Music Style Hard Rock, Hardcore, Emo

Similar Artists Zao, Embodyment, Poison The Well, Thurdsay

Artist History 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.

Group Members Chad Shellabarger, Zach Miles, Josh Shellabarger, Brandon Rike

Albums Four Wall Blackmail (2002)

Press Reviews CultureDose.com Ambitious Band With Talent to Back Them Up A Review by Laurie Edwards 04/22/2002 If there's such a thing as melodic heavy metal that never quite gets soft enough to be power pop, Dead Poetic's it. Brandon Rike has the look and sound of a teen idol, but the music and lyrics he and the rest of Dead Poetic come up with put them far outside the teenybopper realm...though I can definitely see hit potential here. Dead Poetic has been around for going on five years now, which is a helluva long time when the band is now only between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. In that five years, they've grown up together in Ohio, come to personal understandings within the band, and had several names (finally coming arriving at a name that reminds me immediately of the Robin Williams film of nearly the same name...which, in turn, leads me to think of talented young kids who question everything). Yeah, these guys are young, and they're smart enough to play with that image. For as young as they are, there's the polished sound of a band who've been together awhile; the music and story lyrics fit together nicely, and no one instrument overwhelms the others. (Zach Miles, particularly, has a grasp of the proper place for his work that many older guitarists don't have after thirty years of playing in a band.) The music is a collaborative effort, too; Miles writes the basics, after which the others tweak to suit. Then Rike adds his intense lyrics, the band works them, and they're ready to record. This is excellent teamwork, with nobody getting obviously stuck as the Overshadowed One. (For those who don't understand the dreaded Overshadowed One Disease, please reference George Harrison, Bill Wyman, Roger Daltrey, Jermaine Jackson, and Merrill Osmond.) Along with their talent, Dead Poetic appear to have a rather cold determination to succeed; there's a story around that they passed out fifty copies of their demo tape to staffers at Tooth and Nail Records (SolidState is the hard imprint label of Tooth and Nail), hoping someone would take notice of them. It's to the label's credit that they were able to see the class act beyond the obvious ambition...and to the band's that they were willing to go so far in their single-minded drive to make it. Dead Poetic claim their musical influences are Thursday, Poison The Well, Zao, At The Drive-In, and Embodyment, but I hear something lighter going on as well—something likely to find a wider audience than that owned by any of those other bands. Not to say they're selling out at all—their debut album, Four Wall Blackmail stays true to their tough influences—but they put a catchy spin on it all that'll likely appeal to more people than are generally attracted to this sort of music. "Bliss Tearing Eyes," especially, offers a very different—gentle and lovely—sound and attitude. On several songs—"August Winterman," "The Corporate Enthusiast," and the title track come to mind—Rike's lyrics indicate an old soul (if you believe in such things); there's no way a man his age could have the life experiences necessary to write these songs. Bitterness and depression give way to the faith that sustains the entire band; all the members describe themselves as Christians (though they're careful to point out that they want to appeal to everyone, not just the Faithful). "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." The first tune, "Burgundy," is only thrashing drums away from mainstream hard rock; the melody, Rike's voice, and the first-rate harmonies place this one squarely in the power pop category...until he lets loose with some utterly convincing growls and screams. The ending, hollow-sounding electronic distortion of the vocal, has tinges in it that belong in the same area as mainstream bands like Sisters of Mercy. Nicely done. "August Winterman," as compelling musically as lyrically, fits this category too—bitter fucking tough, but crafted to reach all sorts of people. Go ahead—call me old and out of touch; I admit to being more impressed with good singing than I am with snarling. "The Corporate Enthusiast," (one of the story songs) and "A Green Desire" prove Rike is able to switch back and forth between the two with seeming ease. The breathless throat-cancer sound I associate with emo-howling is used to good effect here and there, but the majority of his vocal performance is real singing. Even more surprising for this genre, he actually sings well! "Green Desire" also includes some excellent point-counterpoint singing and undistorted guitars that call to a very melodic, pop part of the hardcore scene. (Yes, there is one!) Even more surprising is the aforementioned "Bliss Tearing Eyes," which jumps out of the pack as either an utter anomaly or the sound of a band eager (and ready!) for a Top 40 hit; picture Neil Young with a good voice and KISS' "Beth" with more depth, and you might be able to imagine the oddball beauty of "Bliss Tearing Eyes." Special approving note to Zach Miles: He's as good a guitarist as anyone in the genre, and better than most. Even more mainstream-oriented is the title track, which could well be Dead Poetic's first solid hit. Occupying the same place musically as Rock and Roll Over-era KISS, this is just glorious real rock music! One note, though: The screaming fade-out is a little unsettling, after the beauty of the song proper, and it goes on just a tad too long. Still and all, this is hit material. "Tell Myself Goodbye" could fit this bill too; though weaker than "Four Wall Blackmail," (and more screamo), there're still plenty of hooks and Rike's voice yells success. You know there's got to be shit with the manna, right? In this case, the shit is "Ollie Otson," and "Stereochild," as bad a couple of shrieking, untuneful piles of cat dirt as I've heard in a while. It shocked me to hear them, as much as I enjoyed the rest of the album; I listened to them several times, hoping they'd grab me more upon repeated hearing. Didn't happen; they got worse each time, eventually becoming unlistenable, headache-inducing noise. Note to Dead Poetic: A goodly part of your charm is the careful balance between melodic rock and hardcore. Straight screaming and bad music don't impress. It says in their press release that Dead Poetic has played shows with Narcissus, Norma Jean (formerly Luti-Kriss), Featherweight, Spoken, Further Seems Forever, Embodyment, and mewithoutYou. That they don't fit musically with these other performers is weird enough (think: The Stones opening for Maria Callas), but it must also be strange for Dead Poetic to open for bands who're nowhere near as good as they are. I'd imagine that with the success they'll likely have, roles will be reversed fairly soon...and the somewhat pathetic quote, "When we are not touring, we will be playing out on the weekends," will soon have to be removed from their press release; I don't see this group having to hire out much longer, if their musical output continues in the manner of Four Wall Blackmail. Dead Poetic has a nicely arranged website, www.deadpoetic.com, on which the band members themselves post regularly. It's an unassuming site, requesting only that posters behave themselves (and warning that if the Forum gets too nasty, the Forum will disappear). Clearly, this band wants to be accessible to its fans, and they've chosen a charming and friendly manner in which to get to know the people who buy their music. I was oddly enchanted with this direct (well, as direct as such things can be in today's world) communication. Equally direct, charming, and unassuming is their music. If it hasn't been made quite clear that I like this band and album a great deal, then let me say it plain: Dead Poetic is something special, something important—and I strongly believe they're going places. Let's put it this way: If I hadn't gotten a review copy of Four Wall Blackmail for free, I'd have bought it anyway, and that's rare. With two hellacious exceptions, it's too good to miss. Buy it. © Copyright CultureDose.com 04/22/2002

Location New Lebanon, Ohio - USA

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