Coming off the high energies off their August EP Control, DeadDays come back with assailing wicked single "Tombstone" via Theoria Records.
Since 2014, metalcore act Dead Days have known the struggle of what it's like to market yourself and the music you love to make, especially in an area that is predominately pop-punk or punk territory.
“Tombstone rushes hard into the “back against the wall” theme. And by that I mean, it's talking about having only one life to live and basically not letting anyone get in your way. It also involves a kind of “lashing out” at different moments, situations, and people we come across in our journey that tries to push us or move us towards their way of life. Life is too short to stand idle and put up with people who drag you down. If you read the lyrics to any of our songs, it's pretty clear I use this band to let out some frustrations.”
But Dead Days' unbridled passion has been the driving force behind their August EP Control and now their new wicked single "Tombstone." via Theoria Records. With choruses that instantly command your attention, fetching choruses, and immensely ear catchy breakdowns, Dead Days wants to show off the music they love they love but also how far they have come in enjoying the process as well. "Tombstone" is more than just an homage and a solid display of musicianship, it's about fate and how we are in control of that; no one is in control of that but us. While Dead Days have only started to gain momentum, this single is proof that their is more to their sound than meets the eye.
What initially made you guys want to start Dead Days?
Don Tuer - The original idea for Dead Days started way back in roughly 2013/2014 with myself and our guitarist/singer Ty Coker. It was just a fun project that the two of us started to let out frustration and our love for the heavier side of music. We both came up in our local scenes playing shows together in our “screamo'' bands years before that.
Eventually, after spending a ton of time working off and on with the songs we had created we decided it was time to find some friends to fill out a lineup and get the ball rolling. Our first single ‘Holy Water’ was around for years and we knew after writing that song we had something interesting that we wanted to show people.
What are your musical influences? How did they make their way into your new single "Tombstone?" Technically, it's just solid. You have these engaging hooks and these massive breakdowns that just make this an earworm of a track.
Don Tuer - Personally my musical influences are all over the map. I love heavy music and have been playing music since I was 14 years old. It started with more local bands from Ontario like Alexisonfire and spread into the pop-punk world with New Found Glory and Paramore. I’ll say it right here and now that NICKELBACK was and still is one of the best rock bands on earth and influences me to this day. I can feel your judgment seeping in already. I stand tall with that proclamation. And of course, I listen to everything relevant in the metalcore, deathcore, etc. core scene as well. Gotta keep up with the times!
Now, with our song ‘Tombstone’, we dug deep into old-school metalcore. I was listening to a ton of As I Lay Dying and It Dies Today and bands that I grew up loving. It is a high five to that style, back when choruses were huge, the verses were mean, and the breakdowns were simple and bone-crushing.
As for the band as a whole, we all pull from every weird corner of metal, rock, and even country music (that's me).
I want to dive into the lyrical aspect of "Tombstone" a bit. It delves into some deep themes of controlling your fate and the subject of internal power. Can we talk about that?
Don Tuer - Absolutely! ‘Tombstone rushes hard into the “back against the wall” theme. And by that I mean, it's talking about having only one life to live and basically not letting anyone get in your way. It also involves a kind of “lashing out” at different moments, situations, and people we come across in our journey that tries to push us or move us towards their way of life. Life is too short to stand idle and put up with people who drag you down. If you read the lyrics to any of our songs, it's pretty clear I use this band to let out some frustrations.
I know this single is just coming off your latest EP, Control. In what ways is this different from that prior release? What was the creative process going into this?
Don Tuer - The process for this was actually very similar to what we did for the last single off the Control EP, which was the title track. We did this song remotely with our pal JD deBlieck. He brought ‘Tombstone’ to life from the comfort of his home and we recorded all the vocals at home. Being Canadian is tough in the heavy music world, producers are harder to come by it seems.
But with JD, it came about that I used to tour with him back when he was in Ice Nine Kills and I was in a band called Horizons. I reached out to see if he would be willing to take us on and the rest is history. We used what we had at the time and with technology being what it is now, we pulled off a product we all love. I miss being in a studio setting and just diving headfirst into the music but that will hopefully be happening again soon.
What do you want people to take from this release that was a part of your last EP release?
Don Tuer - Honestly, I just want people to see how far we have come in such a short existence. We have so much up our sleeves and with the ability to finally play shows, we can show them we have a ton to offer and more music to share with whoever will listen.
The Control EP was us throwing down what we had and with ‘Tombstone’ it's more like we have something to prove. We all know heavy music as individuals but this release was us working hard to put it all together in a whole idea instead of five parts looking for a home.
What's next for you guys?
Don Tuer - More music. Live shows. Subtle yet overwhelming world domination. You know, that old chestnut.
Look, basically, all I can say is that we are quietly working in our lab on a half-human, half-metalcore hybrid and it's growing and learning at an alarming rate.
Would you like to know more? (Starship Troopers reference, I apologize)