Can you begin by saying who you are and what you do in Anberlin?

My name is Stephen Christian and I sing in Anberlin.

Very excited about the new album, it seems you guys are just pushing out material after material and evolving in front of us by the moment, your fan base is growing with your sound. After 5 years, 3 full lengths, and 1 B-side album, how does all of this transition fit into the new album New Surrender?

I think that bands need to progress and grow with each record. To remain the same seems rather counterproductive for a band. I feel we are at the pinnacle of our game right now because we worked on New Surrender with an amazing producer named Neal Avron (who produced Fall Out Boy and worked with Linkin Park) and have a new guitarist on this record named Christian (ex member of Acceptance) who brings a lot of song writing to the table.

The album is set to be themed of a new surrender, in the sense that everyone has something to give up, or having to surrender something, what is that brought this theme on, what encouraged you to go this direction?

There is a moment where we have life figured out, standing strong, tall, feeling invincible and at moments almost immortal. We will all come to the point in our life where we have to admit that we feel defeated, that something has conquered us. We must change, not because we want to, but because we have to. We cannot take life in its current suffocating state. Even to admit such desperation shows that we are feeling deserted, wandering the barren desert, a dehydrated shell of our former selves. It is only up from here, it is impossible to sink any lower into ourselves. But we can be salvaged, a deliverance. No vice can stand, no fix can take. The thorn in the side can be taken out,but you have to be willing to admit and surrender. Surrender your habits, your lifestyle, your past, your present, and your future. This is the new surrender. I felt that this was a very universal feeling that no matter what race color creed religion age etc., that everyone has demons they know they need to face and conquer.

The album also incorporates the bands humanitarian efforts into its lyrics, from dealing with human rights efforts to Aids prevention, was this a hard task to include or something that just came easy? Was it hard to find the right words to say?

I believe that humanitarian exploits and lyrics that coincide are rather second nature at this point. We have taken out many charities on our headlining tours and are doing so this fall as well. As many people know I co-founded a humanitarian organization myself called Faceless International that has taken trips all over the world to places like India, Haiti, Ecuador, Guatemala, and are planning on going back to India this fall and the Ukraine next year. Once you experience third world countries and abstract poverty, it is impossible to forget such memories, and finding their way into the lyrics of new surrender seemed rather pressing and inevitable.

Why the change to go with Neal Avron instead of Aaron Sprinkle? Are you happy with the end result?

We love Aaron Sprinkle, but by nature he is a musician. Neal is a born producer. They are both genius in their own right but we didn't want to come out with a Cities part II. We wanted to progress and we feel Neal took us to that level. We are beyond stoked for this next record, our most thought out record by far to date.

You finally decided to break out and get onto a major label (Universal Republic), what's the anticipation like for it to be released and what do you expect to gain that Tooth and Nail couldn't provide?

We love Tooth and Nail. You will never catch us saying one negative comment about them. They are still some of our best friends in the business to this day, but as in musicianship on the records (as discussed previously in the interview), one must challenge oneself and progress... change or die if you will. Universal Republic has been nothing but extraordinary. They have afforded us opportunities that our previous label could not (cover of Warped edition Alternative Press, main stage Warped tour, Neal Avron, etc. etc. etc.). So many bands have had many negative comments about major labels, but as for me and my friends in Anberlin, we could NOT have made a better decision. My only regret is that we did not sign to Universal Republic day one.

How is the band handling the some of the changes going down in the music industry? Like the CD VS. Digital releases debate or how money is playing a bigger part now more then ever?

I did an article for Relevant magazine in 2007 ( http://www.relevantmagazine.com/pc_article.php?id=4031 ) and basically said that if you burn CD's you help fuel the fire that is burning bands up. The more you burn the less labels (major or indie) have to spend on signing new and creative acts. So while you may burn your favorite unknown band or the biggest band in the world, eventually labels (if they want to survive) will only sign acts like Lil Wayne and the Jonas Brothers. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those bands but that i hope to always have a broad spectrum of bands to listen to, bands like Rogue Wave, Blonde Redhead, and Johanna Newsome might not exist in 10 years because the labels will not have money to sign unorthodox or unique acts.

It seems like lately that a lot of bands these days are dabbling in others things…for example side's projects or switching sides from playing music to producing it. With your new book ,which I'm looking forward to reading. Did you feel the need to break away from Anberlin in a way to make yourself more than just the leader singer?

No. I felt no need to make myself anything beyond just who I am. I have always wanted to write a book. I never thought I was creative enough or had the attention span, but on tour you can either play video games or watch movies. I enjoy both don't get me wrong but I wanted to do more with my time. I would love to learn painting but it's hard to when the bus is moving. So a book it is! It’s called 'the orphaned anything's' and is only available on line (borders.com, amazon.com, target.com, etc.).

What are the tour plans like after warped tour into your release, do you see yourself going on a headlining tour to promote and if so, do you see yourself doing some sort of a cause tour?

Yes we are going to be doing both. We are headlining this Fall with Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Straylight Run, and There For Tomorrow; We are most definitely taking out a humanitarian organization, but we have not decided on which one as of yet.

What do you want your listeners to say to themselves after listening to "New Surrender" after only 1 listen?

The next time you listen focus on the lyrics. I think it will mean more the more you can relate to the music. I wrote the entire record with the listener in mind! You are the new surrender. The deeper you listen the more it will mean to you.

Thank you! And Is there anything you'd like to say to our readers here at forthesound.com?

Thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given us through the years! See you this fall on tour!

Thanks to Stephen Christian for doing the interview, Kevin Chiaramonte for setting this up for me & Greg Thimmes for sharing some of his questions! You can check out more about the band at: www.myspace.com/anberlin or www.anberlin.com. "New Surrender" availible everywhere September 30th!