COURTESY HATEBREED
Hatebreed puts on an explosive live show.
Undiluted, furious Hatebreed might very well be the biggest band you've never heard of.
hardcore
Shawn 'Speedy Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comOver its eight-year career, the intrepid Connecticut-bred ensemble has dispensed its brutal brand of noise to rabid mobs across the globe and earned countless converts in the process. Despite the continual dilution and exploitation of punk and metal by the music industry's higher powers, Hatebreed's uncompromising new album, "Perseverance," has already sold 200,000 copies, ranking it among the biggest sellers in the hardcore genre.
For lead growler Jamey Jasta, however, mass acceptance means little without the approval of longtime Hatebreed loyalists. Through its furious sound and message of unyielding resistance to corruptive forces, the band has continued to perpetuate the legacy of American hardcore icons like the Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front and Warzone. "Perseverance," inspired by the many ordeals Hatebreed has endured over its career, was released earlier this year and could top the quarter-million sales mark by year's end.
"We wanted to breathe new life into hardcore and add our own touch to the music," Jasta says over a phone call from a tour stop in Auckland, New Zealand. "We just put it all on the line and made an honest record. We didn't know what was going to happen. We just did what was in our hearts and showed people that sometimes bad things do lead to good things."
Foremost among the recent positive developments for Hatebreed was a new deal with Universal Music, which, as Jasta explains, picked up the slack for Victory Records, an indie label whose relationship with the band began to sour soon after their initial release, "Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire" in 1997. "As far as a relationship, there wasn't any," he says bluntly. "Their attitude was like, 'Well, (Victory label mates) Earth Crisis is the biggest band in hardcore, and they only sold 30,000 copies, so what can you do?' So we knew we had to get out of there."
On the strength of their reputation as an explosive live act and surprising album sales, invitations to tour with such heavyweight acts as Soulfly, Danzig and Sepultura began rolling in. Those gigs in turn paved the way for slots on the monstrous Ozzfest and Vans Warped Tour, which brought the band greater notoriety.
Surprisingly, the experience left Hatebreed longing for its days as a struggling band on the East Coast hardcore scene. "It kind of made us want to go back to the smaller shows," he says, "just because of the energy and the sincerity of the fans in that community. We had something really special with bands like us and Madball, Sheer Terror, Fury of Five, One 4 One, V.O.D. and All Out War. It's just good to have those memories and know you were a part of something special."
If you question the genuineness of such a statement coming from a band on the verge of a commercial breakthrough, consider this fact: Hatebreed is prepared to play Honolulu for free. Even when no one saw much value in staging a Hatebreed concert in the islands, Jasta believed, through the numerous fan letters and e-mail Hatebreed received from Hawaii, that such a show would be successful -- so much so that the band negotiated a door deal with the show's promoter to ensure a date in the Aloha State.
"I said, 'We'll do it. We don't even care about the money,'" recounts Jasta. "We'll just go and play, and I can guarantee you, it's going to be a good show." Just as he predicted, enough tickets have already sold to certify a sizable audience this weekend. "So once again, we're just proving people wrong."
with local opening band 2 face 4 Hatebreed
Where: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.
When: 7 p.m. tomorrow; doors open at 6
Tickets: $15 plus service charge
Call: 526-4400
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