Imagine Dragons Announce New Album ‘Mercury – Act 1’
Following a pair of recent singles, Imagine Dragons have announced their upcoming album Mercury – Act 1, produced by Rick Rubin.
Ahead of the LP’s September 3rd release, Dan Reynolds and company have shared the new single “Wrecked,” an Imagine Dragons-produced song inspired by the singer’s late sister-in-law Alisha Durtschi Reynolds, who died following a cancer battle.
“She was the brightest light. A beacon of joy and strength for everyone she met. Her sudden passing has shaken me in ways that I still am unable to express,” Reynolds said in a statement. “I was with her and my brother when she passed, and it was the first time in my life that I had witnessed death in this way. It sealed into my mind the fragility of life and finality of this all. I’ve watched my brother face something that no one should have to. But I’ve also seen his faith bring him hope in a future with her. I can only hope for the same.”
Reynolds continued. “This song was my way of dealing with it all, as music has always been my refuge. No longer being a man of fervent faith, I can only hope that she hears it somewhere in a place where she is healed and no longer in pain. This song is my wish for an eternity with those that I love.”
“Wrecked” follows Mercury – Act 1’s previous tracks, “Follow You” and “Cutthroat.” Speaking to Rolling Stone in March, Reynolds discussed working on the album during the pandemic with Rubin, who despite his reputation was “very hands-on, very actively engaged” with the recording of the album.
“During Covid, I sent [Rubin] 100 songs that I’d worked on over the prior three years,” Reynolds said. “And he wrote comments on every single song in an email. This is when we were just talking about whether or not to work together and getting to know each other. I wasn’t expecting that. I felt like he was going to say, ‘This is too much for me to listen to,’ or not really dig in. But he dug in on all of them and gave me very direct comments.”
Mercury – Act 1 is available to preorder now in a variety of bundles and formats, including deluxe editions on CD and vinyl.
