Q and A: Hatebreed Talk Purpose, Pop, And The Pit

posted in: Rock

Hatebreed bring it hard, fast, and heavy with no excuses and no apologies. It’s a formula that’s built up an incredibly devoted worldwide fan base, which in turn has propelled the Connecticut outfit to the top of the metalcore heap. We caught up with frontman Jamey Jasta to chat about the band’s new album The Divinity of Purpose, the production process, and CNN’s erroneous categorization of the band this past summer that had fans up in arms.

OS: What does the title The Divinity of Purpose mean to the band?

Jamey Jasta: We just want to spark a new thought. It’s open to the listener and probably means something different to everyone in the band. Music and my family have been my purpose for a long time. I’ve had other purposes in life, but finding music and having my daughter were definitely divine experiences for me. So for me, finding a purpose is a major thing in life and I want this album to spark something in the listeners’ minds.

OS: It’s been a few years since your last album. What changes, if any, differentiate the Hatebreed of 2012 from the Hatebreed of 2009, when your self-titled record was released?

JJ: We don’t like to switch up the Hatebreed recipe too much, so I’d say if you hate our previous material you’ll probably hate this album too [laughs]. The Divinity Of Purpose is all pit and no shit. It’s not for wimps, whiners, hipsters, metal elitists, keyboard tough guys, etc. It’s for people who want to compete in the race of life and crank their stereo to the max. The songs are hard, heavy, and to the point. If you’re looking for prog metal or avant garde noise you’ve come to the wrong place. The only change long time Hatebreed fans will hear is maybe that this album is about 60% core, 40% metal where as self titled was about 65% metal and 35% core [laughs]. Does that answer your question?

OS: The band co-produced the new album with Zeuss and Josh Wilbur. What is the collaboration process like among all of you?

JJ: It was great; this was probably our best and most fulfilling recording process yet. When we start recording, we want to make sure we are going to have a killer tone and a good work environment and we had both. It was nice to move Zeuss’ studio to CT and set up shop at Nick Bellmore‘s Dexter Lab. Once Josh flew in, he kinda rounded out the team. Matt and Chris work really well with Zeuss since he’s kinda like the sixth member when we record, and Josh meshed well with everyone and helped me approach some stuff differently with the vocals, which I think makes this album have a fresh sound, while keeping with the Hatebreed identity.

OS: What was it like to have [guitarist] Wayne Lozinak back in the band for the writing and tracking of the new album?

JJ: Well he played on our 2009 self-titled album so there wasn’t too much difference in the approach of writing or tracking. I guess one thing we did differently was the guitar tone. This album has more of a Gibson/Marshall tone like we had on Rise Of Brutality. Wayne is a total pro, he cranked out his tracks quickly and efficiently. Whenever Chris or I would show Wayne our parts he’d learn them and track them no problem. He has a very laid back vibe which is nice and he worked well with Zeuss & Josh Wilbur. All the leads sound killer and we even have a solo on a track called “The Language” which totally rips!

OS: First Blood are going to be covering one of your songs for their 10th anniversary album. How did you react to hearing that news?

JJ: I just heard about it and I heard their version of our song. It came out killer. I am going to listen to it tonight. Their singer, Carl [Schwartz], has filled in on bass for us before and he’s a great dude so that’s really cool that they did that! We’ve had First Blood on a bunch of our shows; it’s always fun. We’ll have to do it again soon and have Carl come out and sing that one.

OS: You guys finally managed to get an apology regarding the CNN opinion piece by (ironically) a spokesman for the ADL that mislabeled Hatebreed as a white power band. What was that whole debacle like?

JJ: It’s just bad journalism on their part. CNN has a history of botching stories so it’s no surprise. I remember an interview in which CNN had Andrew Dice Clay on and he walked off pissed. It’s pretty hilarious. You can YouTube it. The reporter basically did no research, a simple Google search could solve a lot of their problems, but they have made themselves look like a joke time and time again. We will keep on keeping on. People know that our message is positive and that we are not racist and never have been.

OS: You’ve talked about a growing appreciation for mainstream pop because of your daughter. Do other guys in the band feel the same way about Top 40 songs?

JJ: Wayne likes a lot of R&B, artists like Rihanna and Beyoncé. Frank [Novinec, guitar] likes new country like Jason Aldean and also enjoys the occasional pop hit like Goyte or stuff like that. I’m not sure if Matt [Byrne, drums] or Chris [Beattie, bass] like any new mainstream stuff but Matt has a pretty vast musical knowledge and has a deep iTunes library of Top 100 hits from every year going back to the ’60s, if my memory serves me correctly.

Pick up The Divinity of Purpose when it drops on January 29 and check out their new video for “Put It To The Torch” below.

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