'I Knew There'd Be Backlash': A Day To Remember Guitarist On Reaction To New Album

A Day To Remember guitarist Neil Westfall says the US band's latest record You're Welcome is going to be "one of the most important" in their catalogue, despite some fans' mixed reaction to some of the different sounds on the album that move slightly away from metalcore and include pop-rock.

Appearing on a new episode of The Green Room With Neil Griffiths podcast, Westfall said he and the Florida-founded group are proud of the record but predicted there would be some who weren't "ready for it".

"I kinda knew there'd be a lot of backlash on a lot of things that we did, but I knew that it'd be OK because I feel like as this album lives out there this is going to be one of the most important albums in our career because of how much we tried and how much we pushed and how much we really just did what we wanted to do," Westfall told podcast host Neil Griffiths.

"I think for a lot of people, they're not ready for it. They were kinda hoping for something different and they were kind of expecting something different, even though like you said, we told them from the beginning, 'This is gonna be fucking different!'"

Following its release on 5 March, You're Welcome peaked at #2 on the US Hard Rock Albums chart, #3 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart and #9 on the ARIA Albums chart in Australia.

"I feel like I'm just excited for it to start that journey and allow people to have it and live with it and start to create memories with it," Westfall continued.

"A lot of people have memories that they've created with all of our other releases and they mean so much to them, but this one's just new. We've lived with it for two years and we love it. We couldn't imagine it not existing.

"Even though some people don't get it or there is some backlash from old school fans, which obviously hurts hearing some people don't like it or whatever, but at the same time, I'm like, 'Just keep listening and trust us.' We've lived with it for two years and we fucking love it.

"I think we love it more now than when we fucking first made it."

Listen to the full The Green Room podcast with Westfall on Spotify, Apple Podcasts (below) or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts or watch in the clip above.

Check out all previous episodes of The Green Room here and learn more about other Handshake podcasts below.

• That Sucks!  - fortnightly musings about the worst of your favourite things
• The Take With Willie Mason - join ex-Australian and NSW rugby league Willie Mason talking all things sports
• Rewind With Steve Bell - looking back on the classic albums that shaped the careers of Australian and international acts