Listen to “X96 Meet the Bands | Imagine Dragons – Dan Reynolds” on Spreaker.
What brought about the song Believer?
The past few things in my life, a few things have come to a head. I had a super spiritual crisis, I felt like I had to rebuild from step one of my spirituality. I think Smoke and Mirrors was a stark record in a lot of ways. I was in a really dark place, I was dealing with a lot of demons in my head, things I’ve dealt with since I was young but had come to a full head. I had been diagnosed with a couple auto-immune diseases over the past few years, so physically and mentally I was in a crazy place. So Smoke and Mirrors to me, I’m really proud of that record, but also it’s a really dark record in a lot of ways, lyrically and thematically. This last year of my life has been the healthiest, maybe of my whole life. I just feel finally, I’ve figured out who I am and what I believe and how I want to live my life and so this song is reflecting kind of on the trials and the things that I’ve been through and actually being grateful for them and I really feel it’s brought me to the place I’m at today. Like I’ve said, this past year mentally I’ve been in the best place I’ve ever been. Hopefully this record will reflect that, and this song is a good transition to show that.
Can you talk about your transition out of darkness?
I kind of see myself as being my own spiritual thing now. I grew up really religious and in a really religious home. I was raised LDS, which I’m sure a lot of people in Utah are familiar with. I still hold a lot of those things near and dear to my heart. There’s certain parts that I don’t agree with. I just can’t stand behind the idea that gay marriage, or just being gay, is a sin. That has always felt wrong to me since I was young, I’ve always had a hard time with it. I don’t know, there’s different things that are hard for me to get behind, so I’ve had to kind of build my own structure and my own place. I mean, I’ve always struggled with even a belief in God, period. It’s always been hard for me. With that being said, you know when my daughter asks me where she’s going to go when she dies or something, that’s my four year old daughter, I want to tell her she’s going to heaven because that’s ingrained in me. I don’t know what else to tell my four year old in that moment. I’m not at a place of arrival, I hope I never am. I’m not like, “oh I’m not this and I’m not that.” I like to be a little part of everything. I have a lot of Mormon roots that I’m proud of and parts of Mormonism is great and I cling to, but there’s parts that I don’t agree with. That’s just kind of the way it is, and I’m at peace with that. I’m just sort of finding my own spiritual ground that works for me and my family.
When does the album come out?
The single just came out so I’m sure it’ll be very soon. It’s just like anything else, we don’t have a date, yet. If we did I’d give it to you. We literally do not have a distinct date. The record is in its final stages.
Do you know when you’ll be touring?
Same thing, when the record comes out obviously we tour. We love to go anywhere in the world we can. We’d like to do those things sooner rather than later.
