Hi, Hatchet. Greetings from Germany! What are you up to these days?
Well Howdy there partner!
Not much. Working my day job, smoking a lot of weed and playing with my dog every chance I get.
Would you please introduce your band to our readers who are not aware of your music?
We are HATCHET! Bay Area born and raised thrash metal to its core. We have 4 full-length studio albums released through various labels (Metal Blade, The End, Combat Records, M-Theory Audio). We spent the better part of the 2010s touring North America and various parts of the world. We've played/toured along with such acts as: Soilwork, Exodus, Death Angel, Trivium, Metal Church, Warbringer etc...
At what age did you guys start playing instruments, and since when have you been into metal music?
I can only speak for myself. I started with Drums around age 11. Then moved onto guitar around 14. Metal started around early Middle School. My dad always played different types of music around the house while I was growing up. But it was always the hard rock and heavier things I gravitated towards by nature. When I heard Metallica's Battery for the first time that was it. I was hooked.
Leave No Soul was released on October 15. Could you tell us something about it and walk us through all the track's lyrics and meanings?
Sure - We wanted to avoid doing a full album. There's always at least some pressure at some point to differentiate your songs from one another. Getting to the end of the album writing cycle, or somewhere in the process I lose my fire a bit and it becomes a forced process. I wanted to avoid all of that this time around. Just put out a few good songs, all solid, and call it a day. That was really the approach this time and to not overthink it like sometimes can happen with an album. Also all 3 strings brought in a song or song idea with structure ready to work on and finish out as a band effort. So essentially one song is my idea, one is Devin's and one is Clayton's. Ben was asked to work on them all at once, and had much less direction from us this time around. We really wanted a band writing effort to its best ability.
Lyrically -
Leave No Soul - Is about mankind's sad pointless existence. His hard work day-to-day life. Fight for his bread to eat all while keeping his head in the meaningless rat race. Just to ultimately die, return to dust, receive no heavenly reward for the suffering or any virtues. And there is no soul that lives on.
Concealing Decay -
It seems everyone is falling apart. Especially these days. Whether it be mankind as a whole, countries, individuals, groups. We are all putting our best happy face forward all the while we race toward our inevitable demise. We know it and we see it but we all try to conceal it from one another, Why? Because it is a social norm and not following that means ostracising the ones who do not follow. And we all WANT to be liked, So therefore we all conceal the same decay to one another that we are all facing. Kind of ironic and pointless.
Withering Minds -
The human dependence and devotion on trivial things that ruin our innocent, human nature we are born with. It's so bread out of us at this point as we are so dependent on everything and anything. In addition we constantly seek more validation in anything we slightly identify with; Technology, media, politics and religion. We seek more validation of it everywhere and it is ruining the human mind.
When and where did you play your first gig? How was the experience of going live for the first time?
With Hatchet? It was at a small music store in my hometown of Santa Rosa called Epiphany Music. It's no longer there, but for a while they had small local shows there. If you hung around and knew the owner a bit, you could get her to book you a show.
According to you, what is the secret behind the band's success?
Success? Are we successful? I've never thought of it like that. There is no secret. Just hard hard fucking work. and lots of it. Anything we've done that looks cool to anyone else, I guarantee you we worked our asses off for it.
Have you ever had an epic fail moment during a gig?
Oh several....I've eaten shit and fallen on my back and face before. Usually from tripping over monitors on overcrowded stages. I'll tell ya though.... when you're onstage and do that, you come back up much quicker than you could in any other situation. It's like you're somehow Spiderman in that second. Must be an adrenaline rush or something that happens.
If asked to differentiate Hatchet from other bands in California, how would you respond?
WE are Hatchet.
They are other bands.
How compatible are the band members with each other?
When we were touring it was definitely brotherhood. You "learn" to grow with each other in a tin can travelling around the country, or "A" country. Although I was always 'captain of the ship'. So I was always a little bit of an authority figure or "motivator" whether I wanted to be or not. This band originated as different members with I being the only original. But even in the beginning the band formed as strangers who met to form a band, not friends first then we formed a band of friends.
Which bands/artists do you draw your influences from, and which are your favorite local bands?
Too many to list. Testament and Exodus are good examples of locals who have a major influence on me and who are both still going strong.
How do you guys manage your jobs and gigs, and how often do you gather altogether just for fun?
Never just for fun. But plenty of fun has been had in the name of work and gigs for the band. In our heavier touring days, It was a challenge for each of us in different ways. We all had to become very creative in our own work fields.
Hatchet is a very promising formation. Looking at your future, where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
Well thank you! I honestly have no idea where I see myself or the band in 5 years. At the moment I have no expectations on myself or the band, And that is a refreshing newer outlook I have to keep living by. I spent years and years pushing myself and the band, whether I wanted to or not, like a bodily function. Now I just want to enjoy writing and releasing good music, if and when it comes organically to me.
Well, that’s it. Thanks a lot for your time. Could you speak out to all your fans and supporters?
Thanks for reaching out and wanting to chat! Sure I can speak to them.
"Fans and Supporters of Hatchet, I speak to you!!! I command thee to buy the new EP!!!"
-Julz