In the last few years, many rock fans have enjoyed the rapid rise of the Orange County-based Dayseeker, a four-piece metalcore act that has been making a name for themselves through their explosive blends of metalcore and various genres of pop.

After the meteoric rise of their 2019 album “Sleeptalk,” the band is back with two singles, “Without Me” and “Neon Grave,” to tease their upcoming album “Dark Sun,” an eleven-track record in which the band dives into more personal topics than fans might be used to. 

“That half of this album is written about my father’s passing and how it felt like the sun burned out the day that he died, hence the title,” says frontman Rory Rodriguez. 

“I wrote about my daughter, about love and relationships. I’d like to think there’s a little bit of everything in here for our listeners to enjoy this newer, grown-up version of Dayseeker.”

This “grown-up” version of Dayseeker comes in part due to the shift in the band’s sound that came about during the writing of “Sleeptalk,” where the band decided to incorporate more influences from synthpop and electropop. 

“We were still writing mostly metalcore style music, and we took a step back and realized none of us even listen to that genre anymore and it felt a little forced,” Rodriguez says, “but we didn’t want to abandon our roots at the time. When writing Sleeptalk, though, we saw a chance to just write an album we would want to write and hoped fans would be receptive and they really seemed to love it!”

Impressively, this middle ground comes at no compromise to what makes the two genres work. Their songs are as catchy as they are ferocious, and textured as they are raw. But the sound they elegantly stepped into on “Sleeptalk” did not come without its pressures. According to Rodriguez, following it up was “scary.” 

“This music scene is incredible, but there are some listeners who are very critical of every move you make as a band.” 

Still, the band is looking at their new material with optimism, saying “I have faith though that if you liked ‘Sleeptalk,’ you should enjoy ‘Dark Sun.’”

On Sunday, September 4th, the band is taking their current tour to The Red Flag on Locust Street, a local hub for punk and metal shows in the St. Louis area. 

“We’ve definitely played St. Louis many times in the past,” Rodriguez says. “[There is] somewhat of a reputation for theft of musical equipment with other bands we know who have toured through there, but it’s always been a blast for us! Great crowds, great food, really cool city overall.” 

Judging from the quality of their latest singles, this show is a must-see for metal fans in the area.

“Dark Sun” comes out on November 4th, coinciding with a tour with Bad Omens.