Tom Kiely, Vocalist for Patient Sixty-Seven, Discusses the Band's New EP 'Home Truths'
Patient Sixty-Seven, the three-piece metalcore outfit from Perth, Australia, debuted their independently released new EP, Home Truths, on Friday, February 14th. Despite being surrounded by several big name releases - including new albums from Polaris, The Amity Affliction, and Saving Vice, among others - Patient Sixty-Seven are showing us why they deserve every ounce of this scene’s attention.
Following up 2018’s Four Walls EP, Patient Sixty-Seven put their blend of melodic metalcore on a pedestal with Home Truths. We were able to sit down with vocalist Tom Kiely to discuss the influences behind the sound of the record, among many other topics.
“Rory [Venville, guitar/vocals] does most of our guitar elements and definitely drove the ‘Home Truths’ sound that we were looking for. He draws influences from a lot of heavier bands that deliver next-level guitar work, such as Erra, Architects, and Fit For A King.
We also like to infuse the melodic elements as well, so while I also draw influence from the heavy bands like Polaris, I’ll listen to a lot of bands like Issues, Picturesque, and Hands Like Houses.”
Home Truths Cover Art
What is abundantly clear throughout Home Truths is that Patient Sixty-Seven wears their influences on their sleeve. Blending the straight-edge metalcore of a Polaris, with the polished melody of an Issues, allows this band to put forth an array of sounds, preventing them from being labelled as “just another metalcore band".
Exploring several lyrical themes, including relationships, substance abuse, and the emotions associated with watching family members endure struggles, Patient Sixty-Seven put their lives on display for all to hear. The band was also fortunate enough to work closely with Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens on tracks “Where to from Here” and “Retrograde”.
“Kellin [Quinn] does a lot of work with up-and-coming artists, and I think we were one of the first bands that he connected with through his Dreamer Development Group. We were discussing music, solely through social media, and we were able to send him some demos to get his input on the writing process, help with some melodies, and just overall feedback, which was extremely valuable.
[Home Truths] deals with a range of lyrical themes, but it’s mostly just about being as real as possible. “Retrograde” was a track we were able to work with Kellin on, and it deals with understanding a feeling, as opposed to discussing a situation in depth, which is what I normally try to do.”
Despite one of the biggest challenges in being located from Perth, the band continues to push forward and are always working on new music. Being from such an isolated city can put a certain strain on the success of a band, but Patient Sixty-Seven look at this challenge as an opportunity to motivate themselves.
“Location is easily our biggest challenge as a band. Just for perspective, if we wanted to play in another Australian city, we’re looking at a 2.5-3 hour plane ride. We can’t just get in the van do the classic run down one part of the country, it has to be a full travel holiday.
We’re hoping this EP will give us the opportunities to make those trips, but it’s an investment and we have to be sure its a worthwhile one. But, we try to use that as motivation for our band, rather than a hindrance.
What I love about being independent is the ability to make these decisions ourselves. We’re not limited to an album cycle or any strict touring cycle. So, we can kind of ask ourselves, “what do we want to do next?” We have some really good ideas in the works for our next release, and I think we will continue to release music more frequently. Bigger bands have the ability to hold people’s attention for years from one album, but we’re still looking to gain that momentum.”
Now that the EP has been out for almost two weeks, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, which is quite promising to see. Patient Sixty-Seven credit some of their success to their ability to make strong connections in the industry, but they’re not giving themselves enough credit with regards to the quality of music they’re putting out.
“We’re really lucky, because we’ve been able to make some really good connections with a lot of people from the states, which I think is awesome. That’s what is so good about the internet, is that music can reach all edges of the globe.
But the response has been really good so far, especially from the heavy music community. People have seemed to enjoy our brand of metalcore and it certainly gets us excited for the future.”
Home Truths is just the beginning for these metalcore newcomers. Citing Asking Alexandria and Bring Me the Horizon as dream bands to work with in the future, Tom Kiely and Patient Sixty-Seven have high hopes for the future of the band.
“If I had to pick one band to work with off the top of my head, it would have to be Asking Alexandria. Nowadays, their music is quite different, but to work wth a band that shaped my taste in music would be amazing. Bring Me the Horizon is another one that comes to mind, as their early music was key in shaping the scene and my interest in heavy music.
Then again, the good thing about being from Australia is that there are so many quality bands that we’re almost spoiled for choice now. Between The Amity Affliction, Polaris, Northlane, I’m always trying to put our hand out to jump on those shows.”
Patient Sixty-Seven’s Home Truths EP comes highly recommended by myself and many others. Kiely and the band would like fans to take away a sense of “being strong and not giving up” from their new EP, and say “if we can invoke an emotional connection with our fans, that’s a win for us.” More than anything, Patient Sixty-Seven want to engage with their fans, because they are just as much fans of the music as the next listener.
Check out “Where to from Here” below and you can find “Retrograde” on our official Spotify playlist now!