With the recent release of You Deserve Hell, gloomy post hardcore act FATHERS has embraced losing control. The Denver-based band’s first album, released in 2017, was the chaotic scream of a project that some thought would be short-lived. Instead, the band has clawed its way onward, crafting an unforgettable live experience and a second album intent on staring mortality, chaos, and struggle directly in the eye. To celebrate its recent release on Sailor Records, we have teamed up with the band’s vocalist Oscar Ross for a special commentary on top 5 artists whoinfluenced his vocals and lyrical content of “You Deserve Hell”!
Having been compared to such creative hardcore heavyweights such as Cave In, Big Business, Converge, and Trap Them, FATHERS are known to put forth loud music that serves as a call to arms against injustice in troubling times. Decibel magazine described FATHERS as “a post-hardcore/prog-metal amalgam” while No Echo notes a “racous hardcore vibe.” In short: they shred, regardless of how you might want to explain their sound. Leading up to the release of their newest album, You Deserve Hell, the band has completed a West Coast tour, been invited to festivals such as Denver’s Electric Funeral Fest (featuring Torche, Thou, and others), and have found themselves on bills supporting artists such as Eyehategod, Sacred Reich, Sworn Enemy, Great Falls, Cro-Mags, Whores., Primitive Man, and Gaytheist.
You Deserve Hell was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jeff Kanan at The Keep Studios in Denver, CO. It was released this year on Sailor Records digitally as well as on limited edition gold and black marble splatter, heavyweight, 180g vinyl. Includes gatefold with full color sleeve, including lyrics and liner notes.
FATHERS is Oscar Ross (vocals), Eddie Maestas and Zach Amster (guitar), Mhyk Monroe (bass), and Ryan DeWitt (drums) and Gil Romero (multimedia).
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“The Denver based band exists on its own wavelength of imaginative songwriting played with a bloodied, punk rock persistence and a seemingly limitless arsenal of memorable riffs.” – Decibel Magazine
“Denver’s Fathers is a band that isn’t easy to categorize, but what is clear is how crushing their material is. A sludgy guitar tone and percussive-heavy rhythmic attack permeates everything they do, and while they cite such bands as ISIS and Whores. as prime influences, there’s more of a racous hardcore vibe to what these guys are doing.” – No Echo
Dio – Holy Diver
Ronnie James Dio vocal attack and diction are very appealing to me. Those are 2 of the main focuses for me singing in FAtHERS. And of course his high register is so pure and smooth with just enough aggression.
Bad Brains – Bad Brains
H.R. has this very unique naturally distorted sound to his voice. And he throws in these cool ‘whips’ at the end of certain words that I like.
Black Sabbath – Master of Reality
Ozzy is probably my all time favorite vocalist. It’s not his lyrics but his melodies that move me. I really like how his verses flow with highs here and lows there. You have to consciously do that.
Van Halen – Van Halen
Some will laugh at this but yeah I like David Lee Roth. And of course I’ve heard the vocals tracks without the band – hilarious! But fuck it – he’s one of my fav’s.
Colter Wall – Songs of the Plains
My recent ‘year rap’ from Spotify had this guy at the top of my list for the year. The lyrics are really put together well. Obviously FAtHERS doesn’t sound like this but I’m definitely trying to put together a story for most of our songs.
