I See Stars Premiere New Single "Eliminator" From Upcoming New Album "THE WHEEL"

I See Stars have officially titled their long-awaited new album “THE WHEEL”, marking their first full-length release since 2016’s Treehouse. Set to arrive on September 12th via Sumerian Records, the 14-track effort has been years in the making. The track “Eliminator” marks the latest single to be released from THE WHEELnow available for streaming via YouTube and Spotify for you below. It joins an already revealed selection of songs set to appear on the album, including “DAMAGE DONE”, “Drift”, “are we 3ver?”, “SPLIT”, and “Anomaly”.

Despite the nearly decade-long gap, work on the album began during the pandemic, when the band ultimately decided to scrap an earlier version of the record.

Bassist Jeff Valentine reflected on the benefit of that reset:

“It gave us the opportunity to take a step back and really dive into what we wanted to actually dig in and write. Not that what was done before was bad, but this gave the four of us an opportunity to sit in a room with each other and just write.”

Adds frontman Devin Oliver:

“It’s really kind of a special piece and you feel that in the journey when you’re listening to the album front to back. You feel us swimming in the mystery of what life was doing and where it was taking us.”

David Bendeth (Breaking Benjamin, Paramore) helmed production duties on THE WHEEL, while Zakk Cervini (Spiritbox, Papa Roach) handled the bulk of the mixing. Select tracks also received finishing touches from GRAMMY Award-winner Tom Norris (Lady Gaga, Lil Tecca).

The concept behind the album is rooted in a unique creative tool the band devised — a digital wheel. This randomized selector was used to determine which track they would focus on each day. Keyboardist/programmer Andrew Oliver explained:

“We would throw all the songs onto this website wheel as well as some dumb, totally not creative thing in there that would like sidetrack us—but purposefully. It was this comedic approach that we were taking every day, where whatever the wheel told us to do, we’d do. It had these zany sound effects, but also created this weird vibe where we were like ‘We’ve just got to trust fate here.’ We’re all obsessed with fate and letting things happen as they might, so the sound effect was an obvious thing for us to include—and then it took shape into a much larger concept.”

Adds Devin:

“What I really loved about the wheel concept was it wasn’t our choice. It was our choice to leave it to chance, yes, but we trusted the universe to point us in the right direction by spinning the wheel. It started off as a joke, but turned into this thing that became really important for us.”

The deeply personal track “carry on for you” was written in tribute to Devin and Andrew’s late uncle, whose passing left a profound mark on the band. Additionally, frontman Devin Oliver's battle with intracranial hypertension — a serious neurological condition — heavily influenced the emotional weight of the album.

Reflecting on how these experiences shaped the record, Devin shared:

“It made me very familiar with the hospital. I was hospitalized for months on end and that lasted for about two years of my life. So a lot of this record is about that. I don’t deal with the chronic pain that I had from that anymore, and some would say the condition is in remission, but it’s really hard for me to listen to some of these songs—truly—because there were a lot of moments writing this record where I didn’t want to be alive. That’s really hard for me to admit, because I’m not that person who talks about this stuff openly. I talk about it through our music—my traumas come out through my artistic expression. So listening to the record really gets emotional for me, because I’m not in the same place I once was. I’m super grateful to not be in all that pain.”

Collectively reflecting on the new album, THE WHEEL, I See Stars offered the following statement:

“The last time we spent this much time on a record was our debut album, ‘3D‘. ‘THE WHEEL‘ is a time capsule capturing the past seven years of our lives. It’s a culmination of everything we’ve experienced individually, together, and as human beings navigating the chaos of the world. While we don’t plan to wait this long before releasing another album, we’re deeply grateful for the time it took to make this one. We poured ourselves into it, and we hope our fans feel that. We’re proud to finally share ‘THE WHEEL‘ with you.”

“The Wheel” track-list:

01 – “Spin It”
02 – “THE WHEEL”
03 – “Eliminator”
04 – “D4MAGE DONE”
05 – “FLOAT”
06 – “Drift”
07 – “are we 3ven?”
08 – “Flood Light”
09 – “carry on for you”
10 – “SPLIT”
11 – “Lost It” (feat. Palaye Royale)
12 – “Afterdark”
13 – “Anomaly”
14 – “Curtain Call”