Perth metalcore group Patient Sixty-Seven have recently unveiled the hard-hitting video for their new single Where To From Here, taken from the band’s upcoming Home Truths EP. Home Truths is set to be released on Friday, February 14 followed by a launch show at Lucy’s Love Shack on Saturday, March 7. BRAYDEN EDWARDS chatted with vocalist Tom Kiely and guitarist Declan Le Tessier about honing in on their own sound within the metalcore genre, plus what we can look forward to from the band at their launch, for the rest of 2020, and beyond.
It’s great to have a taste of your upcoming EP now with the release of Where To From Here. What was it about this track that made you want to put it front and centre?
Tom: For sure. We just felt it was the song that hit the right balance in terms of what we were trying to do with the EP. It’s a high energy, emotional track and we felt it is a good representation of our band and the sound we are working towards. It hits hard and we wanted the video behind it to really drive it home. We all agreed it was the right song to drop alongside announcing the EP because of those factors.
And for those of us not familiar with Patient Sixty-Seven, what was it that brought you guys together as a band? And more importantly, what has kept you together?
Declan: To be completely honest, our love for music really brought us together. I knew our vocalist Tom from school and everybody else I had met through this band. We have always maintained a strong close relationship with each other. We’re never too serious, and we love to hang out in our spare time and go to gigs and have meals. We find that if we have a good connection and spend time together, it makes doing all the hard work a lot more enjoyable than it already is.
Tom: Declan sums it up really well, it’s just a passion for writing and playing music. And backing each other in when the work ramps up. We’ve been through a lot together and it makes us even stronger as a band.
Your sound is described as metalcore, which really can span a diverse range of music. Are there any acts which you liken yourself to or would each member feel differently about that?
Declan: (laughs) yes, well metalcore I feel is one of the most diverse genre’s of metal music as it has multiple elements. You can have some more mainstream bands with poppy choruses and then some more extreme heavy bands. I would say we are quite similar to bands such as Wage War and Our Hollow Our Home. I don’t feel the boys would disagree as we have a focus on being very heavy when the heavy parts are required, having catchy yet technical riffs and then having a good focus on soaring melodies in our choruses.
Tom: Myself, Declan and Rory all listen to different bands so it helps us all bring different things to the table. I think metal, and then metalcore specifically. There’s a lot of crossovers but also so much that each artist can do differently. I’ve thought we’ve been able to bring influences from heavier bands in the genre, but also walk the line of accessibility in honing in on a sound that seems a little more polished in parts.
It also depends on the song and what we’re trying to do. There are heavy moments on the new EP, but there’s also a ballad and an acoustic sort of song. I feel like we all believe we can take a song in a different direction depending on what we feel like it might need – which is cool.
Are the different sounds on your new music reflective of a broader change in direction for the group? If so, what were the factors you felt led to that?
Declan: To be completely honest, we haven’t got our sights set on any direction at this stage, we write what we feel would be a good song and stick to the elements we have already established. We have had a lot of changes on this new EP however, they aren’t following a similar theme. We have some new heavy things we haven’t done and some new, more melodic, elements.
Tom: This was the first set of songs we did where Rory (guitarist/vocalist) took the lead on writing guitar. It drove us to a more cohesive, melodic sound. We also opened the box up and weren’t afraid to try whatever we felt a song needed. I did some singing on this EP as well, where I previously never sung on any of our older material. Once we recorded a few acoustic songs through 18-19, we felt it would make us a little more dynamic from a live standpoint to have two vocalists that could sing where needed – also because some of the stuff Rory is playing is nuts and when we’re playing live his attention is needed there.
You spent much of 2019 working on this music, were there any songs that you felt took a new direction once you were in the studio and turned out differently than you anticipated?
Declan: Oh absolutely, none of the songs have ever remained exactly how they were before we have entered the studio. The studio time is a group effort and we have input from all around. One of our newer songs, we completely flipped on its head once we got to the studio and we came out with an end result that we were very excited about as it was something completely new for us.
And is there a theme or narrative that ties the EP together lyrically? What kind of feeling or message were you hoping to express through these songs?
Tom: It’s diverse, to be sure. I think the focus from my end on lyrics was just to be as real as possible where I could. I think what ties it together is just wanting to be authentic, talking on things that anyone could be going through in their life. These songs have been an outlet for me, and if they can be that for anyone else at all – if they’re able to feel anything from the music, then that’s really what it comes down to.
The feelings found on the songs are mixed; there are expressions of anger, sadness, redemption. I wanted to just convey those emotions in the best way I could, and not be afraid to say what was on my mind when the songs were being written. Home Truths is about facing who you are, even when things get dark or uncomfortable – and that there is always a way forward through the hard times for life to get better.
What can you tell us about the other bands playing on the launch night and why did you think they were a good fit for the occasion?
Declan: The bands we have on our launch night are some of our favourite from Perth. We are absolutely stoked to have them on the lineup. We have some old friends and some new friends on the lineup and we love what all of the bands are doing at the moment. We couldn’t have picked a better bunch of people to be sharing the night with. The diversity in the band genre’s also makes it interesting.
Tom: So stoked about all three bands we have playing! We played Nautical Mile’s launch in November and it was probably our favourite show of 2019 – they’ve just put out their debut album and it is phenomenal. These guys are crushing it at the moment, touring Australia and really are one of Perth’s best pop-punk acts.
The Light The Dark we’ve been fans of for ages, they have put out some amazing music the last year or so and they’re just such a great fit. Altona we played with last month in Fremantle and they flat out blew us away, they actually have an album out right now that everyone should be checking out. So excited to be sharing the stage with all of these guys! I feel so lucky we have so many great bands in Perth.
What’s next for Patient Sixty-Seven? Any more gigs or new music coming up that we can look forward to in 2020 and beyond?
Declan: We have our EP launch lined up as discussed beforehand. We are sure we will be playing a few shows in the coming year, we love getting loose on stage. The next steps for us will definitely be keeping the grind going, getting some new music out there and just continuing what we are doing at the moment. We’re definitely itching to do a tour soon so that is something on the horizon, for sure.
Tom: We’re always planning, and looking forward to the next thing – so I guess the best thing to do is keep an eye on our social media pages to stay in the loop. Can’t wait to see what 2020 holds!
