The symphonic rock-ballad, “City Of Strangers,” is the debut single off Night Wild’s upcoming 17-track debut Rock-opera album All The Should Have Been. The Seattle-based progressive alt-rock band is releasing a chapter at a time of the album until all songs have been released in November of this year.

The single represents the cold sweat realization that the album’s central character has been put in prison and it is also a metaphor for imprisoning his mind based on his past experiences.

Singer-songwriter Seth has woven his own story into the fabric song, inspired by the symbolic prison of addiction that he lived in, persevered through, and slowly learned to embrace and navigate in his life. The track serves as a testament to the long ongoing journey of healing.

The nature of “City of Strangers” invites everyone’s individual perspective and interpretation to the overall message. One verse begins with: And down that corridor I hear / Men throw themselves against steel cages / Oh God, tell me this is not what we’re living for / Oh tell me there’s more.

The metaphorical song is meant to speak to whatever the listener needs, and much like the song’s lyrics, Seth does not wish to put its interpretation into a box. 

“I want listeners to feel whatever they feel, whatever it means to them, whatever experience it brings up for them,” he says. “Whether it’s people who have actually served time in prison, are currently serving time in prison, or feel like they’re in an emotional prison – whatever their experience is, I’m a passionate believer in not over-prescribing how to experience the music.” 

The lyrics continue: And here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go again / In the web of stories, And the lies that get in / And brother, you’re not, broken you’re just tired of the cold / And you have built the prison, and you guard the door.

“Even though it feels so convincing and it feels so real that he lives in this prison, that is not the truth,” says Seth. “If he can really step back and realize – that he’s the architect of the whole thing.”

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