Interview: Bilmuri’s Johnny Franck Says He ‘Has More to Give’

“I’ll sleep when I’m old, it’s all good.”

Johnny Franck joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday (Aug. 12) to dive into everything happening in the world of Bilmuri, from last year’s tour across Europe with Sleep Token to his latest song, “More Than Hate.”

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“I feel like it’s a lot like weightlifting, where it’s like every step up you take, you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ and then you just keep going and you get used to it,” Franck told Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong.

“More is being asked of me, but I’m happy to do it. It takes a little time to get used to that and it’s also incredibly exciting because there’s so much new stuff, I’m glad to be able to experience growth in this way because every day there’s new things that I’m doing.”

As Franck talked about doing new things, he admitted that when he quit Attack Attack! — the band he formed in 2007 — he never thought he’d be able to do music again. He said it was a cool experience and something he was grateful for, but he assumed that was it for him.

“I get the opportunity to do it again and do things the right way,” he shared.

“I mean, I have a song on the radio, it’s wild. I never thought that would happen in my life, so I’m happy to be able to get another chance to do it and happy to be able to be in the game for this long, man.”

Johnny Franck Opens Up About Bilmuri’s Next Album

Among other things, Franck opened up to the Loudwire Nights audience about how “More Than Hate” is pointing toward more new music from Bilmuri — something he was clearly excited to talk about.

“Literally last week was the first time where I’ve heard that little voice in my soul saying, ‘I think it’s done,'” Franck said about Bilmuri’s next album, the follow-up to 2024’s American Motor Sports.

“I think I’ve done and said everything I wanted to do and say on this record, so it’s very exciting. Genuinely, the music is ridiculous, in a great way. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done by a long shot. I can’t wait.”

Franck admitted that he drove himself “half insane” getting to this point, but he learned a lot in the process.

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“[I had to] stop worrying about what the next thing was and just make what I wanted to make and what I felt was interesting,” he said.

“[It was] a little bit of a spiritual process to get that fear of having to follow up a good record off my back. But once we started going on it, it felt really good. We’re sitting on gold, man.”

What Else Did Bilmuri’s Johnny Franck Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• The rumor amongst his fans that Bad Omens‘ Noah Sebastian appears on “More Than Hate”: “I have no idea, man. I think one day I woke up and there’s a text message that just had a bunch of different takes of ‘hate,’ and I just dragged it in and it sounds pretty cool. It was from a guy named Noah, but I’m not quite certain exactly if it was him or whoever.”
• The journey he feels he’s on right now: “You’ve got to take this seriously because if you don’t, you’re going to do a worse job when it’s time to start working again. There’s more being asked of me and I have more to give, but I also have to refuel the tanks and get better.”
• What his dream for Bilmuri is right now: “I want to do arenas. I think that Bilmuri is a band that would be really fun to watch in arenas. I didn’t really think that until we played with Sleep Token and I would watch some of the footage back and I’d be like, obviously there’s tons of room to grow here, but it translates really well in an arena. I have the band to do it and I believe that the songs we’re sitting on, plus American Motor Sports, would make for an hour and a half of really awesome entertainment. That’s kind of the goal now.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Johnny Franck joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Aug. 12; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.