Once again, it’s time for To Breathe Again to put on their To Christmas Again show.

The fourth iteration of To Christmas Again will carry a bit more “oomph” since the show on Friday, Dec. 22, at Piere’s will be the same day they release their second album, Moments.

“This one just happens to coincide with us finishing our album, so we just made it our album release show,” frontman Austin Wiard said of the show that includes local bands Grounds, OLC, and Vile Eyes. “It’s actually going to be even more special, because I just learned that it’s going to be moved (from Stan’s Room) to the main room.”

Along with unveiling their new album, the alternative metal band will also be introducing their new drummer, Jordan Dunham.

Dream fulfilled

Being a musician had always been a dream of Wiard’s, but it wasn’t until he went to see Shinedown on Feb. 15, 2013, at Memorial Coliseum that his focus became even clearer.

“That was like the first time I saw what I wanted out of being a musician,” he said. “I wanted to put on shows with that style of production, write songs with that kind of loud, aggressive energy, but also with those dynamics that Shinedown is known for. 

“That night, and that year really, defined who I wanted to be as a performer, musician, and songwriter.”

A few years later, he was on a dating app when he came upon his future husband and guitarist Scotty Wiard.

“He just happened to mention that he had played guitar for his dad’s band, and he played guitar growing up,” Austin Wiard said of the Dayton, Ohio, native. “I was just like, ‘Cool. You’re going to be my guitarist.’ Then it just happens. We started writing songs and quickly found out that writing songs was something we liked doing.”

Meeting in 2016, Austin and Scotty would form their band in June 2017 and released their first single, “Scream,” in April 2020. More singles followed, and in October of that year, they released their first full-length album, Breaking the Silence.

Wedding day

After recording their debut with just Austin and Scotty, they realized they’d need more members to play live shows. And Austin had a pretty unorthodox plan for their first show on June 12, 2021, at the Eclectic Room in Angola.

“ ‘What if we made our wedding a rock show?’ ” Austin said. “We got The Kickbacks and Hazensol to open for it, and we asked, ‘Who wants to play for it?’ And that’s how we found (former drummer) Drew (Bontempo) and (bassist) Lake (Koble).”

Planning their first show for their wedding could have been stressful. However, Austin’s focus appears to have been on only one aspect of the day.

“Definitely playing,” he admitted. “If we had not had that idea, we would have just eloped, because we weren’t really into the whole the big ceremony kind of thing. We figured, if we’re going to do it big, we might as well bring the ‘other half of us,’ being the band, along to incorporate it all into it. And it was still cheaper than any of my friends’ weddings.

“Sometimes I do forget that, ‘Oh yeah, we did get married that day.’ That was the afterthought.”

Changing direction

With the four-piece band now intact and an album under their belts, To Breathe Again got started on another album. However, their initial thought process for the album hit a snag following the release of the single “Renegade” in March 2022.

Saying the band was leaning toward doing a Rage Against the Machine-esque political album, Austin said things didn’t go according to plan.

“Then we wrote songs that did not at all meet that theme,” he said. “This album just sort of became the album that we did not set out to make, but it’s definitely the album we needed to write. There were things going on at the time that we just needed to address, and that’s how we addressed it.

“There were family issues. Our constant battle with mental illness.”

That shift appears in the first single off Moments, aptly named “Restart,” which was followed by “Forevermore.” 

“That’s about something that didn’t actually happen, but is just something that happened in my head that I really felt,” Austin said of “Forevermore.” “That’s just kind of the theme: Going through struggles. But there’s positive notes, too. It’s one of those little rides.”

Before the album hits streaming services on Dec. 22, there will be 7 p.m. listening parties on Discord on Dec. 19, Bandcamp on Dec. 20, and Twitch on Dec. 21.

Energetic shows 

Those listening parties, of course, lead to the big show, where holiday cheer and energy will be in abundance.

“We’re all showmen,” Austin said. “We’re not just up there playing songs. We get up there and we perform, because that’s just what we do.

“We definitely encourage Christmas sweaters,” he added for the To Christmas Again show. “The past couple of years, I’ve always gone up in my blue Santa rockstar Christmas sweater. That’s definitely a prevalent theme.”

Another prevalent theme is Austin’s onstage theatrics, which include pacing the stage and whipping around his long locks of hair.

“If I ever decide to cut my hair or, God forbid, shave my beard, people will threaten to riot,” he said. “It’s become a thing. I’ve cemented an image I’m not completely sure I’m happy about. I’m happy about it because it’s cool and gets people talking, but I’m also like, ‘I can’t change this ever.’”