Metallic hardcore heavyweightsย SWORN ENEMY have recently released their new record “Gamechanger”. We already gave it a proper spot with this review, but now it’s time to dive deeper and learn more about their new work first-hand. We sat down with SWORN ENEMY’s veteran founder and vocalist Sal Lococo to discuss the production process of “Gamechanger”, the band’s line-up changes, Sal’s roots in hardcore, and more! See the full interview below.
Weโre here with Sal from SWORM ENEMY. Sal, you have a new album coming out on April 5th. Itโs called Gamechanger and itโs been five years in the making. What was it like work with Rob Flynn? How does that happen?ย
It was a different experience for us as a band. We werenโt used to the routine that Rob was going to put us through, and it took a couple of days for us to actually kind of warm up to his tactics, what he uses and how he wants things done. But whatever the case may be. At the end of the day, the product that we put out, I am 100% happy with. Actually, Iโm 150% pleased with it. So, I donโt care how or whatever he did to get us through this record. It worked and I think weโre a better band for it, and we put out a fucking amazing record. Iโll be honest, I would definitely work with that dude again because he got the best out of us.
I agree, so he did what it took, I guess. Obviously, it wasnโt an easy experience.
It definitely wasnโt, but you know what? Sometimes you got to tough it out and you work harder for something and the final outcome is that much better. You reap the fruits of your labor.
Yeah, nothing great ever came out of getting shit handed to you. So exactly what is different about him from any other producer you worked with?
Heโs like a fucking Army Recruiter, dude! Yeah, he just kind of lays it all down and this is how youโre going to do it!
Well, the production on this record is some of the best that I have heard in a long time. Obviously, the engineering and mixing go along with it. Specifically, from an engineering standpoint, this is the best engineered and produced hardcore record that Iโve heard all year.
Iโm not going to agree with you. Zack Oren is amazing! That dude records all the Machine Head records. You listen to these records and they sound thunderous. It sounds so big. You can put our CD in, and listen to another CD and youโll hear that ours sounds like it is in the stratosphere. Theirs sounds like itโs in a box.
Yeah, it projects! You can hear it in your vocals, especially. That was my favorite part about it. I didnโt think that you would put out a better record than As Real as It Gets, but you did! I was wrong.
I agree with you on that. I think that this is the best record that Sworn Enemy has ever done.
Yeah, Iโm not going to argue that one. Really, it is good, so congratulations on that. My next question is the long gap between records. Is it planned like that? Do things happen where you have to put the project down for a while. Is it not a full-time thing anymore?
Obviously, itโs not a full-time thing anymore. We donโt tour as much as we used to. Everybody is a bit older and have jobs and shit. Family and those things make it really difficult. But in between the process of getting to this point, it does take a long time. We were still gelling as a band. The five of us were still learning each otherโs ways. Like Matt, Jess and Mike coming together as a unit writing music that is Sworn Enemy. We still didnโt have that yet. When we wrote Living on Borrowed Time in 2012-2014, itโs a good record, but to me itโs not a real good Sworn Enemy record. Itโs like this one, we put so many shows under our belts as a unit. As this unit. This is the unit now. Me, Mike, Jess, Matt have been together since 2010. Now we are starting to feel it as a band. Like, we are a legitimate band now and we feel each other. We vibe with each other. It took us a while to get there and I think the final piece of the puzzle was Taekwan. When he joined the band right after we put out Living on Borrowed Time, and this kidโs drumming is fucking insane. Heโs a super great drummer and heโs a Death Metal kid. He does blast beats and double bass, shit like that, but there isnโt any music that he canโt play. His hardcore chops are unreal.
Well, if you get a Death Metal drummer, you pretty much can do anything. You got all bases covered right there.
He loves Death Metal. He loves slam. Thatโs what he loves. He loves the slam of Death Metal. And thatโs why he works with us. Because we got breakdowns too. Sworn Enemy always had breakdowns. So, it works for everybody. He was the final piece of the puzzle that we were looking for. The drummer that was going to put us over the top and now this is a well-oiled machine right here.
I hear that. Iโve played in bands and lineup changes always drove me nuts because itโs almost like starting over again just to get to where you were. So, when you get a solid lineup going and you can evolve, thatโs when youโre going to put out your best shit.
Absolutely. I agree with you 100%, my man.
So, speaking of lineup changes, I know one of the original Sworn Enemy drummers, Paully โNo Neckโ (Antignani) passed away last year. I actually knew Paully. He was like 16 years old and playing drums for EGH (Everybody Gets Hurt) and I met him at I party I had at my house after a show they played with NJ Bloodline. He was cool as hell and I kind of known him ever since. Not like a lot, but Iโd see him at shows sometimes and say whatโs up. How does that affect you and Sworn Enemy as a band?
Well, it doesnโt have to necessarily be a band member. He was also a friend. I look at it as, you know, a terrible loss. Paully was such a young guy. He left behind two kids. He left behind a girl and it weighs on me. You wish you could take things back and do things differently and maybe things would have been different. You kind of reflect on shit and itโs not easy to deal with. But, what can you do? People choose their path I just wished that if somebody needed some help, maybe not have so much pride and reach out to somebody when they need it.
Yeah, pride will always get you.
Yeah man, and itโs rough, man. Itโs rough.
Well, thanks for answering that question. Sorry if that was a bit heavy. So, my next question is how exactly did you get into hardcore music to begin with, like in the first place?
Well, when I first started getting into heavy music. I was like 11 or 12. My friend brought in a Judas Priest cassette to school and we were listening to it on the headphones and I was like โYo, this shitโs pretty cool, man.โ Then we had Iron Maiden and from there I started listening to heavier shit like Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer and stuff. I actually got into hardcore from Anthrax. I went to go see Anthrax play a show in The City (NYC) and Cro-Mags opened up for them.
So, that was it, huh?
And that was it. I never seen anything like that. The energy on the stage wasโฆ I mean, you had Harley flying all over the place. You had John being a mad man. Mackie was killing those drums. It was just something to behold. Especially, back then. This was in 1987โฆ
In New York. When New York was real too!
Right, and that was like the sickest shit to watch. The things the kids were doing when the Cro-Mags were playing, I never seen anything like that. I grew up listening to metal and thrash, now here I am at a show like this with tons of skinheads and shit and Iโm like โThis is fucking amazing!โ And that was it. I bought Age of Quarrel, I looked at the thank-you notes, I seen all the bands that they thank. I started buying all of those records, and that was it. I was hooked.
Sweet! Yeah man, I started with the Misfits and shit. I lived in Lodi, and I didnโt know it at the time when I was a kid. But I would see Jerry driving around in a fucking hearse. But I didnโt know. Then later on I heard it was him. I was just riding skateboards listening to the Misfits and then like Slayer came and I got into fucking Death Metal, but you come back. You know.
Of course! You know what, I look at it like this. Whatever genre of music it is, its all heavy shit and if itโs good, itโs good. It doesnโt make a difference what music it is. It could be hardcore, metal, thrash or whatever, but itโs all underground music.
OK, last question. Touring. Sworn Enemy doesnโt tour that much, but obviously the new album is coming out and you got some shows lined up. Where you going this time? Whoโs coming with ya? What do you got?
We are going to do some headlining shows in April. Weโre playing in Brooklyn, Virginia and Mass for the record release. Our good friends in Mushmouth are coming to play a show with us in Brooklyn, which is really cool. For me, it kind of takes it back, ya know?
Yeah. I seen them at The Wetlands years ago.
Our first East Coast Tour we ever did was with Mushmouth and Death Threat. So thatโs pretty cool that theyโre playing the record release in Brooklyn. Then in May, we got a nice little tour with Sacred Reich lined up, which is pretty damn cool because I remember seeing them back in the day. Always going to LโAmours to check them out. In August, we are going back to Europe. Iโm actually talking to some people about Southeast Asia, Indonesia and all of that. Plus, Iโm going to talk to my boy about getting us back to Australia. So, itโs probably going to be a busy year for us and I look forward to every moment of it.
Sweet. Well, weโre looking forward to it! You know that you donโt get to see Sworn Enemy coming around much, so you might as well get it while you can get it! Thatโs what Iโm thinking.
Very true. Very true, my man.
Well, thanks for the interview. I really appreciate it.
Thank you so much for the great review of the record, dude. It was awesome.
Nah man. No problem. I appreciate that.
Thanks again for the interview. Take it easy, man!
You too, brother! Later.
