About Dead Poetic
Formed in 1997, and soon undergoing several name changes until they decided on the one that fits so well, Dead Poetic features Brandon Rike (vocals), Zach Miles (guitar), Josh Shellabarger (drums), and Chad Shellabarger (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.
The Ohio four-piece Dead Poetic defines their own punk style fitted for the new millennium and follwoing the word of God inside their own hard rock presentation. Their sound is both hotly current and a taste of what is 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."
"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."
Tooth & Nail took a liking to them in fall 2000 after the band played and pushed their name at the Cornerstone 2000 Festival. A year later, Dead Poetic struck a deal and landed studio time with Barry Poynter (the Juliana Theory, Furthermore) at Poynter Studio in Little Rock , AK . The fruit of those sessions resulted in Dead Poetic's debut album, Four Wall Blackmail, in spring 2002.
"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."
New Medicines appeared in 2004, after which the group basically self-destructed. But Dead Poetic was soon be reborn with only Rike and Miles carrying over. Rounding them out were drummer Jesse Sprinkle (formerly of Demon Hunter, Poor Old Lu) and Beloved alums, guitarist Dusty Redmon and bassist John Brehm. Working with the production team of Chino Moreno (the Deftones) and Aaron Sprinkle (Jesse's brother), the alternative rock-inspired Vices surfaced in the fall 2006 followed by The Finest in November of 2007. The album features a collection of 18 songs from the band's three full length albums, demo versions, and a new acoustic version of the song "In Coma," plus a brief written history and liner notes by lead singer Brandon Rike. It’s one to check out!
