Dayseeker’s Rory Rodriguez guides us through the creation of the band’s most immersive record to date ‘Creature In The Black Night’, out October 24 via Spinefarm Records.

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Ask any artist why they created a particular piece of work, they will likely talk at length about the people, places, and experiences that inspired them. Throughout any creative career, there are endless opportunities for inspiration to strike, but there are some pieces of art that feel almost inevitable, the kinds that channel some of the most vivid memories imaginable.

For Dayseeker’s Rory Rodriguez, 2022 album ‘Dark Sun’ was one of those. A grief-stricken record written in the wake of his father’s passing, it was wrought with pain and poignant reflection, connecting with fans in a way only few records can. 

“I can’t explain how proud I am of that album,” Rory starts.

“Seeing the way that fans related to the songs was so special, but one comment I saw online particularly caught my attention. It said something like, ‘Man, I love Dayseeker, but their music is so sad. I have to be in a certain mood to listen to it’.” 

“That stuck with me. It’s not as if we went into the next thing consciously wanting to be less melancholy and depressing, but there was this natural evolution. There’s still darkness here, and I would say this is our darkest yet, but I think ‘Creature In The Black Night’ is more palatable. People don’t have to be going through the worst thing in their life to connect with it.”

Whilst grief and self-destruction still weave their way through the band’s sixth full-length, that emotional weight is no longer the only voice in the room. An album that exudes confidence and swaggering sensuality, it finds the California quartet pushing further into their emotional and sonic depths than ever before.

One of the most talked about bands in the modern metal sphere, fifteen years into their career, Dayseekerare no longer an underground secret. The pressure that comes with that is undoubtedly real, but ‘Creature In The Black Night’ does everything but play it safe.The sound of a band doubling down on their instincts and embracing the unexpected, get ready to reconsider everything you think you know about Dayseeker. 

THE SOUND

“It’s human to feel the pressure of expectation. There were fans who didn’t think we could match ‘Sleeptalk’, and now there are those who think ‘Dark Sun’ was a masterpiece,” Rory shrugs, thinking back on the band’s mindset going into album six.

“It’s normal to get a little in your head about that, but we’re always trying to write music that has substance. It’s always rooted in real things that I’ve been through, and all that matters is that we stay authentic to ourselves.”

Their earlier albums hammered out during a month-long period alongside a producer, over time Dayseeker have adapted their process to avoid the creative burnout experienced by so many of their peers. Written and recorded in two parts – with initial sessions taking place at the tail end of 2024, and the final stretch completed earlier this year – ‘Creature In The Black Night’ was the product of a uniquely staggered approach, one that ultimately played a huge role in the final album. 

“Dan [Braunstein, producer] is about an hour and a half from me, so I would stay in LA for a few days at a time, then drive back home and hang out with my daughter,” Rory explains.

“That made things feel less intense, and I’m glad that we split it into two parts. We did the first half of the record, then got to breathe on it for a second. Writing from scratch can be really challenging, but I wrote songs like ‘Cemetery Blues’, ‘The Living Dead’ and ‘Nocturnal Remedy’ between the two blocks of sessions.”

That break also gave them space to lean into the eerie cinematic world that had emerged naturally in the earlier sessions. Whilst Rory would certainly never claim to be a die-hard horror fan, the vocalist found himself more drawn to the genre than ever before. That fascination creeping into his songwriting without him realising, soon the band were staring at a list of creepy demo titles including the likes of ‘Pale Moonlight’, ‘Shapeshift’ and ‘Crawl Back To My Coffin’. So, they decided to run with it.

“When you’re writing a record, it can be difficult to stick with one theme, but it felt so natural,” Rory explains.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s a concept album, but there’s so much to play around with when you look at horror and those general spooky vibes. There isn’t a distinct story flowing from beginning to end, but it definitely feels like all of these songs are connected thematically. It’s one cohesive piece of work.”

Bound by a selection of haunting spoken-word sections threaded throughout the record, ‘Creature In The Black Night’ is the kind of album that invites you to get lost in its world. Retaining the glossy production, stunning chords and 80s synthesiser sounds that have become Dayseeker’s signature, it’s also one of their heaviest offerings to date, with Rory screaming across the majority of its tracks.

That shift comes in part due to the album’s embrace of weirdness. From the country-tinged melancholia of ‘Crawl Back To My Coffin’ to the hyperpop drums and the experimental The Postal Service inspired textures of ‘Cemetery Blues’, there are moments that will catch even the most seasoned Dayseeker fan off-guard here, all playing into the album’s unique charm. 

“Metal has had such an uptake in popularity over the last few years, and now you can be the biggest band in the world with screaming and breakdowns in your music,” Rory says. 

“It feels like our music is getting a little stranger as we get older, and I love that. We’re not just evolving into a carbon copy of every other rock band. Sometimes you have industry people in your ear telling you to lock into the radio rock formula. I listen to a lot of pop, and we still keep to that semi-pop structure, but we want to do something different.” 

THE LYRICS

When discussing the process of creating their latest album, Rory is quick to point out that no working titles were used for any of these songs. With artists often cycling through a selection of draft options before settling on the words that make it onto the final tracklisting, it’s an accomplishment of sorts, and one that helps to explain the band’s unique approach to ‘Creature In The Black Night’.

Before a note of music was put down, Rory had already identified the heart beneath each track on the record. Establishing the titles, the themes, and what each song would explore before even taking the sound into consideration, that process is what gave the record a sense of total cohesion.

“I’ve never approached songwriting like that, but it served the songs really well because you’re not trying to find the meaning of the song while you’re creating it,” the frontman explains.

As for what the meaning is, that’s a little more complicated. While ‘Dark Sun’ zeroed in on the complex journey of navigating grief, this time around Rory found himself drawn to a broader emotional landscape. Filtering through feelings of mistrust, anxiety, and emotional numbness, there are countless emotions scattered throughout the songs on ‘Creature In The Black Night’.

“There are a lot of introspective songs on this record,” he says.

“‘As our band has gotten more popular, I’ve had to learn how to navigate trust. You still want to let people in and be vulnerable, but sometimes you end up trusting the wrong people. Our success has taught me to be a little more guarded and to question people’s intentions. It’s not like we go into a record saying, ‘This is what we’ll write about’, but it always draws from things that cause me great happiness or great sadness. If it strikes a heavy emotional chord with me, I always feel like that’s something worth exploring in a song. I went through some tough situations over the last couple of years relating to misplaced trust, and that’s what a lot of this record is about.”

That’s where you get the likes of ‘Shapeshift’, a song that serves as an open letter on anxiety, and the exploration of self-destructive tendencies on ‘Pale Moonlight’. Elsewhere on the album though, we see Rory lean into a more figurative space. ‘Crawl Back To My Coffin’ conjures up a metaphor on the feelings of betrayal that can come with letting someone in, whilst ‘The Living Dead’ wraps up a reflection on emotional disconnection in zombie imagery.

“It’s the only song on this record that relates to my dad, and I’m talking to him in the verses,” Rory nods.

“My dad was a stern, quiet guy. I never saw him cry, break down, or have any intense emotions. In a way, I admired that, because he was a strong person to be around. I leaned on him a lot when I was a kid, and I adopted some of the same qualities as I became an adult. From going to therapy, I have learned that when I get hit with trauma, I do a shitty duct tape job and push it to the side.” 

“‘The Living Dead’ is a weird open letter to my dad, about him seeing what my life is like now and what I’m going through. It’s also about recognising that I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to be this half alive person that doesn’t show emotion. I want to be open, and I want to be vulnerable with the things that I feel.”

THE COLLABORATORS

Having worked on both ‘Sleeptalk’ and ‘Dark Sun’, when it came to the question of who would tackle production duties on this record, there was only ever one name in mind. Described by Rory as “the secret fifth member” of Dayseeker, Daniel Braunstein’s subtle touches are all over ‘Creature In The Black Night’.

“He cares so much,” Rory nods.

“I’ve worked with other producers where it feels like they’re just there to hit record, but Dan challenges me. He’ll say things like, ‘What you have is good, but I don’t think it’s what it’s supposed to be yet’. As a songwriter, sometimes your ego gets in the way, but we’re always willing to try other ideas. I remember specifically recording his idea for the chorus of ‘Shapeshift’, then listening back and going, ‘God damn it, you’re right’. He doesn’t need to challenge me, and he’s gonna get paid to do the record either way, but he truly cares. He’s a huge part of why these records turn out the way they do.”

The album was mixed by scene legend Zakk Cervini (Bring Me The Horizon, Blink-182), who elevated Dayseeker’s sound to its most polished, cinematic level yet. Elsewhere, co-writing contributions from the likes of Tyler Smyth, Silent Planet’s Mitch Stark, and Wage War’s Cody Quistad brought fresh energy into the fold.

“As a band, we’re great at putting together the melodic rock parts of our music, but I sometimes find it hard to be super inventive with the heavier parts,” Rory admits.

“I spent a few days with Cody at his home near Nashville, and we worked on a few songs together. He ended up writing the heavier breakdown part in the bridge of ‘Creature In The Black Knight’. He’s such a smart songwriter, and he can just spit out guitar riffs.”

“With Mitch, he helped us write the heavier bit in ‘Shapeshift’. It was actually a part that we were trying to squeeze into a song on ‘Dark Sun’, but it didn’t fit. I loved the part Mitch had written for us though, and I wanted to make sure it went on this record. Thankfully, it slotted perfectly into ‘Shapeshift’.”

THE TITLE & ARTWORK

With a title that tells a short story in itself, it takes just one glance at the cover artwork for ‘Creature In The Black Night’ to know that you’re entering a different world. Designed by Ryan Sanders, who was also responsible for the purple hued single artwork of ‘Pale Moonlight’, both images centre around a cloaked Grim Reaper.

“We told him what the vibe of ‘Pale Moonlight’ was when we were working on it and explained that we were interested in this horror theme,” Rory recalls.

“Having that Reaper figure designed before we finished the record almost influenced the direction of the songs too. There’s a talking bit on there, and it’s meant to represent the perspective of the Reaper. There’s this recurring theme going through all the songs, and the title and artwork tie it all together.”

In terms of how they settled on the album’s title, the story is just as simple, coming whilst Rory was writing the track of the same name. 

“We did a show in Hawaii, and I heard this weird synthwave track with pulsing bass and drums. I wondered whether we could do something like that in Dayseeker,” the frontman nods.

“It’s not often that it happens, but I ended up writing most of that song straight from my head into my notes app. It just came out of me, and as soon as I spat that line out onto the page, I had named both the song and the album.”

THE FUTURE

Six albums in, it’s certainly not lost on Rory how lucky he and his bandmates are to be where they are right now. Their audience growing faster than they can process, and their flow of inspiration running smoother than ever before, it’s a position that many bands dream of finding themselves in.

“I just love being a part of this. Every week I get excited when Spotify spits out my Release Radar, because I’m obsessed with learning about what’s new in the scene,” Rory smiles.

“It could be my peers who are pushing boundaries, it could be a band I catch live, or it could even be a major pop artist like Sabrina Carpenter. All different musical styles and genres build you into who you are, and that’s why we’re always listening to music on the bus. We’re always talking about the albums and musicians that have inspired us throughout our lives, and to be even a small part of that scene is so amazing to me.”

A record fuelled by darkness but ultimately guided by growth, ‘Creature In The Black Night’ condenses everything that Dayseeker have learnt over the last decade into 35 minutes of pure magic. The kind of album that feels indescribably special from the second you hit play, it’s easy to understand why the corners of Rory’s mouth curl up into a smile every time he talks about it. Focused, confident, and having the time of their lives, the stage is set for the most vital era of Dayseeker yet.

“Sometimes you meet other musicians, and whilst they like music, they don’t love it. It’s not like that for us. We love this, and we care a lot,” Rory finishes.

“We did a VIP experience on our headlining tour last year, and we were halfway through the record then. Fans were asking us what our favourite Dayseeker song was, and all of us were like, ‘You haven’t heard it yet’. We all truly feel like this is the best thing we’ve ever done.”