Patient Sixty-Seven enjoyed a busy 2019, with singles What’s Left On Us’ and ‘Help Inflicted’ marking the bands two most successful releases to date – having seen Patient Sixty-Seven continue to refine and hone in on their passionate brand of alternative music.
A year spent writing and recording new material will culminate in the release of Home Truths, with the new single and accompanying music video for “Where To From Here” showcasing first hand the bands newfound intensity which also features a helping writing hand from Sleeping With Sirens frontman Kellin Quinn. We caught up with members of the band to find out more on that as well as how the EP came together and much more.
Tell us how the new EP Home Truths came together and what were some of the things you wanted to achieve?
Declan: More music was always going to be on the way, we felt another strong EP would be perfect for us to refine our sound that we began in our last EP and just supercharge it. This album is called Home Truths and it is truly about the experiences we all face in life, it is all very real, raw and from the heart.
We wanted to diversify and try a few new things also which will be evident upon release.
Tom: Definitely wanted to mix it up where we could, to keep working on finding our sound and making it cohesive as well. It really came about after months and months of demo’ing out songs, Rory had a lot of good ideas that we started building off and bringing together.
The new single/video “Where To From Here” seems to represent the EP well, were there any particular reasons why you wanted this track to be released as both a single and video?
Rory: First reason; it hits hard as hell and secondly; the lyrical content is something listeners could really relate to. We felt that it was a great single for the EP and shows listeners exactly what we’re about.
Declan: This song was very important to us, especially to our vocalist Tom. We felt this track was a good representation of what to expect from the EP and we really came together on this song. The nature and content of the song is definitely ‘Home Truths’ to a tee, we also love the track and are very happy with it so we felt a music video would really help it hit harder.
You collaborated with Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens on this track, what was that experience like?
Declan: Oh the experience was completely unreal, to have someone of his calibre interested in assisting us was something out of a dream. He is so talented and has such great passion for music that it literally, pushed us to be the best band we could possibly be. He is so colourful and energetic when it comes to discussing ideas or showing him new tracks, we couldn’t thank him enough for investing time in us and we have already grown so much since his involvement.
Tom: It was a great experience, he gave us some great input on our ideas, as well as ideas of his own for the song/s and just helped to bring it to a different level. We were really happy with how it came together.
How does Home Truths compare to previous release/s and do you feel it’s a good representation of what the band is about?
Rory: Home Truths will be the first full release with me in the band, from a songwriting perspective. I think we’ve really brought our all to this EP and we’re just really excited to release it.
Declan: We feel that we have continued the sound of the previous release with a lot of refinement, and we have thrown in some very new elements which we are excited to show everyone. This will easily be our most technical and mature release to date.
How does the EP title tie in with all the songs?
Declan: The title was made by Tom. The title, to me, is the perfect name as it encompasses the theme and lyrical content of the songs. We have gone for a darker, yet truthful approach to the songwriting. I feel that there is content on the tracks that everyone will be able to relate to as we are speaking from a very real perspective. Life is hard, and has ups and downs. We feel the EP is a journey through a lot of different elements of life. From love and loss to struggle and rising above.
Tom: Declan pretty much summed it up perfectly. The title holds a special meaning to me because it just encompassed so much during the writing process. It has a literal meaning too, I moved house just before we really started writing the new music, and there was a lot going on in my life at the time. Writing and recording with our band helped get me through it, among other things. It’s also about facing the hard times in life head on, confronting it and coming out the other side.
What were the main inspirations for these songs? What did you write about and where were ideas coming from?
Declan: The title itself really explains the inspirations for the songs, they are home truths. Everyone has to battle things at home, be that relating to family, friends, personal development or habits.
I have a huge amount of appreciation for the lyrical content Tom produces, he is raw and no bullshit. I think that is a desirable approach to lyrics for us – as we are not attempting to be enigmatic. As for the musical content, we have an understanding of the theme Tom is going for in a song, we write with that perspective in mind.
Tom: It’s a broad range of things. There’s a mix of emotions to be found. I’ll try summarise some of them! ’Help Inflicted’ comes from being frustrated with the state of your mental health, and feeling like you’re not getting better – and the only answers people are giving you revolve around turning to medication. ‘Where To From Here’ is about love, family and the fear of loss. ‘Retrograde’ is about fighting as hard as you can for the person you care most about, no matter how hard it gets. ‘Blackout’ is just angry, man – that song just came from a place of distrust. There’s a lot going on in these songs from a lyrical standpoint, I try to pack in as much as I can while staying true to the emotions we’re aiming to convey, that we’re feeling.
With another release do you feel your writing has evolved in any way?
Rory: Absolutely, we’ve come together more as a band to really sit down and write it all as a group. As opposed to our last release which was mainly one or two peoples sole effort.
Declan: Agreed, with any sort of progression you will develop new skills. This release in particular, as for having worked with more people and trying new things I believe we have found a way to keep our sound, but add little sprinkles of things we have picked up on along the way. The songwriting has not changed in terms of formula, but our approach to bringing our ideas together with the help of those around us has changed dramatically. We’re definitely a mixed bag of experiences coming together to create what we have.
Does the band have any plans to tour for the EP?
Declan: We would love to do some tours this/next year. We have not planned an ‘EP tour’ as such, however we are more open than ever to the idea. It is something me and Tom have had in our sights for years.
Rory: Absolutely. We’ve always wanted to go on tour.
Tom: Watch this space!
Read the review of Home Truths
OFF THE RECORD
Patient Sixty-Seven jumps into a quick segment of randomness!
Favorite place to play?
Declan: To me, I always have loved playing at amplifier bar as it is just a great venue for heavy music and is a staple of Perth. It has a nice big stage so you don’t butt heads with the other guys near you, but also we have seen so many bands that we admire play the venue.
Rory: Amplifier Bar in Perth for sure.
Tom: Prince of Wales! Bunbury.
If you could trade places with any other band or artist, past or present, who would it be?
Rory: I’d love to say Jim Root. Always been one of my favourite guitarists and major influences.
Declan: Well I grew up listening to Metallica, and I loved every single thing about that band and how they conquered the world and just were the staple for Heavy Metal. James Hetfield was an idol of mine, I would very happily be that man haha (even with all the beehives).
Band you would love to tour with?
Rory: Parkway Drive, Architects, Polaris and Slipknot.
Declan: Loving the grind and grit of Ocean Sleeper at the moment! We have a ton of respect for what those guys are doing, would absolutely love to tour with them. But there are so many incredible bands killing it at the moment, I can’t think of someone I wouldn’t be happy to tour with.
Artist you would love to collaborate with on a recording?
Rory: Corey Taylor.
Tom: Lloyd Banks haha.
Craziest fan encounter?
Declan: So Western Australia is a very large state, we once played this show in Bunbury which is about 2.5 hour drive away from where we all live. Once we were at the venue a group of people approached me and said they had been waiting ages to see is and had driven 3 hours to Bunbury to come watch us open a set. They explained they loved our last EP and were jamming it all the time, and that they decided to all road trip to come and see us. It was very touching as obviously they had gone to a huge effort to come and watch us and it was somewhat surreal. Awesome blokes!
Tom: Just generally meeting people at shows who give us their time and say they love our music, that’s always crazy to me. I love those moments.
Most valuable advice ever given to you?
Rory: Just do it. Don’t wait around for the right time and watch it all pass you by.
Declan: Definitely that the behind the scenes grind is the most important aspect of building ourselves as a band. The moment that we made getting ourselves out there a priority was when we truly started reaping some rewards.
Proudest achievement with your band?
Rory: Releasing ‘Home Truths’ is up there for sure.
Declan: Honestly it is so hard to measure that as we have had so many different levels of achievements, but the proudest one is hard. I could easily say the moment we played our EP launch and we had hundreds of people in the crowd including our friends and family. I think our most measurable achievement is seeing the huge numbers of listeners we have had since last year, it has been unreal and a huge motivator for us to keep doing things they way we are.
Tom: ‘Home Truths’, it just feels good to have written something we’re all proud of and to share it with Declan and Rory. It’s been a journey so far.
If you could be credited with any song ever written, what song would you want your name attached to?
Rory: Killing With a Smile – PWD.
Declan: Discoveries- Northlane
Tom: Lose Yourself.
Tell us something we don’t know about you?
Rory: I have 2 very cute dogs.
Declan: I used to be a Koala Handler at a national park.
Tom: I have a cat named Tiffany and she runs my household.
Guilty musical pleasure?
Rory: I quite like lizzo’s music.
Declan: Oh boy, here we go. Umm…. I like a lot of local/national Australian hip-hop artists/rappers.
Tom: One Direction man, not even made though. Those guys are all so talented.
Outside of music what is your favorite thing to do?
Rory: Reading, working out and sleeping.
Declan: I love to get out and about and be a bit of a social butterfly, but I also love going for long walks along the river with a coffee and some headphones in. I also love the cricket, good god how I love the cricket.
Tom: Running for sure.
Home Truths will be available everywhere February 14. Pre orders are now available via the bands online store – or via digital outlets.
Pre-order ‘Home Truths’ + stream the new single ‘Where To From Here’: https://fanlink.to/HomeTruths
