It’s a Thursday afternoon and unsurprisingly Flore is packed (we’re in Los Angeles, after all). Part of the reason may be that the quaint restaurant is itty bitty, but no matter its size it’s safe to say vegans and non-vegans alike would be flocking through its doors. I mean, they serve raw milkshakes for god’s sake.

“You have to get the raw Neapolitan shake,” Buddy Nielsen says once he scoots into his booth seat. “Everything in it is so good for you and it tastes delicious!” I opt for a superfood smoothie and can’t help but feel a tinge of envy when his chocolatey, strawberry-y, vanilla goodness arrives. We then order basmati rice bowls.

The Senses Fail frontman is all smiles as he chomps on his veggie concoction, but the matter at hand is not something that would be easy for most to discuss. It’s a month before the post-hardcore outfit are set to release their sixth studio album, Pull the Thorns from Your Heart, and mere months after the singer—who already has openly talked about struggles with depression, anxiety and addiction—came out as queer.

“My sexuality is difficult because I’ve been sexually attracted to men, sexually attracted women, romantically attracted to women but not romantically attracted to men, sexually and romantically attracted to transgendered women,” he begins to describe between bites. “There’s so many different pairings of sexual attraction and romantic attraction to me, so it’s never been, I’m gay, I’m straight, I’m bi.”

Even so, the musician wears a shirt proclaiming “Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgender Pride” under his muted plaid flannel. “People don’t understand, and that’s the big thing,” he divulges. “They think I came out as gay, which I didn’t.” In fact, before he began meditating a year and a half ago it was hard for Buddy himself to understand his sexuality.

“I was able to have a deeper understanding of my mind and how it works and who I am, or who I think I am,” he explains. This newfound grasp and comfort in his own mind is what fueled the upcoming album—an 11-song collection documenting Buddy’s transformational spiritual journey from dark to light, dissected into four Buddhist concepts and teachings: Annica & Sacca, Tisarana, Maransati and The Brahmaviharas. However, despite the positivity that encapsulates this album, musically it’s the band’sheaviest material.

“I want to make music that represents the emotions that I felt,” he says, locking eyes with me. “I wanted the songs to be that heavy because that’s how fucking miserable and awful I felt. Instead of the lyrics carrying the heaviness, I wanted the music to carry it and the words to carry the hope and positivity. This is not for people who don’t care about finding meaning in their music. Our band is not for casual listeners anymore.”

The album’s lead single, “The Importance of the Moment of Death,” is an in-your-face, punk-fueled synopsis of Buddy’s life thus far where he declares “I am no longer afraid to die” and “The Courage of an Open Heart” is a dark, metal-influenced confession about suicidal thoughts, but songs like “Wounds” juxtapose the harshness with atmospheric instrumentation and hopeful words that encourage others suffering through depression to open up their minds, embrace and address their flaws.

Unfortunately, even though his message may be positive and accepting, not everyone has reacted the same way to his sexuality. He tells me that people yell “faggot” at him while he’s onstage or send hurtful comments through social media. Even so, he tries to keep his heart open. “That’s the way I’m wanting to do this, coming from a place that is also meeting people with compassion,” he says. “I understand that one of the reasons why you don’t accept this is because you’re afraid, and I understand what it’s like to be afraid and have compassion for that.”

However, it’s a different story for those who intentionally try to hurt him. “When you choose to actively try to silence me or make me feel bad, fuck you,” he says calmly. “I’m going to talk about and if you don’t like it, you can go fuck yourself. Sometimes people don’t like it when you’re asking for them to be accepting of you when you won’t be accepting of them, but I’m not going to accept your bullshit ignorance, and if that turns you off then fuck you. I want to step up and do something about it and create actual discussion and spaces about it in the music scene for other people who identify because I never had that.”

With the dialogue open, Buddy is eager to continue learning more about himself and helping others like him. “There’s still so much to explore,” he admits. “I’m still dealing with the repercussions of what it’s been like to live in a body that had traumatic things happen to it at a young age; live through burying my sexuality; live through substance abuse; live through sexual addiction and up until a year ago has been in a constant state of fear and aggression for 30 years. Two or three years ago, I’ll have more understanding of what it’s like to recover from that and put that into words.”

The rock scene needs more powerful voices like Buddy Nielsen, and hopefully his positivity and strong will can help others take a stand for what they believe in. Even those that haven’t started bands yet.