North Carolina southern gothic rockers Wailin Storms release new single and music video »You Never Answered«
Durham, North Carolina based southern gothic rockers Wailin Storms have released a music video for the second single »You Never Answered« taken from their upcoming album, »The Arsonist«, due out on July 10th, 2026 via Season Of Mist.
Tracklist:
01. Dead End
02. Heart Of Mine
03. You Never Answered
04. The Arsonist
05. Never Rest
06. Saved
07. Patient Night
08. The Wind
09. It’s All Dark Now Where Your Eyes Used To Be
Courtesy of Season Of Mist:
Recipients of high praise from NPR, The Needle Drop, Brooklyn Vegan, Decibel and Metal Hammer, Wailin Storms have caught fire since migrating to North Carolina in 2014. Now, the Durham natives are fanning the flames even higher with their upcoming fifth album and first for Season of Mist. On »The Arsonist«, the band deliver a fiery baptism of Southern gothic rock.
Today, Wailin Storms are premiering a music video for the second advanced single from »The Arsonist« with CVLT Nation. Howling and haunted, »You Never Answered« is a desperate plea to put down our phones and answer the call of the night.
“This song is about disconnecting from screens and returning to exploration,” Wailin Storms vocalist and guitarist Justin Storms says. “Don’t let your phone lead to your death by taking a selfie on a mountain. Pick up a manual film camera. Take some acid. Pick up a paint brush, cook, listen to a record, walk in nature, be there for the ones you love and find your path in the world without being tethered to technology”.
Photo credit: Kent Corley
Watch the music video for »You Never Answered« on CVLT Nation’s website HERE.
»The Arsonist« comes out July 10, 2026 on Season Of Mist. Pre-order & pre-save HERE.
Available formats:
• Digital download
• CD digipack
• 12” Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
• 12” Vinyl Gatefold (Yellow, red and white marbled)
• 12” Vinyl Gatefold (White with crusher effect in black and pink)
Wailin Storms are igniting the stage this summer with a headline U.S. tour. The band will perform »You Never Answered« and other songs off »The Arsonist« for the first time, along with crowd favorites from across their critically-acclaimed discography.
Wailin Storms 2026 The Arsonist U.S. Tour:
July 17 – Durham, NC @ Stanczyk’s [Album Release Show]
July 29 – Johnson City, TN @ The Hideaway
July 30 – Atlanta, GA @ Star Bar
July 31 – Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light
August 1 – Cincinnati, OH @ Motr
August 2 – Youngstown, OH @ Westside Bowl
August 3 – Columbus, OH @ Dirty Dungarees
August 4 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Government Center
August 5 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
August 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Gutter
August 7 – New Hope, PA @ John and Peter’s
August 8 – Richmond, VA @ Cobra Cabana
»The Arsonist« calls back to Wailin Storms’ past. Recorded by Matt Talbott of Hum in full analog, the album rekindles the band’s roots in raw-to-the-bone blues punk. Like being woken from a bad dream, »You Never Answered« opens with frantic guitars before kicking down the door with a doomy groove.
“So much music is drowning in sterile digital production,” Storms says. “With this album, we recorded everything in analog. We didn’t touch a computer until mixing.”
Inspired by David Lynch and René Magritte, Wailin Storms do throw heavier splashes of surrealism into the fires of »The Arsonist«. “Climb right out, out of your head, and into the night,” Storms commands amidst howling riffs on »You Never Answered«. But the album is inflamed by real life anxieties. Before it drifts into a smoke-fueled daze, the song’s melody proves so intoxicating that your left with no choice but to follow the band into the dark. “Time to take a bullet that could change your mind.”
“I’ve always been fascinated with fire,” says Storms, who was raised by a church pianist and a Baptist preacher. As a child, growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, he came dangerously close to accidentally burning his family’s house down. “It speaks to our inherent attraction to danger and annihilation, but also, our hope for transformation.”
The video for »You Never Answered« was directed and edited by Thomas Hudson.
Wailin Storms are:
Justin Storms – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Ben Melton – Lead Guitar, Backup Vocals, Rhodes Organ, Piano
Steve Stanczyk – Bass
Mark Oates – Drums
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well