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The Gauntlet: Dead Poetic |
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Near Dayton, Ohio, deep in the heartland, a band named Dead Poetic has put together a sound that's both hotly current and a taste of what's to come in rock and roll. With their sublimely melodic yet passionately intense style, reminiscent of diverse bands such as Thursday, Poison The Well, Zao, At The Drive In, and Embodyment, Dead Poetic present their Tooth & Nail debut, "Four Wall Blackmail."
Formed in 1997, and soon undergoing several name changes until they decided on the one that fits so well, Dead Poetic features Brandon Rike (19, vocals), Zach Miles (18, guitar), Josh Shellabarger (22, drums), and Chad Shellabarger (18, bass). Zach writes the basic format of the song out with his inventive and diverse six string skills, after which Brandon writes the sincerely confessional lyrics which suit both his singing and his screaming, while the creative rhythm section of Chad and Joshua contribute even further into the composing from there.
On songs like "August Winterman," "The Corporate Enthusiast," and the title track to the album Dead Poetic evocatively construct chilling story songs about lost hope and found faith, which are accessible in their imagery.
"We hope to appeal to everyone with our content, no matter what they believe or stand for," the band asserts. "We are all Christians, but we hope to break those stereotypes people have of Christians. We hope to provide a sense of refuge amidst legalistic principles that hold us back from moving forward with God. With this in mind, this is why we are happy to be on Tooth & Nail, which allows its bands to be themselves, while staying positive."
"Four Wall Blackmail" was produced by Barry Poynter at Poynter Studios in Little Rock, AK. Barry's previous work with the Juliana Theory and Furthermore show the stylistic width of his talents, but his forte is the kind of dually assaulting and melodic creative hard music Dead Poetic‘s young musicians excel at, so this is a collaboration new music fans will love. "Working with Barry was amazing," the band says, "because he is a hard worker, and he pushed us to our full talent. We worked with him because we were impressed with previous albums he had recorded."
Dead Poetic was contacted by T&N in October 2000, after the Cornerstone 2000 festival, where they had passed out 50 demos to every Tooth & Nail staff member they could find. The band was signed in November 2001.
Dead Poetic has played shows with Narcissus, Norma Jean (formerly Luti-Kriss), Featherweight, Spoken, Further Seems Forever, Embodyment, and mewithoutYou on previous shows and on their winter tour, which is planned to pick up again in the summer. "When we are not touring, we will be playing out on the weekends," the band exclaims.
Fans of unpredictable, creative, catchy rock and roll, indie rock, or hardcore should not miss Dead Poetic, whether on tour or on their first CD.
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