The songs on the album were written by the band over a period of several years. Before the recordings, the band spent some time with producer Clint Murphy. Recording for the album took place over three weeks at the York St Studios in Auckland, New Zealand. Further recordings took place at the Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, where, Queen recorded their album A Night at the Opera. The first single of the album, Little Pills is about vocalist Jennie Skulander's own experiences. After the end of a love affair, she also lost her job. She moved to New Zealand and took antidepressants. After she started taking these "little pills", she suddenly felt unhappy. Never See the Light was also written by Skulander and was dedicated to her friend Shoki Kamishima, who died in 2010. Kamishima was able to mimic the sounds of dolphins during his lifetime and was frightened by people in pubs with this art. A recording of this can be heard at the beginning of the song. Violation, written by Skulander, is about a turn of events that occurred to her, including a burglary that occurred in her apartment. Although the perpetrators were arrested, they were not convicted. Skulander criticized in the song the New Zealand judiciary, which imposed in her opinion inadequate punishments.
Release
In 2012, the bands YouTube page published the first single "Little Pills". The song gained popularity for the band and in 2013, they released "Never See the Light" as their second single, followed by "Start a Revolution" as their third single. In 2014, We Rise was released on CD, Vinyl, and on digital music stores, such as iTunes and Google Play. The album was released worldwide through German record label Rodeostar.
Reception
We Rise debuted at #1 on the New Zealand music charts and gained very positive reviews. Marcel Rudoletzky from the German magazine Metal Hammer described the music of Devilskin as "powerful, modern rock and metal mixture", which "does not need to hide behind other sizes". He emphasized the "strong and varied songwriting" of the band and called We Rise a "damn good first work". The album received platinum certification in 2015, after selling more than 15,000 units in New Zealand. The single "Start a Revolution" reached 28th place in the NZ singles chart, making it the highest charting single on the album.
