Hayley Williams: New Paramore Album Made Us Doubt Ourselves

Paramore singer Hayley Williams has revealed all about the struggles the band went through to write their new album which is expected to be released this September.

At one point in late 2008 the band were rumoured to have split after due to tensions within the camp.

However, they have now come through a tough period in their history and are currently touring with No Doubt in the US.

Williams explained to MTV: “We went through a lot of heavy stuff as a band ... and it was nothing like, 'Oh, it's this situation on this day,' or whatever. It was just, personally, we were all growing up, and sometimes, when you're growing up, you're not always growing together.

"And when you don't talk about it, there's even more of a gap. ... I've felt that a lot over the past couple years. We didn't ever talk about it because we didn't have time to talk about it.”

She added: "So when we finally had all this time to write these songs, and, you know, [guitarist] Josh [Farro] and I hadn't written in a while — besides what we did for 'Twilight' — and all of a sudden, we were in a room together.

"Like, 'Hey, let's write a record that's bigger than Riot! All these people are expecting it.' And it didn't feel healthy, it didn't feel like us, you know? It didn't feel like what we started for."

It was at this point when Williams began to have feelings of self doubt over her writing talents.

"I had doubts, not just for us as a whole, because ... I wouldn't want to play with anyone else, you know what I'm saying? I didn't have any doubts in them as much as I did in myself," she revealed.

"I was writing these lyrics, and they didn't feel good — some of it hurt, some if was like, 'Am I being too honest even with myself?' I had doubts that it was the right record."

The quintet finally got back on track following a visit from producer Rob Cavallo who alleviated their fears about deadlines and other pressures on the writing process.

Williams says: "I remember talking with everyone, which was the first real conversation I felt we had in a real long time.

“We were all really honest with each other about where we had been with our lives over the past two years. Like, 'Hey, I lost touch with you. ... Let's backtrack a little bit.' And once that was done, it was back to the old us and back to the old reasons why we started a band and why we wanted to play music together."

"There were some doubts, for sure, but we're a better band for going through that. I don't know what happens next, but I — we — we're all ready for it."

Paramore play live with No Doubt