Buffalo, New York’s Until I Wake spent the past year rebuilding themselves through the melody-quaked metalcore sounds of their aptly-titled sophomore album, Renovate – their first with screamer-rapper Jaali Cypher, a longtime friend who’d joined the band in late 2023 after previous frontman Cody Jamison exited the group under then-unexplained and seemingly acrimonious circumstances.
Even though the album just dropped last December, it turns out Until I Wake have already renovated the renovation.
Fans of the band could sense something was afoot last month, when both Cypher and Jamison shared the stage and sung together during Until I Wake’s “The End of the World Party” concert at Buffalo’s Ironworks venue, the pair trading parts on tracks from Renovate and more. Then Jamison posted an Instagram selfie last week sporting the caption, “There’s a new sheriff in town,” while Cypher’s recent IG stories have hinted at him hitting a new chapter in his life.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Revolver, the two singers confirm that Cypher is officially stepping down as the band’s full-time frontman, and he’s passing the mic back to Jamison. They’ll share the stage as co-vocalists one last time — at least for now — while opening for Saosin tonight (January 31st) at a show in Cedar Park, Texas.
“This is the start of actually being able to announce it to the public, which is sick,’ Jamison explains, adding of the confusion around the band’s last line-up shuffle, “When I departed the band the first time and things were super quiet on both ends…I know fans got kind of pissed, like, ‘Why are you guys being secretive?’
He adds of the timing of today’s announcement: “I want to let everybody in on what’s going on as soon as possible so they don’t feel like we’re fucking dicking them around.”
On the surface, Jamison’s return seems surprising. As fans gossiped over the reasons of his departure, socials posts from both Jamison and Until I Wake seemed frosty. Cypher went off on a fan that told him in a since-deleted online interaction that Jamison was the better singer. Last summer, Jamison launched his own metal project, the Dead Man’s Cavalry, with a music video that scratched the faces of his old bandmates out of bunch of photos; an Insta post had him literally machine-gunning an Until I Wake hoodie.
Things were a little less dramatic behind the scenes. Though they’d beefed online, Jamison and Cypher quickly smoothed things over on a phone call. A year of self-reflection led Jamison towards reevaluating his time with Until I Wake. Coincidentally, a year of heavy touring made Cypher rethink his priorities; he’s bowing out to spend more time with his son. He still plans to keep making music in Buffalo, and likewise has a streetwear company called Hole Hearted, which is named after a Renovate track about overcoming anxieties.
“I thought that the band was where I was supposed to be…I think it was for [a] time,” Cypher says. “As far as creating, moving forward and what that looks like, I don’t know. All I can promise people is that they’re going to be getting music from me regardless of what project I’m in, or what genre I choose to use as my outlet for that month or year.”
Speaking with Revolver, Jamison and Cypher further dish on shaking Until I Wake’s foundations again, the possibility of recording together, and how much beef they’ve squashed recently.
Jaali, you’d been promoting the new record — signing copies for fans and delivering lyric breakdowns online – as of as mid-January. How recent of a decision was it to step down from the band, and to have Cody come back?
JAALI CYPHER: It was right towards the end of the last tour [in late 2024]. It was just a lot of issues going on involving my son. It’s hard being a full-time, on-the-road musician [while also] having a stable relationship with your son. It just doesn’t really work very well.
Coming back from this last tour, it was a very eye-opening realization as to what was going on with my son and how he felt about me leaving. Music is amazing and this is something I’m going to do regardless of my level of fame… but there’s someone way more important in front of me that needs me.
It was a tough decision to make, because this is something I’ve been wanting to do with my life since I was a kid.
How old is your son?
CYPHER:He’s only four. It’s crazy, because he’s been with me this whole journey, too, [even] before I joined the band. I’ve been playing [solo] shows in Buffalo left and right … I’ve got pictures of that little boy in my arms playing these shows with me.
Just the other day he said something about the Saosin show we’re playing — I told him I’d be playing my last show with the band. It was kind of sad, because he asked me, “So you’re giving up? You always tell me not to give up.” And I’m like, “Trust me, buddy… It’s not that simple.” I told him, “Hey, just to keep it real with you, I want to be there for you.”
He was like, “I want you to still play music, though.” And I’m like, “I will, I will.” But kids don’t understand, and especially [with] their own emotions, too. He might want me to really do this, but then when I’m gone for four or five months out of the year…
Cody, you’d been gone from the Until I Wake family for some time now. Can you tell us a little bit about how in touch you’d been with the band this past year, and who reached out to whom when it came to you coming back into the lineup?
CODY JAMISON: So…it’s been a year. I wouldn’t say it was a rough falling out, but it was a mutual thing where we were all sick of each other. We’d kind of just eaten shit all year [ed. 2023] with the tours that we got put on; we weren’t really making a lot of money. We were all stressed. You’re crammed into a bus with everybody, and you’re sick of being around people.
And as far as my personal struggles went, I was drinking way too much, man. I had a problem with alcohol. I couldn’t go a day without drinking or I just wasn’t happy.
That was affecting my relationship with everybody, because I was just unreasonable to be around when I was drinking. So after [a tour we did with] Attila, the conversation between me and the band and management was, “Hey, everyone thinks that you should get sober. We can’t really control what you do outside of tour, but we don’t want you drinking on the road.” And honestly, in my mind, I was like, “Yeah, fuck that.” I’m going to go probably sneak off and drink and just not do it around everybody.
In retrospect, I’m kind of glad that everything happened. I didn’t talk to anybody the entire year, dude. I was like, “Ah, I’m just going to focus on doing my own thing.”
I’ve been sober for over a year. I decided that I was done drinking, and then I started working on my own music [as the Dead Man’s Cavalry]. I was just grinding for the year. Didn’t talk to anybody in Until I Wake. I had moved on mentally at that point. I didn’t harbor any resentment towards them. There were a few times where I’d saw them taking shots at me online, and so I made some video responses. I know me and Jaali had one [online fight]. It was kind of funny, but we squashed it super quick.
To that point, your Dead Man’s Cavalry video for “The Death of Me” could be seen as antagonistic to Until I Wake. Throughout the video you’re using all these old photos of the band with all of their faces X’d out. Why had you presented the video that way?
JAMISON: I basically did that because I know people love drama. I thought it would build up hype, honestly. It wasn’t like, “Ah, fuck you!” It wasn’t really me trying to be petty. I just thought it’d be kind of funny [to] get people talking.
The other reason was because I didn’t have a budget to go do a music video, and I needed to just do something on CapCut on my phone. So, I was like, “What can I do? I can just take old photos [and cross out their faces], I guess.”
Jaali, what did the band think of that video?
CYPHER: I thought it was hilarious, to be honest with you. I was like, “Yo, this is gold. This is funny.” Like [Cody] said, there was some beef going on online. Somebody was talking shit to me online, and I’m sure as Cody and anybody can fucking attest to, when someone’s talking shit to you all the time, you can only be nice for so long before you snap.
What set you off?
CYPHER: Bro, joining a band and replacing the lead singer…you’re just setting yourself up for people to come at you. People were like, “Oh, you can’t sing as good as him. You’re nothing like him. You’ll never be him.” And I’m like, “Guys, I know that. I’m just here to have fun and make music and make people feel happy?” That’s all I want to do.
[But] people were just ripping me a new asshole every chance they could. And then one day I just told somebody, “Yo, fucking suck a dick, dude. Get off my dick. Stop following this band if all you’re going to do is talk shit all the time. Just unfollow us and dip.” And then, from that, I said something about Cody. Out of frustration, my words were articulated the wrong way. It was basically me telling this guy, “You’re telling me I can’t sing, and I have problems singing these songs [but] if you watch videos on YouTube, you can see Cody has trouble singing these songs, too.”
A beef started from that because Cody obviously saw what I said. Me and Cody got on a call and he said, “Yo, I’m kind of just running with this narrative to get some attention around the Dead Man’s Cavalry.” I don’t really like beef, whether it’s real or fake, so I was like, “I’m not going to run with that. If we can squash it, that’d be great.”
JAMISON: As for who reached out to who [about reuniting], our A&R at Fearless randomly texted me and was like, “Hey, man, can you get on a call?” I thought this can only be one of two things: either he wants me to join Until I Wake again, or he wants to see what’s going on with my new project, which I was hoping for. So, I pick up the phone and he’s like, “Hey, man, you want to join Until I Wake again?”
So the label reached out, and then I chatted with the ringleader, Ryan [Ridley, bassist], and then we played the End of the World Show and it was sick. And at that point I was like, “Man, I kind of wish Jaali was staying in the band and we were doing a dual vocal thing.” Now we got all these fans hyped up thinking like, “Oh, they’re doing dual vocals. They’re doing the Three Days Grace thing!” And I’m like, “Fuck dude. No, we’re not.” People are going to be upset that that’s not happening.
How did it work with you two singing those songs together onstage? Were there rehearsals, or was it more intuitive?
JAMISON: We were just winging it.
CYPHER: Yeah, day of. I’m pretty used to working with other artists in the studio. I’ve been playing shows since I was 12 years old. I knew we would both be picking up on each other’s cues very easily. It went really smooth.
Would you consider going forward with two vocalists as a studio entity?
JAMISON: I’ve already told everyone…just because Jaali can’t tour right now, or just because we might be moving forward with me right now, it doesn’t mean that we can’t go do some singles with both of us. We could do some songs for a Renovate deluxe version. And then in the future, if he’s able to tour again, there’s nothing saying that we can’t [do two vocalists live]. All I can say is that I’m super open to it.
Cody, are you going to be renovating the Renovate songs to make them your own, or are you going to be sticking to Jaali’s vision and melodic sensibility?
JAMISON: Those are his songs, man. I’m going to try to keep them as much his as possible. My personal favorite song that they did on that album is “Heaven Knows,” and I’ve been telling everyone that I think it’d be sick if we did a “Heaven Knows (revisited)” where it’s both of our vocals, and then we have some remixed fucking instrumentals on there. But for the most part, I’m going to try to keep them the way he had. I might have to tune down a step or two live, though. Especially “Eclipse”… Dude, the notes he hits might be a little too high for my vocal range.
Jaali, you mentioned that music is still going to be a part of your life. Are you planning to go back to your solo work?
CYPHER: As far as being a solo artist goes, I’ve always really liked hip-hop music. Hip-hop has been somewhat of an avenue I’ve been pursuing for the last 10 years. I’ve put out a couple records, and a lot of the music videos on my page are predominantly hip-hop. But I’m hoping [to do] both [hip-hop and rock]. People will still get heavy music from me too, because I love heavy music. It’s honestly my favorite music to create. I love hip-hop, I love rap, I love singing…but I love screaming the most.
I definitely do have a few songs already loaded and ready to go, but I want to give [Renovate] its time. I don’t want to just say, “Hey, I’m leaving the band guys, here’s a brand new [solo] song I just dropped.” Until they put out that first song with Cody on it, I still really want to promote this album.
Cody, we’re still in early days with you rejoining the band, but what can you say about what’s next for Until I Wake?
JAMISON: It’s kind of an awkward time for me to come back, because I know they put a lot of hard work into that album. And then even just hearing Jaali talk about all that stuff, it’s like, “Damn.” I also want this album to keep getting promoted and reach as many people as possible. I’m obviously still going to play these songs, but I’ll say this: I can’t wait two years [to do the next record]. I’d like to start immediately on singles…
Earlier in the talk, you both noted how you had squashed your personal and professional beef. Taking things quite literally: Jaali, when you spoke with Revolver a couple of months ago, you told us how Until I Wake started grilling on the road. You called your burgers “Parking Lot Patties.” Have you two had the chance to literally squash beef that way? Have you shared a parking lot patty?
CYPHER: [laughs] No…but I definitely would love to cook Cody up a parking lot patty, for sure.
JAMISON: We need to cook real food on tour. I can’t be eating shitty gas station fucking protein bars and fast-food cooking.
Jaali, were you the grill-master? Is this something where you need to pass on an apron or the official Until I Wake spatula?
CYPHER: You see, there’s a lot of titles I’m willing to give up: vocalist, frontman. But one thing I’ll never retire is being “Head Chef.”Here’s the thing: the only two people who eat [well] are me and Adam, our merch guy and videographer. These other guys survive on vapes and Monster Energy drinks. I’m not joking. So, it was me cooking every day.
Until I see a video of somebody else cooking up a parking lot patty, I don’t really think I’ll be able to retire the title. But hey, maybe one day in the future — if they ever need me to pop on a show — I’ll be their personal chef, too. I’ll jump onstage, do a couple guest vocals for the night, and then I’ll cook up patties for the band after the show.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and flow.