In early 2011, vocalist Keith Buckley went on tour with the Damned Things. Josh Newton left the band five months after the recording, and was replaced by former bassist Stephen Micciche for touring. According to Buckley, in order for him to write the lyrics to "Underwater Bimbos from Outer Space" he had to "pay attention to the defeatism that the music suggested."
Release
On January 3, 2012, Ex Lives was announced for release in March, and the album's track listing and artwork was revealed. In addition, a music video was released for "Underwater Bimbos from Outer Space", directed by Buckley. According to Blabbermouth.net, the video "features a barrage of startling visceral images which perfectly match the raging brutality of the track." Buckley said that to make the video he needed to "acknowledge the masochism I wrote of to myself. You don't get rewarded for your faith and you don't get celebrated for your heroism." On January 25, Epitaph Records began posting a series of videos to YouTube offering viewers a behind the scenes look into the making of Ex Lives. On February 22, a music video was released for the song "Revival Mode", which was directed by Robert Schober. Buckley said the video had a "very ambiguously creepy David Lynch vibe to it" and that it features a "story line that exists outside of us as members of a band. It's dark and weird and while not completely adhering thematically to the lyrics, it sets a larger, broader mood which marries the song perfectly." Schober said the video is a "surrealist crime drama set on a lost highway...the story loosely interprets key phrases from the song...the guys were awesome and put up with many hours of freezing temperatures in the middle of the desert." Ex Lives was made available for streaming on February 28, before being released on March 6 through Epitaph Records. In October, the band went on a tour of Australia. In January 2013, the band toured Australia as part of the Big Day Out festival.
Reception
"Ex Lives" debuted on the Billboard 200 at #20 selling around 14,300 copies. This is their highest charting position to date.
Track listing
All songs written by Every Time I Die. ;Bonus tracks
