing a new album. We are 70% there. We definitely are 100% done with six songs that are fully ready. After the Australian tour with Escape The Fate, we will go back to writing and recording our last few songs. Then, we will take the new songs on a headline tour around the US, Canada, and festivals like Louder Than Life. The band needs to be sure that the next album is one we will all be happy to play for the next 3 years”.
The Word Alive are joining with Escape The Fate to play concerts across the nation.
“It’s so good to be back! This tour makes sense for us. We are so excited to be coming back. But what we really want to do is our own headline tour of Australia,” mused Telle. “We are so lucky to be coming back with Escape The Fate, we love that band, we like touring with them, and so it’s going to be great fun”.
“Jose and I have been to Australia before, but the other guys haven’t. I am so excited to see how they react. Australian fans and audiences are so good. There is a real love of live music, and the shows are insane,” exclaimed Telle. “The fans can expect a throwback set. A tight 45 minutes with our best songs. We are going to cover songs from ‘Deceiver’, ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Life Cycles’, and ‘Hard Reset’. The band is focused on delivering that tight energy. We want to give the fans a great taster of our work, but hope you want to hear more. It’s wonderful to be part of this tour, and we have never been in Australia in winter”.
There was rapid typing about winter in a big country, Newcastle, you need your hoodie, Geelong, pack your winter woollies and gloves, and Brisbane, it’s “sock weather”. Telle laughed:
“I almost melted in Brisbane last time I was there. It was like being on the sun. It’s the most sun I have seen or felt”. I explained that socks were needed now especially for June. “It suits us,” stated Telle. “We love playing high-intensity gigs. We can go harder!”
Tyler Smith, Jose DelRio, Logan Abernethy, and Devin Attard (The Word Alive) will be here next week, with extra socks and full sound! This is a gig not to miss!
Tickets are on sale now for Escape The Fate and The Word Alive joint Australian Tour 2026.
I really want to thank Tyler “Telle” Smith for his grace and patience in conducting this interview without sound. The World Alive were sounding great but Oz was a bit silent!
The tour dates are:
• Friday 5 June: Liberty Hall, Sydney NSW - 18+ concert
• Saturday 6 June: Bar On The Hill, Newcastle NSW - 18+ concert
• Sunday 7 June: The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD - 18+18+ concert
• Tuesday 9 June: Magnet House, Perth WA - 18+ concert
• Thursday 11 June: The Gov, Adelaide SA - 18+ concert
• Friday 12 June: The Wool Exchange, Geelong VIC - 18+ concert
• Saturday 13 June: 170 Russell, Melbourne VIC - 18+ concert
