In a world so connected, it’s somehow even harder to be heard.
Song Details
With their debut single, “Upon Deaf Ears,” rock band Black Halo takes on something we all could face – going to someone for help and not getting it. Being turned away could be caused by someone’s anxiety about saying the wrong thing to us. Or they don’t want to get involved. Or our worst fear – they just don’t care. The easy cop out is for them to say, “hang in there” or “it gets better.”
“While these phrases are okay,” says Black Halo guitarist and main songwriter Randy Ellefson, “hearing them can make us feel like we’re being told to shut up about it. Actionable advice is better, or at least feeling listened to.”
Feeling unsupported can be a contributing factor in isolation, substance abuse, and suicide, all subjects tackled by Black Halo’s debut album, Utopia, which follows a troubled man and woman as they try to overcome their demons. The illusion of a more connected world – and the higher likelihood of meaningful help – worsens the reality of them feeling more alone than ever.
“I felt isolated growing up,” adds Ellefson, “so I loved hearing songs about personal issues like I had, and now I write them. For some of us, music is the only way to connect despite things like social media, which many of us feel it toxic.”
“Upon Deaf Ears” is being released in September 2025 along with “The Wake,” a song about coping with loss.
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Black Halo Bio
“Darkness falls, and I can hear your screams.”
The line from Black Halo’s “Darkness Falls” sums up the topics of their debut album, Utopia, and the band’s own struggles to get it recorded. Hard rock bands are known for songs about fast cars and even faster women, but Black Halo is tackling the troubles of our modern world head-on instead. Deep fakes. Substance abuse. Hatemongers. Depression. Isolation. The thought-provoking concept album follows two similarly troubled people whose demons threaten their dreams.
And it’s not unlike the duo behind Black Halo. When Maryland-based guitarist Randy Ellefson decided in 2009 that his fifth solo album would be the first with vocals, he had no idea singers would delay it for over fifteen years. The singers came and went one-by-one, six of them over seven years, each forcing Ellefson to start the vocals over (the rest of the album was done). One was Atlanta’s Chase Breedlove, whose personal troubles prompted his exit. Finally, Ellefson gave up.
“I honestly couldn’t take it anymore and just retired,” says Ellefson, who went on to write epic fantasy novels instead. But the project was never really forgotten. Years passed before he decided to try again, and this time, Breedlove had recovered and returned to get Utopia done. Released under the band name Black Halo, it’s still mostly Ellefson’s affair, but it’s a second chance for both men – maybe the same second chance their audience and the album’s main character seek. For Ellefson and Breedlove, the darkness has fallen away and now there’s only the scream of triumph.
Black Halo Profiles
For all music platform links for this single, please click here: https://too.fm/upondeafears
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Contact Information
For all inquiries, please email us at blackhalo@randyellefson.com.
Lyric Video