In 2020, metalcore outfit Conquer Divide resurfaced after an extended hiatus, and today (October 26th) the quintet have continued their second chapter with an emotional new single, "Paralyzed." As guitarist Kristen Sturgis explained, the song is about "battling with mental illness and depression — especially during the pandemic — and feeling like you are too mentally paralyzed to move forward." Specifically, it was inspired by her harrowing experiences on the front lines as a critical care nurse.
"Paralyzed" arrived along with a dark, twisted music video that brings to life the inner struggles addressed in the song. Watch and listen above.
"I was in a dark place because, as some people may or may not know, I am a critical care nurse when I am not touring," Sturgis commented. "I was traveling around the country to all these hot spots to help out with COVID, and I saw dozens of people lose their lives. And I still really have not fully processed it."
She added, "But if you do not disconnect, you can't do your job effectively. So, it is the kind of depression where you don't feel anything at all, and you turn your emotions off. There was a point where they had psychologists visiting us on the unit to talk about our feelings. But it was like, 'I don't have time for this right now. I need to hang the next bag of x/y/z medication and keep this person alive. Get back to me in a year after this is all over.' I think a lot of health care workers are also going to have PTSD or depression from what we went through. I hit a bit of writer's block as a result of my mental state, and this song was a bit cathartic for me."
Sturgis also noted that Conquer Divide are working on their long-awaited second album, the follow-up to 2015's self-titled offering. "We've all grown so much since our first record," she said. "We did a lot of introspection and soul-searching about which creative direction to take the band in next, and we can't wait to share what we've been working on."
