Ed Roland can describe 30 years in Collective Soul with two words.
“It’s an honor and privilege,” said the frontman and songwriter behind the Georgia-born band known for a bedrock of time-tested hits. “It’s that simple. Just being able to do what you love, it’s an honor and a privilege.”
Since launching a major label career in 1994, Collective Soul has charted a path that most rock bands dream of, but only few achieve. They cut through a noisy 1990s rock scene with a knack for stick-to-you- like-glue melodies, roof-shaking guitars, and a touch of Southern grit. Behind enduring singles like “Shine,” “December” and “The World I Know,” the band hit the ground running for what would not be a short-lived sprint, but a steady marathon of uncompromising – and always catchy – albums. Since launching, they’ve become one of the most reliable rock bands in America, a tried-and-true force in a world often defined by turmoil and turbulence.
And in the same year the band celebrates three decades of music making, Collective Soul returns with what may be its most ambitious project to-date: HERE TO ETERNITY, a double LP cut in the California home once owned by Elvis Presley. With sharp, polished rock riffs and Roland’s signature wise-to-the- world storytelling, HERE TO ETERNITY plays like a full-throttle Collective Soul album from the moment it begins spilling out of stereo speakers.
“When I gave the album to management and radio promo,” he said, “I was like, ‘Put the needle on any song, I’m that proud of it.”
