Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Hatley.
Hi Jonathan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Asylum TX is an extreme metal band hailing from Fort Worth, Texas. Formed in 2012 by Jonathan Hatley and Colby Rodgers, this up-and-coming force of death metal prowess wields emergency medicine in the right hand; psychedelic trauma in the left. Asylum TX aggressively explores the darkest corners of human spirituality, while emitting a haunting neoclassical sound that defies traditional genres and shatters expectations. The band just released a new album “Cultus Inoxia” and has extensive touring planned for 2026/2027
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Playing extreme metal sustainably with a stable lineup that’s also talented and dependable? No, that hasn’t been smooth. Asylum TX has had the same core four members since 2016, but there exists a phenomenon we refer to as “The Drummer Curse”, which is exactly how it sounds. We have actually never fired a drummer: they have all quit for one reason or another. This band has worked with some seriously talented drummers in the past, but there often some critical component missing. Given that the drummer is the heartbeat of the entire sound, executing major operational goals becomes impossible without somebody solid behind the kit.
Additionally, we experience the classic tug-of-war between music and financial sustainability, like other musicians at the professional threshold. Work/life balance becomes abstract, maybe even arbitrary, when growing the band necessitates work around the clock, every day, ad nauseum. But we love it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Asylum TX is a community of professional underwater basket weaving enthusiasts, who also play death metal. We are musicians from Fort Worth, TX who found each other through the DFW metal scene, a great community, and strive to make extremely high quality productions with unforgettable visual accompaniments. In other words, we love to make sick albums and hilarious reels. Years of refinement have made clear our best talents, and while we do not strive to out-extreme other acts, we do set forth with an intent to create the best possible representation of our ideas. This music is an outpouring of complex emotions juxtaposed against visceral themes, such as emergency medicine. We are one of those bands that would prefer to sound exactly how WE want to sound, as opposed to mimicking what is popular. Our surgical production on extremely meticulous music sets us apart.
We are known for our hilarious and unpredictable content online, with substantially awesome music to legitimize it.
A Recent Achievement Of Which We Are Most Proud™ would be our 2025 European Tour with Defeated Sanity – we played 12 shows in 10 different countries on that tour, and for a metal band that was started on a college campus in a dorm, that’s a big achievement. Earlier this year, we toured the West Coast with Decrepit Birth and Pessimist. I don’t know how many metalheads will read this, but we are proud to be picking up speed while representing the DFW metal scene.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Honestly? Proper merchandise organization. Estimating how much merch to bring on tour. We got kind of burned on the European Tour because we just took way too much stuff, and didn’t sell enough. Keep your merchandise organized, write down everything, and keep good documentation. You’ll thank yourself later.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://asylumtx.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asylumtx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsylumTX
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@asylumtx
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/50gT004yZya2kMwvCUqTTa
