Nevertel, ‘Start Again’ | The Album Story

Nevertel guide us through the creation of their latest album, ‘Start Again’, out September 12 via Epitaph Records.

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When they began making music together under the name Living Fiction just over a decade ago, the three members of Nevertel only dreamed of standing where they are today. A trio of childhood friends from Florida, days spent hanging out, playing video games, and working on song ideas together have grown into something utterly life changing – but that was never their intention.

Toying around with the possibilities posed by social media, they unknowingly struck gold in 2023 when a video of a rehearsal in their storage space went viral on TikTok. The hypnotic pop, R’n’B, rap and metal infusion of 2021 album ‘Everything In My Mind’ taking the scene by storm, skyrocketing the band onto national radio and capturing the attention of record labels, since finding their audience they’ve been unstoppable.

“It created way more hype than we thought it would,” reflects Raul Lopez, thinking back to the unexpectedly huge response.

“After you write an album, you don’t really think about writing another album straight away, but we had a bunch of singles ready to go. During that time, we had a session in Memphis with David Cowell. We wrote ‘Criminal’ there, and suddenly all of those other songs we’d written between 2022 and 2025 made sense. We got this tunnel vision, we dialled in, and we created a record we couldn’t be prouder of.”

Nevertel know that now is their moment, and with ‘Start Again’ they’re grabbing it firmly between both hands. Written with no pressure or limitations, leaning deeper into their creativity than ever before, they’re making no secret of their ambition here. Songs made to fill out arenas, to be labelled as ‘rock classics’ for generations to come, it’s the product of a band well aware that the whole world is theirs for the taking. The soundtrack to a triumphant rebirth fuelled by honesty, vulnerability and a shared unwavering belief in what they’ve built, Nevertel welcome you to ‘Start Again’

THE SOUND

The pieces of the puzzle slotting into place once ‘Criminal’ was written, a vision that had seemed abstract suddenly felt firmly anchored. The next chapter of their band driven by the excitement still buzzing through them after their debut tour supporting Beartooth, the goal became to create an album overflowing with energy.

“Our last record had heavier parts, but it was also very chill, spacey and ambient. With the newer stuff, we wanted a lot more hype,” explains vocalist Jeremy Michael.

“We want people to have something to move to at our shows, something to get the crowd going. ‘Criminal’ became the blueprint for that feeling, and everything after that had to fit within that. It’s about making music that’s timeless, and we pushed ourselves to make things that felt larger than life and more honest than we were used to.”

That spirit binds every single note on ‘Start Again’, from the metallic riffs and soaring chorus of ‘Starting Over’ to the blistering nostalgia of pumped-up anthem ‘ICON’. Recorded in various locations including Raul’s home in Tampa, Memphis, Los Angeles, and even from a house in Australia, each track has its own distinct personality, its own quirks, and its own vital role to serve in the album’s story. An absolute ‘all killer, no filler’ effort, it’s a statement that they’re ready to take on whatever lies ahead.

“You need the feeling of that kid in the basement, because that’s what inspires you to try new things and play around with music, but we’re thinking bigger now too,” Jeremy nods.

“We want to play arenas,” Raul bluntly adds.

“When I changed my studio rig into a mobile one, it instantly started to become fun again. We were in different environments, working with different people, and that brought new ideas. Being in California and seeing the palms, the mountains, disconnecting from everything… We were focused on getting up every day and writing great songs. It was such a breath of fresh air.”

“We’re still doing this in a home studio, but we wanted to present it in a bigger way. It’s about tapping into that inner kid in us, writing songs that I would freak out about if I heard them when I was 14 years old playing Halo. We wanted to create a massive rock album that we can listen to in ten years’ time and say, ‘Damn, I’m proud of this’.”

THE LYRICS

Friends since high school, each member of Nevertel thought there was little they didn’t know about their bandmates, but sharing a tour bus for weeks on end can change that. Living with one another for the first time, spending almost every hour of the day in each other’s company, with every inside joke and petty argument their brotherhood strengthened. That unbreakable foundation is what sits at the heart of ‘Start Again’.

“We started to talk about things that previously we would have kept inside,” Raul says.

“We opened up more, and we talked about what was going on at home. We had those hard conversations about life, and we didn’t shy away from them. It made our bond even stronger as grown men. We’d always been great friends as kids, but when you’re dealing with more serious issues, it gets tougher to talk about. Having those conversations and putting those into this record really helped.”

Allowing the trio to delve deeper than ever before, the songs on ‘Start Again’ reflect on everything from personal failures and trauma to their shared childhood and the triumphs they’ve experienced at one another’s side. Encouraged by their collaborators to let their conversations naturally lead the way to the music, the result is 13 songs that unashamedly bask in their vulnerability, reminding us that it’s okay to feel every emotion that comes our way.

“We had never written music in that way before. We’d always started with an instrumental, and then thought about what that sound felt like,” Jeremy explains.

“Thinking about each song as a conversation led to us talking about different things and dealing with more mature themes. This record is a new chapter of vulnerability, and we’re trying to push ourselves to stay true to who we are. Our hope is that by doing it that way, we can be a band that even someone who doesn’t like rock could enjoy. We want to bridge that gap between rock and hip-hop, like the bands that we grew up listening to did. If we were kids finding our first rock band, this is the feeling we’d want it to have.”

THE COLLABORATORS

Prior to ‘Start Again’, Nevertel worked exclusively as a unit of three. Inviting outside influences into the process for the first time, it presented a learning curve, but also an opportunity for fresh perspective. Teaming up with songwriter and producer Gianni Taylor – who recently worked with Bring Me The Horizon – he helped ease their transition from an entirely DIY approach to a collaborative force to be reckoned with.

“That guy is an angel,” Raul smiles.

“He’s always down to do whatever, and he’s a great vibe. We sometimes get in our heads with songs, and it gets to the point where we don’t even know if it’s good anymore. Gianni would make the mood great again in those moments. We’d go outside, hang out together, then come back and write a banger. He’s so talented, and it’s an honour to work with him.”

“It felt like having another friend we had known since high school,” Jeremy adds.

“He fit so perfectly into our group, and the melodies he would write and the lyrics he would come up with were all things we would have thought of. We were on the exact same wavelength.”

With the record’s mixing completed by Dan Lancaster (Don Broco, One OK Rock, Blink-182) and mastering handled by Ted Jensen (Green Day, GHOST, Spiritbox), it’s fair to say that the songs on ‘Start Again’ were in very capable hands from beginning to end. Working only with creatives who matched their energy and understood their vision, it makes sense that labelmates Sleep Theory also played a part. A friendship blossoming between the two bands whilst hyping each other up on TikTok, they knew that they needed to get vocalist Cullen Moore involved somehow.

“We did some Airbnb sessions in California where Cullen was able to come and visit us. With Raul’s mobile studio, we were able to demo some song ideas to see what it would sound like if he was singing on it,” guitarist Alec Davis explains.

“We had two or three different ideas, but we ended up not using them. When we got back home, we sat down to write again, and I remember listening to the ending of ‘Did It All’. The way that it ends sounds like the start of another song, and I’ve always wanted to do a transition like that. Right from the get-go, I had the main riff for ‘Break The Silence’. The light bulbs came on, and we realised this was the one that we needed Cullen on. It came together so quickly, and getting to play it live during their set on tour was such a moment.”

THE TITLE

During the process, there were a few potential album titles tossed around. Searching for something that perfectly encapsulated this era of their band, ‘Criminal’ and ‘Starting Over’ were contenders at points, but everything clicked when the trio listened back to a slow ballad track they had written in 2023. That same track now serving as the album’s prelude, the phrase ‘Start Again’ felt like it had been staring them in the face the whole time.

“It’s a record about second chances, starting new, and reinventing yourself. No matter where you’re at in life, you can start again and make something better out of a terrible situation,” Jeremy explains.

“We’ve gone through a lot in our personal lives whilst writing this album, and in so many ways, it felt like our lives were ending. Major chapters in our life were closing, and it felt very dark for a long time. What a beautiful idea it is to know that no matter what’s happened, you can always start again.”

Starting over not just in their personal lives, but as musicians, those two words speak volumes about where Nevertel find themselves right now. No longer an independent internet project, but a band with a strong team behind them, playing shows and taking on the world, it marks a vital turning point.

“We’ve always had that camaraderie between us, but we’ve had to learn how to run a business together and how to live together effectively,” Jeremy continues.

“We’re hitting the reset button on so many things, and it’s the perfect timing for this record. Everything in our lives has added up to this, and this record tells a beautiful story about how no matter what you lose… There’s always hope.”

THE FUTURE

Building up a fair amount of buzz over the last few years, Nevertel are fully aware of how many eyes are on them right now. Learning to tune out the noise and pay less attention to the opinions of others, with ‘Start Again’ their confidence in their own abilities has grown, but their egos are fully in check. Fully focused on making great music, finding their people, and taking these songs to the biggest stages possible – the trio have their sights set on following their dreams.

“I hope these songs can not only validate what people are going through, but can remind them that it’s not the end,” Jeremy finishes,

“Whatever you’re going through, someone else has been there before, and they’ve made it out the other side. We poured ourselves into these songs, so I hope others can find pieces of themselves in them too.”

“At the same time though, I want someone to hear songs like ‘Break The Silence’ and think, ‘I want to learn that riff’. At one point, all of us heard a song and thought, ‘I want to play that’, and ultimately that’s how we got here. I would love for people to have that moment with our music.”