“That’s basically a song about my struggle with anxiety and depression.
“Alex really helped with, it has a dubstep vibe to it,” Dan Reynolds later revealed to Rolling Stone. Imagine Dragons were eager to prove their versatility on smoldering, guitar-driven rockers “Hear Me,” “Tiptoe” and “Amsterdam” poppy, synth-flecked flare (“On Top Of The World”) and tracks which benefitted from Grant’s hip-hop stylings, such as “It’s Time” and the vivid “Radioactive.” Night Visions – which the band crafted slowly with help from Grant and co-producer Brendan Darner – was both compelling and refreshingly eclectic. I grew up listening to a lot of hip-hop in the 90s, such as Tupac and Biggie Smalls. In the same interview, Dan Reynolds added, “We’ve always been a rhythmic rock band. “We bonded over rhythm and of course they were great live too,” Grant told Rolling Stone in 2013. The Nevadan quartet’s slightly quirky nature and their atypical usage of unusual percussive elements, such as the massive Japanese taiko drum featured on “Radioactive,” also endeared them to their new co-producer, Alexander Grant (aka Alex Da Kid), who has also cut hits with Eminem and Nicki Minaj. Further self-released EPs followed, and the band eventually brokered a deal with Interscope Records in 2011.
With their creative juices flowing, the band’s fortunes improved after they won over a huge crowd at Bite Of Las Vegas Festival. The venues included Mandalay Bay and the famous Caesars Palace, but glitz and glamour were rarely on the agenda. A lengthy bout of dues-paying ensued, with Imagine Dragons playing every Vegas nightspot that would have them. Indeed, the Las Vegas-based quartet had initially scrambled for all the attention they could get following the release of their independently-issued, self-titled debut EP in September 2009. The statistics are astounding, but they only tell a small part of the story, for Night Visions’ runaway success was by no means a given. Listen to the Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions 10th-anniversary edition now. Released through Interscope/KIDinaKORNER on September 4, 2012, the album seemingly came from nowhere to peak at No.2 on the Billboard 200, while its multi-million-selling signature hit, “Radioactive,” set the band on course for superstardom.
While it’s only natural for a band to harbor high hopes for their early offerings, the success of Imagine Dragons’ debut album, Night Visions, exceeded its creators’ wildest dreams.
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