In the Hot Seat: Psychopathic Daze

After a month of e-mail communication and a stint as MusicTalker’s “Artist of the Week,” Psychopathic Daze have finally found their way to “the hot seat.”  As mentioned in my previous article, this up-and-coming Chicago act needs more exposure.  They have more talent than many better-known metal bands.  They also seem to work harder than many signed bands.  For instance, Psychopathic Daze have shared the stage with the likes of As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Hatebreed, Sylosis, Between the Buried and Me, and Lamb of God.  Don’t take my word for it, though.  Check them out on Facebook.

With all of that said, give my conversation with the band a read below.  I was able to pick their brains about the band’s formation, their favorite experience of sharing the stage with an established band, their current U.S. tour, and the new album, among other pressing topics.  I found their answers interesting and entertaining, as I hope you will, too.  I was especially intrigued by the amount of effort and time they put into the song, “My Black Dahlia,” which is definitely worth a good, hard listen.

 

I understand [bassist] Kyle Meiser and [guitarist] Frank Adamo were recruited via networking.  How did original members [former guitarist] Mike Fitzpatrick, [vocalist] Ken Morahan, and [drummer] Ryan Kinsella come to form Psychopathic Daze?

Pretty much the same way. Mike owns a haunted house, and he originally wanted a band to play at the haunt while people were standing in line. So he put up a couple of Craigslist ads and found Ken and Ryan. The funny thing is, the band only ever played at the haunt once, and we got shut down 3/4 of the way through the set by the cops. The band ended up growing into much more than just a haunt band, and we continue to focus on growing our career.

How did you guys come up with the name Psychopathic Daze?

The band existed without a name for several months while various names were being thrown around. One Christmas Eve, Ken was at home working on some lyrics, and the song “Psychopathic Daze” popped out in about minutes. When he brought the song/song title to the band, everyone liked the name and adopted it as the band name.

As you may have seen in my artist spotlight for your band, I compared your music to that of In Flames.  Whose music do you think your sound correlates the most to, if anyone?

Thanks for that awesome comparison! We try not to sound like anyone. The way we see it, As I Lay Dying (for example) plays As I-style music better than we ever could, so why would we try to copy that? At the same time, we play our music better than any other band would be able to. So we focus on writing our music our way. All that being said, it’s impossible not to be influenced by somebody in this day and age. Our favorites would probably be Lamb of God, August Burns Red, Slipknot,Pantera, As I Lay Dying, and Killswitch Engage.

From the impressive list of established bands with whom you have shared a stage, who offered the most memorable experience?  What did the experience entail?

I think our favorite show with an established band would have to be when we played with Dope. For one, their crowd REALLY seemed to get into our music, and just threw down with us. That always makes our job easier. The other thing that stood out was Dope’s support. Every one of them watched our entire set and was hugely supportive of us after the show. The night ended up being one of those nights where you get off stage and just go, “THAT is why we do this!”

Artist of the Week [3/29/13]: Psychopathic Daze

Another Chicago band has made it into the MusicTalker books, and rightfully so.  Psychopathic Daze offer a refreshing melodic death metal sound, somewhat reminiscent to the legendary Death as well as early In Flames and Children of Bodom, despite the lack of keyboards for the latter.  Although, the band’s bio does not delve that deeply into the sound of Psychopathic Daze.  It does, however, inform the reader of the band’s impressive résumé. Apparently, Psychopathic Daze have shared the stage with better known bands like As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Lamb of God, Between the Buried and Me, Hatebreed, and Sylosis, among others.

For their song, “End of Days,” Psychopathic Daze released a music video in April of 2012. While it is clearly a low-budget production, it is interesting to watch.  As the screen fades up from black, the viewer sees a herd of zombies from which the band members walk away with ease.  The next scene portrays the cliché portion of a hard rock/heavy metal music video where the band performs the song in an empty room.  In this case, PD are in a caged room while a living human runs away from the zombie herd.  Again, despite the fact that it is obviously low-budget and that it is probably not the most original concept, it works with the band’s image and music.

As for studio releases, Psychopathic Daze’s third effort, titled Ride This Bullet Home, will drop in late April.  After hearing the new EP, it can be said that these guys should be more well-known.  They are playing better metal music than a lot of the bands in the forefront of today’s modern metal scene.

For more information regarding Chicago’s Psychopathic Daze, check them out on Facebook.  Their official website is www.psychopathicdaze.com.  Stay tuned on their media platforms for their forthcoming release.

If you know of any worthy musicians for MusicTalker’s “Artist of the Week” segment, send an email to themusictalker@gmail.com with band information.