REZN have always existed in the space between heaviness and atmosphere, blending crushing doom, psychedelic textures, and immersive soundscapes into something that feels far bigger than a traditional metal record. With their latest album Cycles in the Infinite Dream, the Chicago quartet have expanded that vision even further, introducing new elements such as strings, lap steel guitar, and more expansive psychedelic influences while still maintaining the weight and intensity that has become their signature.
Following the success of previous releases including Solace and Burden, Cycles in the Infinite Dream represents a new chapter for the band – one that embraces experimentation while continuing to push their unique blend of doom, prog, and psychedelia forward. We caught up with Phil and Patrick from REZN to discuss the making of the new album, evolving their sound, life on the road, working with Sargent House, the importance of the album format, and what the future holds for one of Chicago’s most exciting heavy bands.
Your new album Cycles in the Infinite Dream feels almost otherworldly while listening to it. Was that an intentional decision during the recording process, or was it just how everything naturally came together in the end?
Phil: We’re always actively trying to find something new while still being ourselves. On this record, there’s the introduction of strings and more atmospheric, loose sounds that were definitely intentional. We leaned further into the psychedelic side of things than we normally do.
Burden was very claustrophobic and heavy, whereas this album, although still heavy, doesn’t have that feeling at the forefront. Even the vocals are approached a little differently, both in terms of processing and what Rob is singing about. There are some more oppressive and depressing moments, but we weren’t as heavy-handed with the vocal processing this time around either.
We generally write everything together. The only thing that’s different is that Rob usually records his vocals alone. He might come in and say, “I’ve got a cool guitar line,” and then we’ll all sit around and turn it into something. A lot of these songs weren’t even close to their final versions on the first pass. “Transience” was a completely different song when we first started working on it compared to what it became. That’s part of what’s exciting, you never really know where something is going to end up.
The introduction of the lap steel guitar feels like a great new addition to your sound. Was it an instrument you’d wanted to incorporate into the band for a long time?
Phil: It actually made an appearance on Burden, with Spencer using it in a more ambient way, and he loved it. He has this future version of himself where he’s 60 years old, playing lap steel in a country band somewhere, and he’s like, “I’ve got to get started now so I know what I’m doing.”
Patrick: It came about because the engineer had a lap steel guitar that he brought into the studio for maybe some extra textural sounds while we were recording Burden. I think Matty was considering trying to play it, but the moment Spencer saw it, he was like, “I want to try it.” He just figured it out for Burden, but then the bug completely bit him and he became obsessed.
Like everything Spencer does, he went away, practised his ass off, and after two or three months he had it completely locked in. Whatever he puts his mind to, he gets good at incredibly quickly. It was something he was inspired by during Burden, and since then it’s become a huge part of his identity.
In the live show, he has another amp and splits himself between synth, saxophone, and lap steel. It sounds great live.
We have to wait a while to see you guys again when you return to the UK in early 2027, but you’ll be playing a lot of shows this autumn. Are there any particular places you’re especially excited to visit, and why?
Patrick: I’m really excited for the West Coast. There are some cities where we do really well, and I love the drives from Chicago out towards California and the Southwest. There are so many beautiful places you pass through.
What do you do to stay sane on a long tour so far away from home?
Phil: We try to keep ourselves as clean and healthy as possible, because that’s one thing that can really wear you down if you don’t. In the US, the van is ours, so within reason I get to drive, which helps keep me from getting bored rather than just sitting in the back playing video games or reading a book.
Patrick: Yeah, there’s a lot of reading, Kindles, Switches, and various games. Stuff like that helps.
REZN albums really reward listening to them in full, but in a world currently dominated by playlists and individual tracks, is the album experience something you’re really passionate about?
Phil: It’s probably equal parts both, maybe leaning slightly towards the album as a complete piece. When we’re writing, the first phase is usually just getting ideas out there and following whatever direction we want to explore. We write towards that feeling and see what we create in the moment.
As things start coming together, we’ll realise, “We like that one, we like that one,” and then it’s time to start thinking about the record as a whole. They can’t all be crushing, heavy songs, and they can’t all be psychedelic, otherwise it becomes boring. We try to focus on writing different types of songs, and once we have a collection that feels balanced, at least for what we’re trying to achieve , we start shaping it into something that works as a complete piece.
Burden was a little more heavy-handed in terms of that crushing, claustrophobic feeling, so with this record we wanted to find a different balance. Figuring that out is always a challenge. We spent over a month trying to decide on the track listing.
Who would you say were your biggest influences while you were recording this album?
Phil: Oh man, that’s a good one. I know we’ve released a lot of records, but that’s mostly because of the pandemic, which is kind of crazy to say now that it’s 2026. Solace, Burden, and the split we did were all written during that period.
We stopped writing for Burden in 2021, so everything after that is what eventually became this record. Technically, it started taking shape in 2023 and we wrapped it up at the end of last year, so it was about three years of writing.
There were ideas we thought were really cool at the time, but after sitting with them for a year we realised some of them were just a crazy hodgepodge of different versions of ourselves.
So you have a fresh slate now for the next release?
Phil: Spence and I have already been talking about ideas.
Patrick: We’re always having those conversations “Let’s try this, let’s try that.” We’ve been working on this record for so long that, personally, I’m still just basking in the fact that it’s finally out and we’re touring it.
We’ve been really busy with touring, which is great because we love doing that. We’re always talking about ideas, but maybe over the winter holidays we’ll get together and start jamming on some new stuff. Right now, though, we’re still in the phase of getting comfortable playing these songs live.
Phil: Once we start getting together, we’ll probably start jamming on some new ideas.
Patrick: Especially during Chicago winters, one of the best things for seasonal depression is getting in a room and playing music with your friends. If we’re not away for the holidays, that’s probably what we’ll end up doing.
Have you guys had any big tour disasters you’d like to share?
Phil: Compared to what could be disastrous for some bands, we’ve actually been pretty fortunate. We kind of pride ourselves on never cancelling a show. We’ve always found a way to make it happen, except for one time.
We were touring the UK and Ireland with Russian Circles, and when we got to Belfast, Spencer and Patrick had both caught this stomach bug that everyone seemed to be getting. A few of the Russian Circles guys had it too, and they were throwing up all day.
Patrick: I got it that night. Spencer and I were right in the middle of it for the show you’re about to hear about.
Phil: Spencer was genuinely worried he was going to throw up into his saxophone or something, and he didn’t want to do that in front of people. I’m usually the type of person who thinks, “We’re opening the show, we only have 45 minutes – if you can tough it out, let’s do it.”
So I went upstairs to see if I could talk him into it, but he was lying on the couch in the green room, literally white as a sheet. At that point I was like, “Never mind, it’s not worth pushing through that.”
Patrick: It’s worth mentioning that I was also doing sound for Russian Circles throughout that whole tour, so I was playing drums and then running out front to do sound as well. It was also Halloween, so it was this completely chaotic “this doesn’t feel like a real day” kind of show.
We were all bummed and wondering what we were going to do, but I remember Mike from Russian Circles saying, “Dude, you don’t have to play. If you guys are in pain, we’re not going to think differently of you.”
Phil: The irony is that Rob and I were both feeling completely fine, so we just set up our merch and people actually bought some, which was cool — and we spent the night talking to everyone, apologising, and saying, “We’ll be back, just not tonight.”
Do you have any plans to go back and play for the people of Belfast?
Phil: We’d love to. It’s definitely on the cards. Our booking agent is based in the UK, so it’s something that will come up again soon.
Patrick: The UK dates came about because Elder asked us to join them, and we’re basically jumping onto the shows they already had arranged. Unfortunately, there’s no Ireland this time around, but when we do Europe again, we’ll make it a top priority.
Phil: We’re playing the Electric Ballroom in London with Elder, and I’ve heard very good things about it. I’m really excited for that.
How has your experience been working with Sargent House?
Phil: Sargent House are awesome. They’re super easy to work with, and they don’t try to creatively manipulate us. They let us be ourselves.
One thing I really appreciated was when we were struggling with the track listing for the new album. Everyone had their own opinions, and Mark basically said, “Let me listen to it and I’ll come up with my thoughts.” He listened and gave us his perspective.
Obviously, he has an investment in the record being good too, but it was helpful because after living with these songs for three years, I couldn’t even trust my own judgement anymore. We needed someone with fresh ears.
He didn’t force anything on us. He was just like, “This is what I would do , you can take it or leave it.” We ended up using some of his ideas.
The track listing was a bit of a tie-breaker. I had completely demolished the idea of putting “Rites of Passage” as the first song. I was like, “I don’t want that to be the opening track,” and literally everyone except me was in favour of it.
Patrick: I think Mark’s track listing mostly ended up becoming the final track listing for the record, and it actually feels great. It felt fresh because we’d been staring at it for so long that we were overthinking everything.
I mentioned before that I do sound for Russian Circles, so I’ve been working with Sargent House for around eight years. That’s kind of how our relationship started. I already knew they were good people.
Cathy helped us as a friend in the past and looked over contracts for us. We trusted her judgement. They’ve helped us avoid potentially bad deals before, so we knew they were people we wanted to work with.
Phil: She’s saved us from some pretty bad situations. They helped us when they didn’t have to.
We always champion smaller bands and have a very DIY approach to music. Do you still get out to many local shows these days when you’re not touring? If so, are there any cool underground bands you’d like to give a shout out to?
Patrick: I work in music venues and do sound, so I’m always out there and exposed to loads of music, whether it’s heavy or not.
Wretched Blessing were the first band that came to mind. They’re friends of ours , a two-piece death metal band. The singer of that band, Ray, is also in Immortal Bird, which is really cool progressive death metal. They’re all great people and proper Chicago people.
Phil: There’s one band called La Armada. We played with them on a southern tour. They’re a Dominican hardcore band that have been around for a long time, and I always enjoy seeing them. I know they’re trying to get over to the UK, so keep an eye out for them.
Are there any bands you’d love to tour with?
Patrick: I’d love to open for either Deftones or Tool at some point in my life. I also think a show with Blood Incantation would be a really good fit.
Phil: I’d love to tour with Korn. A friend of ours’ band is opening for them in Europe, and I’m definitely jealous.
Finally, if someone had never heard REZN before, which song would you tell them to start with, and why?
Patrick: “Optic Echo” from Chaotic Divine is the one I’d choose. It has the saxophone, the doom elements, and a little bit of everything we have to offer. People seem to really like that song already, so I think it’s a good introduction.
Phil: You know what? I’m going to double down on that. I agree, but if I could add another one, I’d include “Rites of Passage.”
Patrick: Yeah, if you want to hear what we’re doing now, then “Rites of Passage” or “Primal Thread.”
Phil: Listen to Pat — that’s a good one. I’ve been seeing comments from people saying they really like “Primal Thread,” but to me that was a bit of a stretch song. It’s a little outside what we normally do, so I’m really glad people seem to connect with it.