Yesterday, Joshua of Blow the Scene conducted an interview with FULL OF HELL guitarist Spencer Hazard.
In 2012 you released a number of split 7″s, including one with Code Orange Kids that painted our year-end top lists. After releasing your last full-length, Roots Of Earth Are Consuming My Home, in 2011 via A389 Recordings- Why the decision to release several EPs across a number of indie labels instead of another traditional LP?
Most of the stuff we do we plan way in advance. So some of these ideas for splits had been presented during or around the time that the LP was either being written or recorded. Once the LP had come out we finally decided to get these other releases into motion. Some of these splits were very last minute as well, like the Guilt Of split for example. A389 presented us the idea and we couldn’t turn down the opportunity to be able to release a record with one of the members of Eyehategod. Also we didn’t want to release another LP right on the heels of Roots of Earth.
Two elements of the band that seem to be recurring themes in interviews and press on Full of Hell is A. How young the band is. And B.- How pissed off the band is. Which leads me to my next two questions. Being in your late teens, and early 20s- You’re really not all that young anymore. I mean rock ‘n’ roll has long been led by the youth. It’s not like you guys are a bunch of 13-year olds shredding. Do you feel like the rookies out there or do you feel you’ve established your presence as a band at this point?
I feel like we have established ourselves to a certain extent, but there is always more to accomplish. There are always places we haven’t been yet and ideas we have yet to put into our music. There is always room to expand,explore and grow.
What are some of the motifs found within your lyrics and where do you draw your lyrical inspiration from? Is it a combination of personal and political? And if so- Can you expand? I know you mentioned that Dave is only one with “parents in the picture” in interview with Cvltnation. Would you say the members of the band come from tumultuous upbringings or am I misinterpreting that quote?
In all honesty I have no idea what half of Dylans lyrics are about. We usually come up with the music and then let him do his own thing. I think we all come from decent family backrounds. Of course every family has baggage and none of us really go into our personal lives with each other, but a lot of our families are present and help/support as much as they can.
I notice in live settings Full Of Hell incorporate a fair amount of electronics into your live set. How did the decision come about to work in these additional electronic elements with the music and what are they exactly?
I wanted to have the noise element ever since the very beggining of the band, but at this point and time we had a completely different line up and not everyone saw eye to eye on certain ideas. Most of the bands we look up to have had that element in their music so we figured we should try to expand on that idea and incorporate it into our sound as much as we could.
Do you have a particular studio or engineer you like to work with? If so- Who and why?
We always go to Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nations studios in Baltimore. He’s the best.
What is it about this studio that draws you back? Do you test yourself and step out of your comfort zone by trying new things with different recordings?
Kevin is easy to work with and an all around great guy thats why we keep going back. We can tell him exactly how we want something to sound and he’ll do it or suggest something to make the track sound even better. We usually don’t step out of the comfort zone when it comes to the recording process, we discuss how we want everything to sound prior to entering the studio and try to practice the songs as much as we can so the process is smooth.
Any special or unique pieces of equipment that you employ when in the studio or a live setting? What does your rig look like?
I usually try to use all the same stuff in the studio as I do live. There will be a pedal or maybe a head that I only use on recording, just to usually make the recording sound clearer. I hate when bands can’t emulate the sound they have in the studio live though. That’s why I try not to stray too far when it comes to equipment set ups. I always use my Orange Rockerverb 100 in both recording and lives settings no matter what.
The rest of this interview can be read here.
