Revolution Saints: When Freedom really means freedom
Deen Castronovo explains how Freedom, a track from Revolution Saints' upcoming album Light In The Dark, was inspired a stay at a Betty Ford clinic
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
Louder
Louder’s weekly newsletter is jam-packed with the team’s personal highlights from the last seven days, including features, breaking news, reviews and tons of juicy exclusives from the world of alternative music.
Every Friday
Classic Rock
The Classic Rock newsletter is an essential read for the discerning rock fan. Every week we bring you the news, reviews and the very best features and interviews from our extensive archive. Written by rock fans for rock fans.
Every Friday
Metal Hammer
For the last four decades Metal Hammer has been the world’s greatest metal magazine. Created by metalheads for metalheads, ‘Hammer takes you behind the scenes, closer to the action, and nearer to the bands that you love the most.
Every Friday
Prog
The Prog newsletter brings you the very best of Prog Magazine and our website, every Friday. We'll deliver you the very latest news from the Prog universe, informative features and archive material from Prog’s impressive vault.
“The lyrics for Freedom were taken from notes I had written while I was in recovery in June of 2015,” says Revolution Saints vocalist and drummer Deen Castronovo. “They’re just a powerful reminder of where my head and heart were at the time.
“The whole lyric came to me in about ten minutes. When I was at Hazelden Betty Ford, we would journal after each day to reflect on what we were feeling throughout the day. At the end of each day, I’d written the words ‘FREEDOM, COMING MY WAY.’ It was the first thing that hit me and I thought it’d be a great chorus for a song.”
Freedom comes from the second Revolution Saints album, Light In The Dark, which comes out on October 22, and follows the band’s self-titled debut in 2015. The Saints were originally inspired to form by Frontier Records boss Serafino Perugino, who encouraged Castronovo to get together with former Whitesnake/Dio guitarist Doug Aldrich and Night Ranger bassist Jack Blades and build a band that brought Castronovo’s voice to the fore.
“Serafino is an intricate part of Revolution Saints.” says Castronovo. “It was his vision from the beginning and we’re very grateful that he believes in this so much. We call him The Pope!”
Are supergroups the future?
I’m not sure about supergroups being the future. I think that players collaborate with as many musicians as they can now. The landscape has changed dramatically.
How do you approach writing songs with people you haven’t written with before?
Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
For me, since this is the first time I’ve been involved with writing anything, I just went in with an open mind and tried to put my input as much as I could without ruining the songs. Doug and Alessandro [producer Alessandro Del Vecchio] were the main songwriters with me tweaking lyrics that Ale had written.
- Interview: Revolution Saints
- Alter Bridge reveal new live album teaser
- Foo Fighters head for space with The Sky Is A Neighborhood video
- Read Classic Rock, Metal Hammer & Prog for free with TeamRock+
How is Light In The Dark different from the debut?
I think it’s a bit tougher in spots and a bit darker in spots, but it’s my life at the time. Ale and I had a vision for this as opposed to the debut album, which was already written for us.
Any plans to tour?
We’re hoping to schedules permitting. Jack is committed to Night Ranger and Doug has a bunch of projects as well. We shall see, but yes if the stars align, we’d love to play live.
Last month Revolution Saints released a video for the Light In The Dark’s title track. The album is released on October 22, and can be pre-ordered now.
Classic Rock is the online home of the world's best rock'n'roll magazine. We bring you breaking news, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes features, as well as unrivalled access to the biggest names in rock music; from Led Zeppelin to Deep Purple, Guns N’ Roses to the Rolling Stones, AC/DC to the Sex Pistols, and everything in between. Our expert writers bring you the very best on established and emerging bands plus everything you need to know about the mightiest new music releases.

