Jamey Jasta -
vox
Sean Martin - guitar
Chris Beattie - bass
Matt Byrne - drums |
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They've written some of the most punishing riffs in
history, shared stages with everyone from Ozzy to
Murphy's Law and sold over 200,000 records, with
virtually no promotion, prior to landing a major
label deal. They've demolished recording studios,
laid waste to hotel rooms and laid down the details
of some truly hard times.
But make no mistake about it. Hatebreed isn't a
band. It's a movement.
When they hit the road with iconic bands like Slayer
or Murphy's Law, when they're featured in the pages
of a slick magazine, or when a kid sees frontman
Jamey Jasta hosting MTV2's newly resurrected "Headbanger's
Ball," it's an epic moment for an entire community.
And that's because Hatebreed isn't just representing
themselves - they're championing an international
family of friends, bands, promoters, fanzines and
kids. Hatebreed are the standard-bearer for a
burgeoning underground hardcore scene: war-painted
heroes charging forward into the mainstream with a
pack of screaming soldiers behind them. Hatebreed is
the collective voice of "the others" - the
downtrodden, the dispossessed- holding the torch
aloft for everyone who has ever been cast aside.
"Kids come up to me at every show, all over the
world - even in places where English isn't the first
language," Jamey says. "I had kids in Greece crying,
holding my hand, saying, 'I feel like you're my
brother.' Kids have our lyrics tattooed on their
bodies all over the world." The same kind of
solidarity teenage headbangers experienced in early
thrash, the sweaty catharsis punks embraced in Black
Flag, today it lives and breathes in this band.
"When I was a kid listening to records, that really
was an escape for me," Jamey explains. "I don't
really like to get too deep into personal stuff
lyrically, but I get into it enough where it feels
like anyone can interpret it the way they want to,
and also feel what I'm going through. They feel the
rage and the aggression that I want to get out
during that particular song. The music allows me to
talk about it as much as I want to, publicly, and
get that closure. And reach other kids who rely on
the music to get them through, just like I have -
basically to try to give back what I have been
given. And being able to do all that is the most
rewarding thing."
Hatebreed wrote 'The Rise Of Brutality,' their
much-anticipated follow-up to last year's acclaimed
'Perseverance,' the same way they crafted their
first demo in Connecticut nearly ten years ago -
gathering in a basement and jamming, narrowing it
down to just over thirty minutes of passionate,
sing-along ready musical exorcism. "The first time
we jammed out 'Live for This' and I sang it, I got
chills," Jasta reports. "I could just picture 4000
kids at Hellfest or Ozzfest just singing every
word."
The band was determined to turn a corner with 'The
Rise Of Brutality' and yet equally intent on doing
so without compromising or letting anyone down. The
end result is an album that is filled with as many
meditations on betrayal, bitterness and anger as
calls for unity, solidarity and struggle. "I'm never
gonna be without something to sing about," promises
Jasta. "People say to me all the time, 'What do you
have to be so angry about?' It's never gonna be
totally good. That's life. There's always going to
be negative and positive. That's what our records
represent. For every 'Live for This,' there's a
'Doomsayer' or a 'Call for Blood.'"
On this album, Sean's guitars are more punishing
than ever, Matt pummels his drums with heretofore
un-charted abandon and Beattie's bass lines
rhythmically snake a path across any moshpit's
floor. Jasta's throaty Molotov cocktails are barked
more clearly than ever,"The vocals are a little bit
lower and the approach a little bit more in your
face and maniacal," he says "I also tried to
enunciate more." He adds, "We wanted to make this
one a little more brutal than 'Perseverance' but at
the same time catchier. It's a good balance." The
band streamlined every song into a savagely potent,
surgically precise and ferociously driving anthem
without losing one drop of the band's trademark
bile. Conjuring walls of devastatingly crunching
guitars and savage steamroller rhythms, the band
mastered a formula that includes the best parts of
death metal, thrash-punk and New York City style
hardcore - something akin to Sick of It All in a
backyard brawl with Slayer.
Hatebreed's particular brand of 'balance' means
Jamey having to juggle leading a band, managing
several up-and-coming acts, hosting a show for MTV,
raising a family, running a label imprint and
booking shows. It's baffling how they can still find
time to provide that much needed voice to their
constituency, but they do. As "You're Never Alone"
proudly declared, "this is for the kids who heave
nowhere to turn." "I had people within my closest
circle of friends, when I played them that song, say
to me, 'don't you think that's a little cheesy
dude?'" Jamey says. "But that's how I feel. I don't
care who thinks it's cheesy." "I was one of those
kids, when my father was locked away in the hospital
and my mother was working at night, that's what I
did. I listened to hardcore."
"I know there are a lot of kids that don't have
problems and they like Hatebreed, too," he
concludes. "I'm just trying to make music that's
fulfilling to me, but I definitely consider the
people that rely on this stuff to maybe just get
them through a traffic jam, or get them through a
hard time, or maybe just give 'em a half-hour of
enjoyment."
'The Rise Of Brutality' clocks in at 32 solid
minutes of enjoyment, to be exact - as brief as many
of the band's favorite records from iconic bands in
the heavy music lexicon - Slayer's "Reign in Blood"
chief among them. And like the road dogs they've
proven to be, Hatebreed plans to take their latest
musical sermon to the masses. "Now is the time" for
their style of music, and as more and more bands
from their 'scene' continue to bubble up from the
underground, they look to Hatebreed. They are the
band whose leadership, passion and indestructible
credibility sets the right example for fans and
friends alike. |
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