Features : “Dead Man Walking” is a metal inspired, alt rock launch to a musical/sci fi-fantasy fusion

In Zach Adams’ debut track, drumsticks and bass drum deliver about 20 seconds of slow, measured takeoff. Then metal rock boosters kick in and “Dead Man Walking” rockets up with high-speed guitar providing the power for a three-minute flight.

The lyrics match in intensity. This song is a blast to the head.

“I was really leaning into my metal influences,” said Zach. “Metallica, System of a Down, Alice in Chains, and that’s me playing all the instruments and doing all the production.”

The song is more than their (Zach’s preferred pronouns are they/their) debut as an alt-rock artist. It is also the opening release for what will be, in the first half of 2025, a 12-track album based on Zach’s fantasy/science fiction novel Dead Man Walking: Narrator’s Cut, which is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

“The lyrics follow the plot of the story. It’s sung from the perspective of the villain toward the lead character, Isaac. Like in the chorus, there’s a part where it says, ‘I’m always watching / You’re a dead man walking.’ That’s the villain speaking to Isaac.”

Watch the second hand as it ticks away
All around and round the clock face
Spin circles in your head every single hour, every single day
And yet you remain, staying in the same place
No future, just the next right now, no hope of escape

The lyrical delivery keeps pace with the music.

Zach is a science fiction writer and a multi-instrumentalist from Anchorage, Alaska. They formed a multimedia publishing company, Splitting Adams Entertainment in 2023.

In the Zach Adams fiction universe, they have created the Ivyverse, begun with Deadman Walking, the novel, and planned to continue with more novels. Each will get its own alt-rock album, with tracks based on the stories and characters.

“Some of the tracks are meant as sort of theme songs for various characters. Some of them follow specific events. There’s one track that is actually meant to be from a chapter where a band is playing in the background. It’s a blend of all that.”

Zach was strictly a reader until becoming a percussionist at about age 12. By 15, they had moved to guitar.

“I definitely started out as a fiction writer,” said Zach. “I was a big bookworm as a kid, and some of my earliest memories were just my mom reading to me. Every school I went to, I was always spending most of my time in the library.”

At age 19, Zach founded Spacefest, a multi-genre concert event in Alaska that won The Spirit of Youth Peer’s Choice Award and drew large audiences for three years. In 2014, they performed at the Make It Alaskan Festival and in the Vans Warped Tour.

In 2017, as a member of 3 Kisses, Zach opened for Beasto Blanco at Chilkoot Charlie’s, a popular Anchorage night club that features three stages, three dance floors and 10 bars.

After a several-year break, Zach returned to music and conceived the idea of pairing music with prose.

“When I decided to create my company, Splitting Adams Entertainment, I decided to write lyrics that went along with the story and do it as a sort of companion piece.”

The intent is to go wherever the music takes him.

“I really just want to get it out into the world. I really like traveling, and I would like to make that happen. I think the dream of most musicians is to get around the world and perform in front of as many people as they can.”

The furious guitar work and lyrics in “Dead Man Walking” are a fitting launch for a joint musical/sci-fi fantasy fusion project. Get on board and connect to Zach Adams on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

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