Empathy Test kicked off 2022 with two headline Scandinavian shows. The first was in Copenhagen (Denmark) on 4th March, where they were supported by local band and future German tour support, The Foreign Resort, at Spillestedet Stengade. A week later (12th March) the band headlined Nalen Klubb in Stockholm, Sweden, with support from Octolab. David Leisser performed on drums at both shows.

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On 15th April 2022, Empathy Test filled a cancellation slot at Resistanz Festival in Sheffield, UK. Chrisy was supposed to join the band for the performance but contracted Covid-19 in the week running up to the festival and was unable to perform. David Leisser flew in from Austria to play drums. A remix of Empathy Test's Empty Handed by Resistanz festival headliner Rotersand appeared on the Resistanz Festival 2022 Official Soundtrack CD.

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On 27th April, Empathy Test were the secret "special guests" of Aesthetic Perfection at four dates in Austria and Germany, with David Leisser on drums and Oliver Marson on keyboards. Empathy Test's participation was kept secret until the last minute so as not to affect ticket sales on Empathy Test's own headline shows in Oberhausen, Hannover and Berlin (although Berlin was already sold out) later in the year.

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In Oberhausen, Nadine Kloppert wrote (in German) for Monkeypress that despite Christina Lopez being missed, David Leisser did such a great job on the drums it was hard to notice any difference, and that Isaac was "in his element", animating the audience and dancing exuberantly. Roughly translated: "Empathy Test delivered precisely, and the audience was blissful".

 

In Hannover, Sharpshooter Pics wrote (also in German) that during Empathy Test's performance "the audience danced relentlessly and sang their hearts out". A particular highlight for them, was Holy Rivers, where the audience "not only sang along loudly, but continued to sing it after the song ended". 

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In Berlin, Deep Ground Magazine's Dagmar Urlbauer wrote (in German) that Empathy Test is a live act that "really packs a punch". Their performance in Berlin, she wrote, was "very impressive", but that that was hardly surprising. "After all," she said, "we are talking about one of the most talented musicians, who knows how to transport emotions with a depth and openness that is rarely found".

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Isaac also joined Aesthetic Perfection on stage in Hannover and Berlin to perform an acoustic version of the song he co-wrote with Aesthetic Perfection, Save Myself.

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On Friday 13th May, Empathy Test performed for the first time in Paris, France. The headline show at Espace Icare was promoted by Le Reactuer and support came from local acts Je T'Aime and Dear Deer.

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On 27th May 2022, after two years' of postponements, Empathy Test began their Monsters Tour of Germany with support from The Foreign Resort and Italy's Hapax on selected dates. They also supported Ritual Howls (USA) in Vienna and Linz on May 30th and 31st respectively. The tour was one of their most successful to date in terms of ticket sales and performances sold out in Berlin, Hannover, Leipzig and Bremen.

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On 1st July, Empathy Test performed at the first edition of Pluswelt's Eastside Open Air Festival, in Halle, Germany. On 23rd July they performed for a second time at Amphi Festival, in Cologne. This time, the band were on the indoor Theatre Stage. The venue reached full capacity and had to be closed off before the band arrived on  stage.

 

At Liliom Kino in Augsburg on 29th July the band performed at the first edition of a small festival named after their song, Losing Touch, and sold out the evening they were headlining. It was also in Augsburg at the Losing Touch Festival that the band met local musician Nadine Green, who would perform with the band on keyboards just two weeks later at the Stella Nomine Festival in Torgau, Germany.

 

The following night, 30th July, Empathy Test performed to over 400 fans at Zeiss Planetarium in Jena, with 360 degree projections and surround sound. The Foreign Resort provided support.

 

On Friday 19th August, Empathy Test performed at Stella Nomine Festival in Torgau with Nadine Green standing in for Oliver Marson, who was shooting a music video for his solo project. On the following Monday, the band was contacted by Mark Guy of Bradford (UK) based festival Infest, asking if they could fill in at short notice for Rein, who was unable to travel to the UK because of passport/visa issues.

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Oliver Marson was unavailable, so Isaac flew with Nadine Green to the UK on Saturday 27th August where they were joined by Christina Lopez on drums. The band's performance received a glowing review from A Mode of Control, who commented that "Empathy Test proved here that they can be effective headliners and excel doing so."

 

A month later, Empathy Test supported Covenant at The Garage in London on 16th September. The band was then supposed to fly to Chicago the following Wednesday (21st September) to perform at Coldwaves Festival in Chicago on 23rd September. The festival appearance was to form the first date of a full USA tour, with an appearance at Absolution Festival in Tampa, Florida, on 8th August and Substance Festival in Los Angeles on 21st October.

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However, despite the band having applied for their US visa over three months prior, Isaac's visa was not issued until two days after the band were due to fly. With no indication when he would get his passport back, Isaac made the difficult decision to postpone the US tour until 2023. 

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With the help of Darker Side of Light, Empathy Test immediately began rebooking the US tour for October 2023, with Absolution Festival in Tampa, Florida, providing the first date. The band also announced they would be performing at Dark Force Festival in Parsippany, New Jersey, on Friday 31st March 2023.

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Meanwhile, with the help of the band's live sound engineer, Philip Frech, Empathy Test had been making some live recordings across four shows on the German Monsters tour. Time to Be Alive was recorded at Liliom Kino in Augsburg with Christina Lopez on drums, and previously, in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin with David Leisser on drums. Oliver Marson performed on all tracks and the album was mixed and mastered by Adam Relf.

 

A limited edition slimline Digipak CD version of the album was rushed out in order to be sold at the merch table on the American tour. The album was released digitally on 23rd September, the day Empathy Test was due to perform at Coldwaves Festival in Chicago. Time to be Alive was released without a press campaign, reached #31 in Bandcamp's best selling albums - for all genres. It was #7 in Synth Heaven's Best Remix, Live & Symphonic Albums of 2022 and received 20,000 Spotify streams in its first week. The original Digipak CD spent several weeks at #5 in Poponaut's best selling CD chart.