The Faceless hit a rough patch of a few years but lately seemed to turn a new leaf. Their latest release, In Becoming a Ghost was acclaimed by both critics and fans. Our own Michael Pementel gave the album a 9.5 score out of 10. They have been back on the road and even tweeted a promise not to cancel any more tours.
We are at the airport, waiting to board our flight to the UK. We will not cancel tours anymore. We love our fans and hope to see all of you at a show.
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
— The Faceless (@THEFACELESSband) January 31, 2018
Guitarist Michael Keene, very much the leader of the band was recently interviewed by TheMetalTris, and revealed what could be partially or fully to blame for what's been going on with the band business-wise the last few years. When speaking of the lyrics for the new album, Keene revealed for the first time publicly that he is a recovering drug addict. (Emphasis ours)
“I obviously was in a pretty dark place when I was writing lyrics… I am a recovering drug addict, and a lot of [the lyrics are] about drugs. I had a few rough years… [writing the lyrics] was a very cathartic process, I think. I needed to get it out. I think I needed to verbalize what was going on in my head and all the mess in my head, and actually verbalizing it made it real to me, and I realized, ‘Okay, I can lock this away here and move forward.'”
That is a very big step of Keene to admit such a thing publicly, it's a huge step to recognize the problem and work to fix it.
Keene also noted in the interview that he has "at least another Faceless album" left in him, "maybe two, maybe three" and noted that he's working on a solo project called Slaves and Masters.
“Another project I’ve been working on, which I haven’t talked about just because it hasn’t been ready… I’m trying to decide if I want to release it as an EP — I have five songs ready right now — or if I want to just continue writing more songs and make it a full-length album… but it’s just like a solo project i’m doing, and it’s called Slaves and Masters.”
Just going off the title alone, and knowing Keene's passion for bands like Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode, I'd hope Slaves and Masters is an industrial band.
Either way, The Faceless is one of the most original acts of the last decade and I'm rooting for them to make it happen.
