dead7 Jason Kozik Talks Debut Album and More on the Vulgar Display of Podcast

Send us Fan MailSt. Louis-based metalcore act dead7 is poised to break through in a major way with the release of their highly anticipated debut album, LOVE WHAT YOU CAN WHILE YOU GOT SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE, arriving July 11, 2025 via SharpTone Records. Known for their emotionally charged blend of heavy grooves, ambient textures, and bold vulnerability, the five-piece continues to turn heads with a sound that fuses brutal honesty and melodic hooks in equal measure.Composed of Jason Kozik (vocals), Dexter Greer (guitar), Tim Quinn (guitar), Stephen Salyer (bass), and Zach Guinn (drums), dead7 crafts music that leans into both atmospheric metal and alternative rock, while unafraid to explore the depths of love, loss, and internal conflict. Their debut album captures that duality perfectly—one moment it's a crushing wall of sound, the next a moment of haunting introspection.“We keep people guessing,” frontman Jason Kozik shared. “The new material is heavy, but we emphasized the hooks. We tried to make sure our songs resonate. In terms of the content, we focused on love, relationships, and things that are often tough to say.”After gaining traction through powerful singles like “tape mouth” and “heaven only knows” (featuring Nathan Johnson of Fox Lake), dead7 began to find their footing on the live circuit, including festival slots at POINTFEST alongside acts like Bad Omens, The Pretty Reckless, and Coheed and Cambria. The momentum caught the attention of SharpTone Records, who signed the band in late 2024.Heading back into the studio with trusted collaborators Caleb Freihaut and Ben McGuiness, dead7 shaped a record that reflects not only their evolution as a band but their refusal to be boxed in. Touchstones like Loathe, Bring Me The Horizon, and Three Days Grace inspire the record’s push-and-pull between chaotic energy and accessible melody.Tracks like “BLUR” showcase that duality immediately, with its vocoder-drenched verses giving way to explosive choruses. “It incorporates a lot of what dead7 is,” Kozik explained. “Lyrically, it’s a view of trying to navigate life with everything going on... in our relationships, in our families, and in ourselves. It feels like a blur, and you’re trying to survive.”Other album standouts include “HOLE,” a raw depiction of tension in a fractured relationship, and “PLEASE,” a cheeky-yet-intense track featuring Marcus Vik, where soaring melodies meet lusty lyricism and thunderous riffs. Kozik remarked, “We were making a joke about being kind of horny, and we tried to encapsulate it… It has the big guitar tone, but it’s poppier.”Then there’s “NUCLEAR,” a sharp commentary on media overload and global instability, and “DOPESICK,” a devastating closer that compares emotional dependency in relationships to addiction. “You hate it, but there’s no way out. So, you keep taking it anyway,” Jason admitted.dead7 is more than a band with a debut record—they’re a vision, shaped by real emotion and fearless experimentation. As Kozik puts it, “When you listen to anything we do, I hope you connect to what we’re saying. We want you to know you’re being heard.”As anticipation builds, Kozik also recently sat down with Allen Smith on the Vulgar Display of Podcast to discuss the band’s growth and his personal journey, giving listeners even more reason to pay attention to what’s coming next.With LOVE WHAT YOU CAN WHILE YOU GOT SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE, dead7 plants their flag as one of the most exciting and emotionally resonant bands rising out of the Midwest metal scene—and July 11th marks only the beginning.www.BetterHelp.com/TheBarnhttp://www.betterhelp.com/TheBarn http://www.betterhelp.com/TheBarnThis episode is sponsored by www.betterhelp.com/TheBarn and brought to you as always by The Barn Media Group.   YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@TheBarnPodcastNetworkSPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/show/09neXeCS8I0U8OZJroUGd4?si=2f9b8dfa5d2c4504APPLE https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1625411141I HEART RADIO https://www.iheart.com/podcast/97160034/AMAZON https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7aff7d00-c41b-4154-94cf-221a808e3595/the-barn