HATEBREED has been going strong for 20 years now. They just released a new album The Concrete Confessional on Nuclear Blast Records, and are currently destroying rooms across the U.S. on tour with DEVIL YOU KNOW. Bassist Chris Beattie called in recently to tell us how the tour’s going, how the new record came together, and more. Check it:
Amps: I think the songs from this new record are really gonna spit some heads open live.
Chris: Thank you. Everybody’s really proud of it. We thought we did a good job and we’re happy it’s getting the reaction that it is. We’re playing a couple songs from it now and they’re going over really, really well.
Amps: Is it fair to say you really went for broke with The Concrete Confessional? Because it feels like you did.
Chris: I don’t think so, personally. It was just stuff we came up with. It’s kind of being perceived like that, I don’t know. We just went in and did our thing. We weren’t in any kind of rush and we had a lot of time off while doing it. I just think maybe having time to deal with it and if we got stuck on something we just said, “Let’s come back to that and work on something else. We didn’t have anybody from the label there and for the most part it was pretty easy for us to write the record. There were a lot of surprises in some songs that turned out really awesome. I don’t know if it’s chemistry or what, but we didn’t change the formula.
Amps: Was any of it written on the road during the two years you were out for The Divinity of Purpose?
Chris: On the road I don’t have the patience to deal with that shit (laughs). There’s too much in and out on the bus. I have every intention to pick up the guitar, and occasionally I might bring something into a hotel room and write some stuff but for the stuff I contributed most of it was done at home. I just zone out and riff for however long, and then edit what I thought were the good parts in it. Then I’d send it over to Jamey (Jasta, vocals) and we’d start putting together material. The road is way too hard for me to do any writing. There’s WAY too much going on. It’s not that kind of environment.
Amps: Do you still get the same level of excitement and get as amped up before shows as you did when you were first starting out? Is that fire still there?
Chris: Oh yeah, man. It’s hard to leave your family and stuff but once you’re out here everybody understands what’s going on. You could have a shitty day on tour but once you’re onstage the magic’s just there, you know? You feel it, and after the show everyone is at their best. We’re super-psyched that it came together. We’re not going through the motions up there. It’s real, and it’s still so much fun. Everybody has a good time and that’s how it should be. If you’re in a band and you’re not having fun and giving it all you got there’s no point to be out there doing it. As long as people still want to come see us play we”ll still be out. That’s what motivates us.
Amps: You played to some of the biggest crowds of your career last tour. Tell me about Woodstock in Poland. You look out, there’s 400,000 there…what the hell goes through your mind looking at that sea of people?
Chris: Oh man, it’s just mind-blowing. It’s hard to explain. I always try to keep it for us live onstage and not get overwhelmed looking through the crowd. When we first started playing big shows we were really nervous. You still get nervous, you want the show to go off good, but once you hit the stage all that goes away. But it’s pretty crazy. It doesn’t even seem right when there’s 100,000 people, you know? Everybody looks like ants in the back (laughs), but it’s great to be exposed to that many people who haven’t heard us, especially on those big festivals where there’s this huge variety of music. It’s really cool that they accept us and let us do our thing.
Amps: I think the pairing of HATEBREED and DEVIL YOU KNOW is perfect. That’s an outstanding bill.
Chris: I think the same. This package has been fucking insane! We’ve been selling out venues and that’s pretty awesome for us. Everyone’s having a good time, all the bands are having fun. It’s a bunch of good dudes, everyone’s hanging out. The DEVIL YOU KNOW guys are super-cool, we’ve known them for years and years. And we’re psyched to bring it to the U.S. It’s been a while since we’ve been out here.
Amps: You’re really gonna love Gas Monkey Bar N’Grill in Dallas, TX. It’s one of our favorite rooms here at A&GS. It’s open air, and you get a great breeze coming off the water. The crowds are INSANE in Dallas, especially there!
Chris: That’s exciting, and something to look forward to. You think of Texas, the shows are always awesome, but sometimes the heat is a little overwhelming. Plus, this is a new place to play, so I’m excited.
Amps: After the U.S. run is it then off to Europe for the festival circuit? Will you have any down time?
Chris: After this tour we get a couple days off then it’s over to Europe for a couple festivals, then a few sporadic U.S. festival dates, which is really cool. We’ll be playing Riot Fest in Chicago. THE MISFITS are there so that will be really exciting! Dirt Fest, Chicago Open Air, and a couple more. Those festivals are always so much fun to play since they’ve been popping up in the U.S. I hope more of them do.
Amps: What would you like to say to all the HATEBREED fans around the world?
Chris: I just want to thank everyone for their loyal support and helping us get this record out of the gate. Without our fans we can’t do anything. We really appreciate the support year after year, album after album, and we love them all. Hopefully we’ll see you all at every show and we’ll keep this sucker rockin’ for another 20 years.
If you’ve never seen HATEBREED live you just don’t know what you’re missing. With 26 shows left on this leg of the tour you owe it to yourselves to get out there and get your face kicked in by one of the most energetic bands in metal today. You can find dates and tickets HERE. A&GS will be there for the Dallas (May 27) and Philly (June 3) shows, so if you see us, come say hey!
