Today, the hard rock group Pop Evil released the third single, “Dead Reckoning (Ft. Fit For A King)” from their upcoming album, Skeletons due March 17 via MNRK Heavy.
The concept and instrumentals for “Dead Reckoning” were brought to the table by bassist, Joey “Chicago” Walser and co-written with singer, Leigh Kakaty. The producer, WZRD BLD, heard the demo and immediately suggested that Ryan Kirby from Fit for a King would be the perfect fit for a vocal collaboration. In describing the song, the band said, “’Dead Reckoning’ is about..a clear and unwavering decision a person makes within themselves.”
The 11-tracks feature the already released single, “Eye of the Storm” landing at the #5 Most Played Song in 2022 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart, and the most recent single, “Paranoid (Crash & Burn).” The album also includes guest performers such as Blake Allison from Devour the Day providing guest vocals on “Wrong Direction.”
In discussing the album, frontman Leigh Kakaty said, “This is about us as a band stripping everything down to the bones. It’s more uptempo, it’s got bigger riffs, and we’re trying to capture the energy of our live show.”
“But it’s also a positive message,” he adds. “I know it’s a morbid visual, but behind every skeleton, there’s a story and something worth talking about. Overall, it’s about looking at something in a positive way. And I’m excited for everyone to hear that.”
Skeletons see the band once again working with producer Drew Fulk (Disturbed, Papa Roach, Motionless in White), a friend and collaborator on a few previous albums that generated # hits. “With ‘Versatile,’ we had a bunch of producers, but for this album, we just wanted to work with one person and get back to our roots,” says Kakaty. “There’s an energy he and I have, and he’s been great at helping us build these songs and work around some collective themes.”
Pop Evil will head out on their Skeletons Tour headlining U.S. dates starting on March 17, 2023, in Sault St. Marie at Kewadin Casino and concluding on April 23, 2023, in Milwaukee at The Rave. Special guests, The Word Alive and Avoid will join. Tickets are on sale now at www.popevil.com.
Skeletons U.S. Headlining Tour:
03/17 – Sault St. Marie, MI @ Kewadin Casino
03/18 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
03/19 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Jergel’s
03/21 – Lititz, PA @ Mickey’s Black Box *
03/23 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
03/24 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun – Wolf Den +
03/25 – Waterloo, NY @ Del Lago Casino *
03/26 – Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall
03/28 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation27
03/30 – Tampa, FL @ Hard Rock Event Center
03/31 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
04/01 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground *
04/02 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
04/04 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theatre
04/05 – Dallas, TX @ Echo Lounge & Music Hall
04/07 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
04/08 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee Theater
04/10 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory OC
04/11 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
04/12 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
04/14 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
04/15 – Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theatre
04/16 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
04/18 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
04/19 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
04/21 – Pittsburg, KS @ Kansas Crossing Casino
04/22 – Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
04/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
* The Word Alive will not be performing
+ No Support
Rescheduled UK + EU 2023 Tour
05/04 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Warehouse
05/05 – Manchester, UK @ Rebellion
05/06 – Birmingham, UK @ Institute 2
05/07 – London, UK @ The Dome
05/09 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
05/10 – Cologne, DE @ Luxor
05/12 – Munich, DE @ Backstage Halle
05/13 – Frankfurt, DE @ Nachtleben
05/14 – Hamburg, DE @ Logo
05/15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
with Call Me Amour as support, plus Zillion