About The Subtle Madness

The Subtle Madness is more than just a band - it's an amalgamation of music, art, poetry, and raw emotion crafted by frontman, Matt Butler (Vocalist / Songwriter/ Producer/ Multi-instrumentalist).

The Subtle Madness began 2024 by releasing their new LP, Zero-Sum, an ambitious and heady concept album, written & recorded over a 5-year span, beginning with a journey across the country that coincided with a deeply personal, profound, and somewhat turmultous period in the life of the TSM founder.

This new release & follow-up to 2018’s debut, Predisposed, is the beginning of a story…the start of a bigger art and music project aiming to create a community and highlight important issues, much like the ones that inspired the album’s concept originally.

Origin Story

The Subtle Madness began in 2017.  Its genesis: a conversation between brothers Matt and Ryan Butler, both ending their current projects and deciding to collaborate on something new…thus the seed was planted.  The early years were marked by multiple lineup changes, like the one that ended up shelving their 2018 debut EP, Predisposed. 

Despite this, each era has had a significant impact in shaping the sound, vision, and style of TSM today.  From the beginning, the band was formed with a goal to make meaningful music that connects with listeners emotionally…to create art that is bold, authentic, compelling, and unapologetically raw (honest). Drawing from deeply personal experiences, as well as the post-covid climate of a divided nation, we believe Zero-Sum manages to do just that. 

However, the lyrics, concepts, and subject matter of The Subtle Madness are but one aspect of the collective identity.  Accompanying the former is their music, a unique sound that combines various genres like rock, blues, industrial / electronic, punk, metal, and folk, flowing seamlessly between each.  Most often, the musical style of the song is an aural representation of the lyrical content, meant to help tell the story as much as the lyrics…moods, soundscapes, and layered arrangements that effictively set the stage for the song, thus creating a captivating musical experience with expressive lyrics.

Patient Zero

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Noun

plural patient zeros also patient zeroes

: a person identified as the first to become infected with an illness or disease in an outbreak

The quest to find patient zero, the first person to contract the new virus, has revealed the first known case occurred in Wuhan …—Susan Dunlevy

especially : a person documented as being the first known case of a communicable disease in a particular population or region

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At the core of The Subtle Madness is Matt Butler, the sole permanent member since 2019 and the mind behind the music. A Producer and artist, known for his haunting vocals, powerful lyrics, and multi-faceted musical abilities, TSM’s Patient Zero brings a raw authenticity to each track.

In 2018, after Predisposed was shelved (the still unreleased debut from The Subtle Madness), Butler was without a band and finding himself stepping into one of the darkest periods of his life to date.  He relocated to the East Coast from Texas, joining his former TSM bandmate, singer/songwriter Nicole Regan, who had made the same exodus a few months prior.  He would reside there for four years, traveling, writing, seeking out inspiration, and meeting fellow humans as their journies intersected his. 

Time spent in New York City, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, the Poconos, Pittsburgh, Triadelphia, & more provided experience in abundance.  He played guitar for a stint in Nicole’s new project, Anhedonia & Me, and thus became the only remaining member of The Subtle Madness, all the while writing what would become Zero-Sum, growing as a musician, songwriter, recording engineer, and healing as a human being.

With that distinction came a renewed sense of purpose, driven by the idea that there was a story to tell from it all…a conversation and community that needed a place to begin…everything he had seen in that time, both the beautiful and tragic, now formed the framework of his record. 

The layers he added to the conversation would be the flesh…the outer layer of skin was formed by the observation that humans seemingly failed to realize how interconnected each of us are to one another…the capital riots in early 2021 was a demonstration in how deep the divisions of culture, color, creeds, and other kindling that exploded to a shocked world that day…That event inspired an opening track named “This Divide”. 

There are no politcal leanings in Zero-Sum. Instead, Butler begins what he hopes will be an ongoing conversation, by pointing out the human in himself, flaws and failures out front, to convey that many endure the same struggles, uncertainty, and loss of equilibrium.  We are all humans, attempting to navigate a great mystery we arrived inside as infants.  The album is an appeal for open eyes and unity for the sake of the humanity in uncharted times.

At the end of Spring 2021, Butler and Regan parted ways, with Butler penning the song “In Memoriam” when he returned to Texas.  Steps forward, then steps back and returning to start…Zero-Sum.  

It took another year to finish writing and organizing the project in it’s entirety. Butler, who had recorded and mixed much of the album already himself, turned to longtime collaborator (co-producer of Silhouette’s Matchbook Manifesto album) and friend, Shawn Lunsford, co-owner of Sessionworks Studios in Hurst, TX. The final mastering session for Zero-Sum occured on October 23rd, 2022. The album would be released on May 8th, 2024.

Visual Storytelling

Discover the world of The Subtle Madness through our visually immersive experience. From album art that captures the essence of each track to behind-the-scenes glimpses of the creative process and elaborately designed stages, our visual storytelling adds an extra layer of depth to the music. One can explore the dark, enigmatic universe of The Subtle Madness in layers of the art that will be gradually released through the year, both inspired by and created to expound upon the concepts introduced by the music.  The Patient Zero blog, Words Wasted, will feature companion poems to each track on the album, serving as further reading for the lyrical content.  The band’s official Facebook group serves as a platform to discuss topics important to the members of TSM & build community.   Live shows will feature visuals that mirror the band's sonic landscape.

Join us on a journey through the depths of emotion, the beauty and chaos of existence, and the subtle madness that resides within us all. Experience the music. Embrace the madness…Welcome to The Subtle Madness.